Women's Roles During The War (WWII)

Among their roles during the war, women were crucial to the war effort and the survival of the troops. Tens of thousands of women joined the Women's Air Force, Naval and Army Services during World War II. This was in

Over 900 000 men left for war which meant women had to take on their roles in order to keep the country going, this was a major change as women usually only stayed at home and never had the opportunity to work. The first example of women’s changing role in society was women enlisting in the armed forces. In 1941, the government created three women’s services: the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force, the Australian Women’s Army Service and the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service. This was seen as a way to further deal with the challenges of war as women could take on roles previously occupied by men, such as electricians, aircraft mechanics, clerical assistants, caterers, signallers and more. Women were also able to serve in army hospitals in both Australia and other countries that Australia had fought in.

Many filled in as medical attendants in the both the Army and Navy Nurse Corps. Others served in all branches of the military. On the home front, ladies worked in processing plants building boats, tanks, and planes; others upheld war bond drives, raised triumph cultivates, and helped with scrap drives.

After World War I a few ladies came back to the spot society had bound for them while others can 't. They had adapted new abilities and was readied to utilize them. The United States entered the World War II after the shelling of Pearl Harbor and ladies control again was popular. Their parts kept on evolving immensely. By the spring of 1942 there was a developing labor deficiency in the military. In American Wars before World War II, there had been a level headed discussion about and restriction to utilizing ladies as a part of the military. As men went off to fight, ladies were required for non-battle employments, for example, switchboard administrators, telegraphers, mechanics, and drivers. Amid World War II, more than one hundred thousand ladies served in the women’s Army Corps later got to be known as the Women’s Army Corps. Ladies additionally joined the United States Navy. Amid the fall of 1942, the Women’s Auxiliary Air Squadron got to be known as the Women’s Air Force, started preparing ladies pilots who flew planes to different army installations in the United States. They tried airplane and performed other non-battle flight obligations. Numerous ladies trusted that they may never be permitted to serve in the military again on the off chance that they didn 't turn out to be skilled in a picked part.

After the first class of WAC, the Army realized that the women could do almost any job that men could do, but still they were not considered to be “real” soldiers. They were “women service members”. By the middle of 1945, 150,000 women had served in the WAC.

Many wanted to play an active role in the war on the Battlegrounds and not just on the home front. The military changed forever as women were allowed to serve in the armed forces. The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service was created in 1942 and consisted of approximately 7,100 members and the Women’s Division, Royal Canadian Air Force consisted of approximately 17,400 members. There were many female pilots in Canada at the time who were frustrated with the RCAF’s refusal to let them fly. Only later in the war were women allowed to fly bomber planes to deliver them to Britain.

As the men went off to war, women were given the opportunity to fill their void by joining the

Important to realize, that during WWII, Women were very excited to joined the military for the very first time in Canadian history. Women in Canada wanted to play an active role in the war and influenced the government to form military organizations for women. In 1941-1942, the military was changed as it created its own women’s forces. The Women 's Army was set up in September 1939, when women joined the military for the very first time (women in military).Beginning in December 1914, 350,000 women served in armed forces during World

Women continued to serve overseas through 1945 and at one point there were over 2000 WACs serving in North Africa alone. From there women were sent to Italy to serve with the 5th Army and these women moved all over Italy during the Italian campaign handling the

In 1942 the Women’s Army Corps was introduced. These women worked in more than 200 non- combatant jobs stateside and also every part of the war. They served not only as common nurses but also “within the ranks of the United States Army.” There was also the Women’s Army Corps introduced in 1942. This group of 1,100 women was asked to join and fly military aircraft, due to the shortage of pilots. Their job was to fly from factories to military bases and also different take off points around the country. Even though during their enlistment the WASP were supposed to become part of the military, after a couple years the program was cancelled. The last group the, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, was already established. After being absent for twenty-three years, they had to be reactivated because of WW2. While a large portion of these women did the job of secretarial and clerical they had other jobs they did. Thousands of WAVES performed duties in aviation, medical professions, communication, intelligence, science and technology. These military jobs and the other non-traditional jobs the women participated in made them almost like a ghost in their home front.

     “May 22, 1942, will surely go down on the record,” predicted the Christian Science Monitor. “It was the day that women joined up with the army...” It was obvious; the U.S. needed a larger military force. Thus women joined the army within organizations. From there came Oveta Culp Hobby, the director for the first American military organization of women. This organization was called the WAAC (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps). Many people were impressed by the strength of the WAAC and it is said that within three months, the AAF was discussing the possibilities of obtaining more members of the WAAC (Weatherford, p.34).

Specific jobs were reserved for women both within the military and at home, the home front support was equally if not more important to the success of the war as the

The role of woman in World War Two was an essential behind the scenes effort. Just as a cameraman is essential to the making of a movie the roles women played in the war was essential to our allied victory. In the war women provided food, clothing, funds, medical work, safety, knowledge and a safe and secure country to return to at the end of the war effort. All the help provided by women gave helped prove gender equality can work in society and helped lead to women's rights in our county.

Woman roles in the military have changed in the past 100 years. They have gone from not doing in the military to becoming pilots in the military. France was one of the countries that allowed woman to only work minor jobs in the Military in the 1800’s. They were responsible for preparing meals for the soldiers. Than during the French Revolution some woman soldiers started to fight in the army. Women were also nurses and doctors. Today woman make up from about 11% of the army forces and 50% of the medical corporation. In UK woman were also serving as nurses and doctors on medical ships. In the middle the woman were taken out for about two years than another organization was formed for nurses and they were admitted back into the military. In

By 1943, housewife workers outnumbered single workers for the first time in history.Throughout the war women went to work in shipyards, aircraft plants and other assembly lines. They also loaded shells, operated cranes, painted ships. Many of them became welders, bus drivers, train conductors, mechanics, bellhops, nurses and day-care providers. Women comprised a third of the workers in aircraft plants and about 10 percent of the workers at the shipyards and steel mills were women. Although most war work was in factories, many women found work elsewhere. Many became secretaries and clerks in Washington D.C. and more than 200,000 women entered the special branches of the military. Such branches include Women’s Army Corp (WAC), Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), and Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). These military positions allowed women to take over tasks for soldiers so they could be free to go to combat. Although women participated in jobs extremely similar to men, they were not treated equally. For the long hour’s women put in, their salaries averaged only 60 percent of men’s. However, the greatest struggle for American women throughout the war was not simply the issue of money.