Before World War I, women had few rights. But their experience in the Great War changed that forever. Their views towards life changed or improved, and by the middle of the 19th century, women were demanding equality with men. They wanted the right to vote in elections and an equal chance to work and get educated. They also wanted the right to have their own possessions, to divorce their husbands, and to keep their children after divorce.
Even famous Rosie the Riveter once said, “We Can Do It!” (Panchyk 57) Women played a huge role in World War II. One of the important roles was working in the military. They served in all three services, Army, Air Force and Navy. When the government was recruiting women into the Army, they made it sound glamorous. When the women joined the Army, they did not get glamorous jobs.
Some women “felt they were needed at home to raise families, crops for food and to fill the jobs that the men had vacated in order to serve their country.”(Suite101) Women’s lives on the home front during World War II were a significant part of the war effort for all participants and had a major impact on the outcome of the war. Once the men went off to war and left their jobs, the women that were single had a great advantage because job opportunities were everywhere. In the other hand married women had a tough time, especially if they had children. Hundreds of women worked in machine shops, welding shops, manufacturing plants, and also worked in war industries to make equipment for the war. New industries, naval, and army bases were being built during the home front.
In some parts of the country and in some occupations, such as the Lancashire textile mills, they were expected to carry on working after they married. 2. Why were women workers needed in the war? Women were needed to fill the vacant jobs left by men who had gone to fight. 3.
Introduction In the American civil war, thousands of women were involved as volunteer nurses in different military hospitals and the battle field. Although social taboos prohibited women from working outside their homes, women sought direct and convention involvement in the civil war. They focused on participating in the national struggle and pursuing career opportunities in the military rather than the traditionally confined domestic support roles. Women nurses experienced the detrimental and depressing constants of the civil war, such disease, as mutilated bodies, amputated limbs as well as death. In addition, they offered invaluable aid to the wounded and sick soldiers as well as medical authorities.
Favor Mbamalu Mrs. Scott-Jackson How the Civil War Affected the Roles of Women 12 January 2018 How the Civil War Affected the Roles of White Women Before the Civil War began, southern wealthy white women were only known to cook, take care of children, and were limited to only performing household tasks. Working-class southern white women were known to work and also perform the same household and domestic tasks that wealthy white women did. Thankfully, the Civil War gave these women a big chance to prove themselves by performing serious tasks that only men were known to do. The Civil War was very important in changing the role of women because they took on ¨man roles¨ like their husbands’ jobs, being nurses, spies, and even being soldiers and fighting in the war! For well-off southern white women who stayed at home during the war, there was a lot of responsibility to take on.
As we might say today, women’s ‘public image’ changed and improved,” says Constance Rover, a historian. Part of the reason why the war was key to women gaining the vote in 1918, was because of changing opinions towards women. “Surely a land fit for heroes to live in might include a place for a few heroines as well?” says Constance Rover. Women had proved themselves useful which was leading to greater equality with men. It would have been simply unreasonable to deny women the right to vote, especially now that women had more of a presence in society.
Some joined the Land Army and others worked in the factories producing weapons. As a result, women became more self-confident and they realized that they could be efficient and skilled workers so some social attitudes towards women changed. When, in 1945 the men returned home after the war had ended and took back their previous jobs, 75% of the women workers returned home. Most men continued their pre-war attitude that women should maintain their traditional role by staying at home and looking after the children. In 1947 when women were asked whether married women should return home, 58% said that women should return to their domestic duties.
Women felt they were treated equally prior to the war; however, that changed after US’ occupation in Iraq. Not only in the aspect of the work force but daily activities as well. Riverbend comments on how most women lost their jobs or risked their lives if they worked. Also, men carried guns, giving them a sense of power, and that they were dominant over women. Additionally, women could not leave the house after the war without being accompanied by a male.
The women went from running the house to running the factory. Men went from running the factory to running the army and fighting. French Field Marshal Joffre emphasizes, “If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war.” I believe that the women were the main driving force behind the war and helped the United States win with the Allies. Without them, I believe, the men fighting would not have had much power to continue to fight since the women provided them with necessities to win. The women of the early 20th century helped by filling in the jobs that men used, volunteering as nurses, and giving hope to the soldiers to fight back with.