The Status Of Women During The Great War

Prior to World War II, many women were unemployed, due to the Great Depression which had started a decade before. With men always getting preference for jobs, there were very few jobs left for women. Consequently, not only were many occupations were reserved for men, but men were also paid wages up to five times higher for the same task as women. Some states also barred married women from holding jobs. However during World War II, America produced at an efficiency which was higher than ever. This meant that the women had an increasing number of jobs. Jobs in the public sector opened up. Since 1939, women progressively changed the idea of patriarchy and the cliché thinking of an average woman in the United States to be a wife and mother.

The structure of workforce changed, all out war effort and lack of working age male in factories brought women into factories across Europe in incomparable way. Thousands of women worked with the army as nurses and ambulance drivers, with nominal supplies and harsh condition of the front line, they helped wounded soldiers and provided some solace to the dying. Propaganda Picture by E.V. Kealy, P-524, on its poster says “Women of Britain say-GO” I think which means that all the men can go to the war and fight for the nation, while women are taking care of the house. War had changed role women were assigned to but they were refusing to go back to their old Victorian traditional role and challenged the gender status quo of the women after the war which completely changed the patriarchal European states, and American society as

The role of women during the Civil War is one that is often misinterpreted and misunderstood. Traditionally, women were expected to either keep their homes while their husbands were away. If anything, they were able to work as nurses. However, many women would defy these standards. Defying stereotypes, these women would take on jobs that no one had dared take on before. Women were expected to be proper and maintain the house while men were gone. The women of the Civil War would challenge these stereotypes in a large way, defying everything that was seen as “the norm”. Although women were not legally allowed to participate in combat during the Civil War, they still made significant contributions on and off the battlefield, and without these contributions the war would have been very different.

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

During that time of WWI, there were multiple changes that took place in the United States. Economically, the United States was doing great. Due to the demand for war supplies, there were many oportunities for citizens, including woman, to be employed. These oportunities were a primary reason why woman entered the work force and why that are still there today. Furthermore, since there was a surplus of suplies being made, we had the ability to sell items to other supporting countries. Additionally, in the political aspect, the United States' government gain a great deal of power over its citizens. Although it previously had power, the government was finding that certain types of propaganda were able to be used in order to convince the people

The Civil War brought about the change for women where the standard was to maintain domestic ideals, where women devoted themselves to their husbands and children being the housekeeper and nurtures of their homes. In the North and South when the war, occurred women would now be forced into the world outside of their homes. In one of the letters Mary Dedrick wrote to her husband, she states “I have got some and I have to feed my hogs every night and morning a little” this letter gives a reflection on women working on the farm and having low supply of food. The origins of war made women have to oversee everything that previously had been taken care of by the men.

Another reckless day has passed by full of flirts, drinks, and dresses. No matter what punishment tomorrow might bring, I can still choose to act as I please today. However, before the Great War, women were bound tightly in order to mold them into an ideal wife, both physically and metaphorically. Women were greatly restricted. After the war, our country promoted normalcy, attempting to return to how we were before. Thank goodness we didn’t. Those ridiculous traditional ideals from before the war were taken out and replaced. Female values and roles from before the war were thrown away in favor of new and contemporary ideas. Now, rather than choosing between being a submissive wife or an unapproachable feminist dictator, young women such as myself were given many of the freedoms that men had. We are now able to be rebellious and take part in masculine activities while still remaining desirable.

The direct and indirect involvement of women in Australian wars since 1914 to 1945 is closely related to the nature of each war and their role in society. Women’s identity had adjusted as they transitioned into the ‘men’s workforce’ after their role of caring for their children and managing their home. After all, the war brought about solid evidence of a changed world once women were employed in work that was once seen as beyond their capabilities. Judith Smart along with other historians have argued the involvement of women in both World War I and World War II and how the wars have structured the duties of women in Australia.1 Evidence suggests that war has brought both significant improvements and consequences for women in Australia. They were empowered by wars to participate socially, economically and politically to gain not only gender equity, but for global sustainability.

When the First World War began in 1914, there was much discussion regarding the proper gender roles for British men and women. For men, the course of action seemed clear that they should enlist and fight. Yet, many men struggled under the pressure of warfare. For women, it was unclear how they should be involved in the war effort. Many men wanted the women to keep their traditional gender roles of taking care of the household. However, the lack of male workers on the home front required women to take on different work roles. The women received a great deal of praise and positive attention for their work as nurses, munitions workers, and military auxiliaries. However, men were critical

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 %.

After getting an education as well as knowing there worth in society women knew there were more than just a wife and mother. During WWII women demonstrated their power to think in a world without men as they were off fighting the war. Women began to understand that they had more to offer the world other than housekeeping and raising children. In addition, many women wanted to continue working after the war as they had held jobs with responsibilities as well as earning wages. Furthermore, women were the ones making financial decisions as well as working in positions with higher responsibilities. Many women as well as minorities were simply casted a side to make room for the returning solders. This created a silent discontent among women

It was uncertain to what extent did women’s participation in WWI changed the attitude and position of women in post-war Europe. One thing assured is that women’s wartime efforts were recognized in the years after WWI. In recognition of women’s support during the war, Canada, the United States, Britain, and a number of European countries extended suffrage to women. It seems that the turbulence and the despair of World War I had caused a re-examination of many of the treasured values in many western societies, including gender expectations.

World War I was a key factor for socially empowering women. Prior to the war, women were typically defined by their domestic roles inside the home. In the early nineteen hundreds wives and mothers were not encouraged to work outside the home; they had few career pursuit options. Society narrowly defined the capabilities and interests of women to that of nurturers and helpers, denying them recognition of intellect, industry and ambition.

Essay question- “The part played by women in the war effort, 1914-1918, was crucial to women achieving the vote in 1918” – How valid is this view?

women were not allowed to go out alone. They had to be escorted by a