The Role Of Women During World War I

Over the past few decades, great strides have been made by women in the workplace. This increased number in women in the workplace does not mean equality however. Even with equal qualifications and achievements, women are still not given all the opportunities that men have. The chapter in the textbook, “Gender at Work”, shows us more of these inequalities in the workplace. Such inequalities cause gender segregation of jobs and can be linked with the pay inequality in the labor force. Even in jobs that are predominantly filled by women, men earn more than women. Women are often stereotyped as being family focused and not as able to travel, therefore they tend to get passed up for promotions (Garson p.353). This invisible barrier that keeps women from moving up the executive ladder is referred to as the “glass ceiling” (Baxter and Wright p. 346). Women also tend to do more domestic work, or unpaid labor and caregiving. This extra unpaid work is referred to as “the third shift” and is largely rested on the shoulders of women (Gersel p. 352). Consequently, this seems to be one of the biggest things holding women back from taking on jobs that are normally considered male

The contribution of women to the war effort changed drastically throughout World War One and the 1920’s. Their role in the beginning of the war was not very significant. Women, for the most part, were expected to be primarily involved in "duties at home" and "women's work" but as time progressed, their roles during the war changed drastically due to employment, The Person’s Case and the change of women in society. Women's involvement in the war effort undoubtedly helped Canada win the war.

A million Australians, both men and women, served in the Second World War. Half a million were stationed overseas. They fought in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe. The Australian homeland came under direct attack with aircraft bombings by the Japanese in north-west Australia. All citizens at this point were encouraged to be apart of the war effort, even children under the age of five. Over 30,000 Australian servicemen were taken prisoner by the Japanese and Germans in 1942. The men that had left Australia left their jobs to the women. Some of these jobs involved teaching which reduced the staff availability in Australian schools. Families were also divided as the women now had work and provide for their children.

Rose the Riveter is an icon that came out in the world war time. Back then women were entering the workforce in abundance of numbers during World War II. Women became the people to work when a wide spread of enlistments left holes in the industrial labor force. “Rosie the Riveter,” became the star in the 1940 and 1945 when the female percentage increased ten percent from twenty seven percent to nearly thirty seven percent. Also in 1945 almost every four women worked outside their homes. Rosie became the governments campaign aimed for the recruitment of women in the work place. Women worked in positions that use to be a male dominate work place. The women increased in female workers each year as needed. In 1943 women nearly more than

Today I'm going to be talking to you about Women in World War One, around 500,000 men enlisted for world war 1. Which began on July 28th 1914, the population in Australia at this time was just under 5 million people so that meant around 38% of the male population went to war. When the men went off to fight in the war there were not enough working males, so women had to start working in jobs that were considered male rolls, they did jobs that they had done before the war started like textile manufacturing but when the men went to war they got to do jobs that had not been available to them before such as banking even working as police officers. Lillian May Armfield was the first Australian Female police officer, she was born in 1884 the

The role of women was extremely important for America during WW2 and were appreciated for their hard work, but not for ever. On the home front many of “ the people of this community respected women who work [ed] regardless of the type of work.” (Women Working at the Home Front). The women were respected by the people because they showed that a women, no matter the job, could also help with the fight, except without a gun. Women were determined to perform the job as long as they needed to and some enjoyed their newly found jobs, but they knew that “some jubilant day [they] will stay home again.” The companies who hired women to replace the men who went off to war appreciated what the women did, but as soon as the men come back, their appreciation

World War 1 is a significant historical event which has impacted the Australian society. The First World War has had an effect on the role of women within the Australian society to a certain extent. The role of women prior to the war was different in comparison to when World War 1 took place. Women’s reaction to the outbreak of the war led to their contribution and involvement in the First World War. After World War 1, there weren’t major changes within the Australian society on the role of women, however there were very few due to the role which Australian women played in the World War.

Women are considered minorities making it possible for discrimination and other oppressive factors to creep in. Personally, as an African American woman I have faced unfair treatment in the workplace. Seeing your coworker get prompted over myself just because he is a male. The article reference the fact that women will get looked over for a higher position simple for the fact that employers believe that women cannot be leaders. Men are often looked at as masculine and authoritative. Moreover, this universal idea that women are meant to being doing women’s work and not obtaining any kind of high position of prestige is unsettling. Jobs that are looked at as women occupations are teaching, nursing, social work, etc. Mostly because they always been predominately ran by women. In article, it states that men do not usually accept women into predominately male positions because they feel as if they will take over and switch the role of control. Especially in the economic aspect. Referencing back to the power point;

As World War I started in 1914, countries prepared for battle. Women and men had different jobs of serving their own country during and after this war. Women replaced men in their civilian jobs of mechanics, clerks, and other occupations. This allowed women to be in fields that they were usually not working in. Ebbert & Hall (2002) state women also had been recruited into serving the Navy and Marine Corps. There were men that apposed to give the women equal pay as their male counterparts (p.59). Even documentation of the women who served was thought to be unnecessary (p.122). After the war where women and men have served and worked hard for their country, men would go back to expect employment and women were thought to go back

Before the World War 1 began, men were known as the “breadwinners”. Meaning they bring all the weekly wages home and the jobs they do are required a large amount of strength and they may often get tired. Although men before the war worked extremely hard so did the women, but their jobs were done in their own homes. Only about 30% of the women were part of the workforce the rest were unmarried, and working women were servants. World War 1 was an essential time for women. This is because it gave them an opportunity to prove to themselves and the society where men dominated that women can do more than just clean the house and to care for children. Some of the more important roles for women during the WW1 includes: nurses, munitions, factory workers,

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 %.

World War I made a colossal impact on all aspects of human life and almost everyone in Europe was affected by this impact to different degrees as a consequence. One group in particular, most often illustrated as a real turning point, largely in enfranchisement and employment, were women.

The generation now has made it easier to equalize men and women but there is still a substantial amount of places where gender inequality is still happening in the workplace and where females still face discrimination. Women are often discriminated in the workplace and are usually not promoted as quickly as men are and they also receive less pay. History shows that women have not always been defined as property and thought of as second class citizens. But in the 21st century many have seen a drastic change in the so called “traditional” family ways where women are suppose to stay home and take care of the household chores, food, and children and men are suppose to work to support their family and provide financial stability. Many assume that in the workplace women are more vulnerable and less competent than men because women 's instincts are to put their family before work or anything else. Whereas men are the ones who will usually stay the late hours to work. People on both sides of the political spectrum and everywhere in between seem to be fearful of what is to come and more fearful of others than they are often willing to admit.

Currently, according to statistics from the Department of Labor of the United States; of the “123 million women age 16 years and over, 58.6 percent or 72 million were labor force participants and in the long run, women are projected to account for 51 percent of the increase in total labor force growth between 2008 and 2018” (U.S. Department of Labor). These numbers will clearly demonstrate to any skeptic that women are leaving behind their old dependence on men and becoming more autonomous and self-determined to succeed; it sounds great, doesn’t it? On the other hand; however, men are losing as women are gaining. The Department of Labor has reported that men have lost about 4.75 million jobs during the current economic recession that started in 2007, while women have only lost 1.66 million. Additionally, “the only parts of the economy still growing—health care, education and government—have traditionally hired mostly women”( Cauchon). Now, as a result, of the statistics that show that females are overcoming males in the workplace; the gender segregation has created some kind of imaginary “glass ceiling” that impedes both sexes from advancing professionally and economically.

The equality between women and men is always a topic in today’s society. Right now when we talk about the equality of women and men, we also care about if women and men have the equal right and if they enjoy the equal protection in the working environment, in terms of the working hours or of their salaries. From the text book, “Blau, Ferber, Winkler, 2009”, we knew that the differences of occupational of the job already happened long ago. For example, the book stated that “In 2007, 22 percent of women workers were in office and administrative support occupations compared to only 6 percent of men; another 20 percent of women were in service jobs compared to 13 percent of men”.