The lives of women on the Home Front were greatly affected by World War I The lives of women were greatly affected by the war, mainly in a positive way in the long run. Before the war upper-class women did not work, in contrast working class women worked in professions such as maids or working in factories as a way to provide for their families. Statistics show that as many as 11% of women worked as domestic servants before the war. The war also helped the social status of women dramatically in a positive manner as well as giving women the chance to work in a greater variety of jobs, although after the war they were expected to return to their original traditional housewife role. When the war broke out in August 1914, thousands of women lost their jobs in dressmaking, millenary and jewellery making.
Do you agree with the view that, in terms of employment opportunities, women did not gain ‘any significant advantage from their wartime experience’? Many women, especially shorthand typists and munitions workers, earned for more than before the war and gained greater economic independence. Many women worked away from home were they experienced a sense of liberation from their restricted home lives. Trade unions initially opposed the dilution of labour but eventually recruited many more women. 350,000 women were in unions in 1914, but 600,000 by 1918.
Role of Women in America in the 1940s The 1940s -- and especially the first half of the decade -- brought a massive change to the role of women in American society. Not only did women enter the production process, but the whole perception on the capabilities of the so-called "weak gender" altered. Despite the fact that the change was short-lived, according to the National Park Service, the road taken by women in the 1940s continued into the future. Women in the Workforce Working women were not an alien spectacle in the American society. According to numbers of the National Park Service, by late 1941, 14 million women constituted one quarter of the nation's workforce.
INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL ISSUES IN THE HISTORY OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY Michelle Gilruth The Social Issue of Unions There are many social issues that have affected manufacturing over the years. Many of these issues led to the formation of unions. Before unions, unskilled workers did not fair well. They received half the pay of skilled workers like craftsmen, artisans, and mechanics. Many people moved to cities to work in industry and about 40 percent of those workers were low-wage earners.1 As industry grew, women, children, and poor immigrants found themselves the main targets for work in factories.
Former women University of Michigan Law students were found to have taken an average of 3.3 months of leave plus 10.1 months of part-time work during their first 15 years. However, their male counterparts were virtually without either. This information hints towards women having more responsibility than men outside of the workplace that requires their time, pulling them away from work. More time endured in a profession leads to men being recognized for their efforts, thus resulting in promotion and increased salary. Time away from the office leads to a lack of promotional opportunities, causing women to run into the “glass ceiling” after being unable to advance within a profession – regardless of the quality of her work and
However, some women joined the work force and would do jobs that men previously had held. Some were not forced to, but they had to work as hard as they could to support their families during this difficult time. In contrast, the writer Norman Cousins commented that there was a negative opinion on the women’s presence in the workforce despite women willing to acquire a living wage. He also stated in his book that the federal government proscribed holding government jobs by both members of a married couple, and many localities stopped hiring women whose husbands with a minimum wage (Cousins 1939). Another aspect of the Depression affecting life of women was the moral argument against working-women.
They wanted equality for women in the workplace, in society generally and at home. “After discovering that they could work in high-paying factory jobs, the majority of women did not want to give these jobs up after World War II.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Womenroles_in_the_WorldWarsUnitedStatesofAmerica
Skilled women could earn £2.15 a week. To them this must have seemed a lot. But men doing the same work were paid more. In fact, it was not unknown for unskilled men to get more money that skilled female workers. This clearly was not acceptable and in 1943, women at the Rolls Royce factory in Glasgow went on strike.
Coming from all walks of life, there were those already working who switched to higher-paying defense jobs, those who had lost their jobs due to the Depression, and then there were the women who worked at home. Rosie the Riveter was the idol for these working women also she was known as the cover girl for the recruiting campaign. By 1944, 16 percent of all working women held jobs in war industries. While an estimated 18 million women worked during the war, there was growing concern among them that when the war was over, it would never be the same again. That new venture for American women would soon come to an end.
Women in the work force had a lower pay rate and were quicker to be fired than men. Many women who were fired took advantage of new job opportunities and began practicing switchboard and clerical work. The American government tried to help out by giving jobs to the heads of households (doc 5). African Americans suffered heavily from the depression as they were known to be the “last ones hired and the first ones fired.” They were often discriminated and ignored, leaving them out to dry. In 1941, Sleeping-Car Porters Union president, A. Phillip Randolph, threatened a massive march on Washington.