Women During The World Wars

One of the most important roles that women played, were the increasing large amount of female soldiers fighting in the war. These roles gave women the right to work and serve in armed forces. The jobs that women took part in during this time period made a huge difference in the war, and in turn, WW2 helped expand women’s

On September 3rd 1939 World War II started in Europe. During World War II, more than 16 million American men served in the military. While this large portion of the population was overseas fighting for the United States, women had to do many of the jobs in America normally held by men. Women were considered vital assets to the war effort, and the American government made sure to use their skills and labor in many different areas to win the war. Women contributed to the successful war effort by working society, documenting the war effort, and supporting the soldiers.

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

Women wanted to be able to do more in the war. They tried to find ways to work

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.

The United States’ “secret weapon” were these people who were mobilized to meet every challenge. United States government and industry expanded significantly to meet the wartime needs. Before World War 2, the typical view of a woman’s role was that of a wife and a mother. Many jobs were reserved for men and some states banned married women from having any jobs. The need to mobilize the entire population behind the war effort was so crucial that political and social leaders agreed that both men and women would have to change their perceptions of gender roles to let women contribute in various ways.

The Great War brought immense change to the entire world, with it came death, destruction and despair, however women all around the world rose from the ashes of war and found themselves outside of their roles as wives, mothers, and homemakers. The women of the war had proven themselves as being an irreplaceable asset to society capable of performing just as well as their male counterparts in many varieties of jobs, furthermore inspiring generations of women that they were worthy of more than what the veneer of social convention had led them to believe, following their awe-inspiring efforts in the war they had also obtained the status as being

Ever since then women proved that they can work in a man’s workplace and do just as well. Any job that was a man’s, was a women’s as well. Women were soon “the most needed workers of all” according to Brenda Ralf Lewis. Factory workers became known as “the soldiers without guns”. If women hadn’t stepped up to the line, winning the war wouldn’t have been as easy as it was for us. Not only did the women in factories and shipyards have a big part in doing their part in the war contributions, but so did the women who were out on the field fighting alongside with their men risking their very life.

World War II caused a shift in the gender roles and stereotypes. While some countries saw progress: United States, France, Britain, Italy and the Soviet Union, others oppressed women: Germany and Japan. In countries like the United States and Britain, women began joining the workforce and the military. French women fought for the Resistance against Germany when the Germans occupied France. Even though Italy was allied with Germany and a Nazi country, many women resisted fascism and assisted Jewish people. Many Soviet women flew fighter planes, some of the first women to do so. Japanese women were required to work in poor conditions. German women were restricted from doing many things and even paid to marry and have

when World War I broke out, women’s roles changed from being moms to munitions workers and many women also took part in the army serving soldiers and officers as nurses, helpers and occasionally as spies.

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

Historian John Keegan once wrote “warfare… is the one human activity from which women, with the most insignificant exceptions, have always and everywhere stood apart.” This is gross understatement of the contributions of women to the war effort. While women only recently have been inactive military duty on the battle field, they 've acted as factory workers, nurses, recruitment as well as many aspect as they filled in the gap that men left at war. They that kept the war going. Without the support of the women, the men on the front would not have been about to continue fighting.

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

For women, wartime symbolises a significant part in history. World War One and Two marked the beginning of an important era, filled with change and the introduction of new concepts, such as women in the workforce. War completely altered the perception of gender roles in western culture, thus changing the lives of women dramatically. As devastating as both wars were, without them, women would have never been given the chance to defy society’s preconceptions of women at the time. These wars both presented women with the opportunity to make their mark in a society that was previously male dominated.