P.Joshua 10B How WWI Contributed to Women’s Rights in Canada
WWI was a trying, and difficult time for all people, especially with the unnecessary casualties, but it was also one of the moments in history where women finally got to step up to the plate after a lot of discrimination against their gender, a thing no can control. When men had gone to fight in the war, women were recruited in abundance. There was some clash between whether women should or should not have jobs that were considered “men's work”, but ever since the Conscription Crisis, women workers were massively needed. Which meant manual labor such as working heavy machinery in engineering. There were also many other jobs that were opened up to women, such as tram conducting,
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New jobs were also made to support the war efforts. One of these jobs were munitions work where they produce bullets, gas masks, shells and supply them to the people fighting in the war. This would be another huge victory for women since they got the right to vote through the Wartime Elections Act before WWI. But a negative that came out of the jobs was the wage gap that would still actually be carried on to the present. Through strikes, and even a committee created by the War Cabinet to examine women’s wages, a report was produced which endorsed the statement of “equal pay for equal work”, but since they already had a low expectation for women, they thought that it meant “lesser strength and more fragile, which would affect the result of their effort. All of these things would be eventually reversed after the men returned from war but it set a large movement in motion that would continue on to this day. Thanks to WWI, Canada set up a huge stepping stone for women's rights. Though it came with its negative, the wage gap, it was predictable considering the predicament that women were in. Without women, Canada’s contributions to the war effort would be very few, not only that contributions to the war effort in itself would be very few. It
The females worked as nurses and as manufacturers during the war they also had to work on farms to keep the crops going and take care of their families at the same time. When the men were in the trenches women had to keep the economy going that meant working the jobs men would have been doing. The motion after the war gave women more respect and started a new beginning for being a woman. During the war an “Income War Tax” was brought in to help with finances and debt, canadians were taxed on the income they made. Canadians whose income per year that was 6,000 or more were taxed between 2-25%.
Most importantly, during WWI, men would have to leave their homes to go into war while the women and children stayed home. Since most men left to go to war it had caused a problem revolving around the lack of workers for jobs. They decided to get women to do these jobs that men usually did. Some jobs the women of the Home front did were railway guards, ticket collectors, buses/train conductors, postal workers, police, firefighters, bank tellers, clerks, and especially munition factory workers. The women had responsibilities to do which gave them an opportunity to do things men usually did. After the Homefront it helped them to be treated as equals among the men because the woman showed that woman can do the jobs as good as men can. A woman named Vera Britain was a WWI woman on the Homefront who decided after the first year of WWI that her duty was serving for her country and then spent most of the war being a nurse in London. At the beginning of WWI, 570,000 women worked in Canada’s industry, after the years almost 1 million women were employed including many working in traditional male factory
Women were also allowed to get educations and go into teaching and nursing positions. The Person’s Case was another highlight which demonstrates the advancements of women’s right in Canadian history. This case included five women who ultimately help transform the way women were seen. Emily Murphy played a significant role in establishing women’s rights which led to women being called “persons” in matters of rights and privileges. Furthermore, another female Canadian named Nellie McClung helped in getting the right to vote for women. Ultimately resulting in the May 24th, 1918 Act allowing all women 21 years of age or more in Canada the official right to vote even if they did not have the provincial license. The war brought many changes to Canada and around the world. Women were finally being recognized for their efforts and perseverance and acquiring new freedoms and improved rights for themselves. During the 1920’s, women became more involved in society and continued to participate in the work force. Women continued to make half the earning men were making at that time but by 1929 women made up about 20% of the workforce. The Women’s Labour League worked to defend women workers and the labour movement. They exposed shortfalls in the minimum wage laws and fought for equal pay, maternity care and a women right for birth control. Women were finally making their mark in government. By 1939,
They produced parts for ships and aircrafts which were then used in the war. As it was hard to travel the women also contributed in the transportation sector, they drove buses, taxis, and streetcars which also helped the civilians. The government also helped the women as they were working on creating daycares where their children can stay so they don't have to stay home with their children and can go to work. This was the first time that female Canadians had participated in the workplace, approximately 1.2 million females had took the initiative to work, proving that they also had the skills and talents as the men did.
While there were many issues, women were able to work at jobs that aided those in the war such as nurses and working in factories. They worked together in the war force and this allowed them to lead to Canada to
Throughout this article the writer makes numerous references towards how the government of Canada attempted to do the right thing towards female workers during the war, but it also shows how the government’s heart wasn’t into it, thus just making offers to female workers just to appease their complaints for the time being until the war was over. The government was terrible on providing financial support to women whose husbands were away at war, offering only meager amounts of their pay each month, thus forcing more women into the workforce. The article goes on to further explain how during the war, women felt empowered by their circumstances and how once the war was over that women continued to fight towards equality and many refused to ‘go back to the kitchen’ after the war and further challenged the norms by continuing to work.
Women had a huge role in the World War II that so many do not recognize. Women were involved in many different jobs that allowed them to step out of the ordinary norm as the “typical housewife”, and dive into fierce hardworking jobs that until then only a man could do. Women jumped into the factories and many different roles that contributed to World War II, because the need for more American workers was crucial.
In the past, WWII and WWI, women were very dominant; they had to take care of their children, do all the chores and also had to cook the food. During WWII, women had to take place for the men (First world war.com). The war changed the life for all Canadian women. When men went to fight, women were called upon to fill their jobs, and this included many jobs that were previously thought of unsuitable for women. Women were called up for war work from March 1941(Women during World War II). The roles of the women were positively impacted by World War II, because they had the potential to re-enter the workforce, control the farms and join the military for the first time. Taking control of the military was tough, but women had shown that they could work together and handle the situation.
WW1 allowed many women in the early 20th century to show they were capable of working and running a society while the men were away fighting. During this time many job opportunities opened up, many of which in civil service, which gave women the opportunity to have a higher paying, more skilled job, contrasting greatly to the typical tedious jobs such as cooking and cleaning which they were expected to do. This gave women much more financial stability and independence demonstrating that they were much more able and useful members of society than lots of men thought they were. However this may not have caused permanent change in the view of women in society as when the war ended and men returned, they took back most of their jobs and a lot of
WWI was consequently a catalyst for change in the role and status for women. During the war women were introduced to new opportunities in the workforce due to the shortage of men that a nation’s economy suffered from both during and after the war had ended. The war enabled women to present themselves in a new light to the public through proving capable with their contributed work in WWI. After World War I commenced, millions of men were deployed to serve in the war therefore causing women to become essential in trying to retain a nation’s economy through their needed labour. Therefore, campaigns and recruitment drives were advertised to sponsor a nation’s need for women’s employment especially to meet the high demands of supplying the wars
For the extensive number of working class women, it was nothing new- these women had unceasingly gone to their jobs. Women in all different standings in society helped the country's case for the war. They did jobs such as heavy coaling, portering or working in fields.
World War 2 was a war like no other. It was a great war that chnged the world and killed many people. This war changed the way the war looked at Canada, and the way Canada looked at itself. World War 1 grew Canada’s independence but world war 2 shaped Canada’s independence and gave Canada a new look. World War 2 was a completely different war, this war allowed people to fight for their country, and not great britain, showing a new side to Canada.
The role of women in war has varied significantly throughout British History. During world War 1 womens role was constricted as many worked in the industry of textiles , knitting and munitions. This said they played a pivotal role in the war effort as 23.8 million in britain were all working. Voluntary and paid positions were taken up as unfamiliar roles to women, Nevertherless this was recquired in order to sustain the living of many families. World War 1 illustrated the capability of women in wokring across a variety of fields. However the effort from women was arguably taken out of context. Despite the rise in pay , women still earned less then men. They held the responisibility of working as a generation of men went to fight. This covered munitions, police patrols and even nursing.Women worked in horendous conditions and accidents were far too frequent in factories. A TNT plant killed 73 people and also leading to the destruction of nearby homes. Furthermore the collective effort was extraordinary , the workers of one factory in Gloucestershire within the four years filled over 17 million shells(BBC world war 1).Opportunities in civil service increased by 1,751 %.
One of the biggest roles of women in the second world war was working war factories. these were regular factories that had been converted to help the war effort. For example instead of making cars they would make tanks or instead of clothing the
World War II was the first time that women were greatly encouraged to join the workforce. Nearly 6 million women took industrial jobs such as steel plants, shipyards, and lumber mills at the urging of the government and media (“Women of the Century”). Because the men were away fighting in