Preview

Women's Role In World War 1 Essay

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1503 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Women's Role In World War 1 Essay
Before World War I, women typically played the role of the homemaker. Women were judged by their beauty rather than by their ability. Their position and status were directed towards maintaining the annual duties of the family and children. These duties consisted of cleaning and caring for the house, caring for the young, cooking for the family, maintaining a yard, and sewing clothing for all. Women had worked in textile industries and other industries as far back as 1880, but had been kept out of heavy industries and other positions involving any real responsibility. Just before the war, women began to break away from the traditional roles they had played.
During World War I, women worked in almost every field of industry. Women were replacing men's job such as railroad workers, auto drivers, and other machine operators. One newspaper noted that 4,000 women were working for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Some women track workers also maintained the roadbed of the Pennsylvania Railroad …show more content…
In World War I, women played a vital role in keeping soldiers equipped with ammunition and in many senses they kept the nation moving through their help in various industries. With so many young men volunteering to join the army, and with so many casualties in the war, a space was created in employment and women were called on to fill these gaps. World War I was to prove a turning point for women. Before the war, women had no economic power at all. By the end of the war, women had proved that they were just as important to the war effort as men had been. Women found employment in transportation including the railroads and driving cars, ambulances, and trucks, nursing, factories making ammunition, on farms in the Women's Land Army, in shipyards, etc. Before the war, these jobs had been for men only with the exception of
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Women's Role In Ww1 Research Paper
    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Women's Role In Ww1 Research Paper

    A typical day for women: Wake up, cook, feed children, clean, teach children, clean, cook, sleep, while their husbands were off at work making money to support his and his wife 's family. That all changed once World War One started and the men were conscripted into the war leaving, the wife 's at home to do all of their normal tasks, as well as what the men used to do; providing for the family.…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Women's Roles During Ww1
    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Women's Roles During Ww1

    World War 1 was a pivotal event that affected Canada in many ways. Not only for the men that fought for their country, but also for the thousands of women that contributed behind the soldiers of the front lines. It was a heavy change for them; going from dependant housewife to being employed at some of the largest industries and factories. World War 1 was centered on Europe and began in the summer of 1914 (Wikipedia). That summer changed the lives of many families in Europe, and all over the world. Men were forced to leave their homes and families behind and fight for their countries. In result of the men’s absence, women had the opportunity to take the available jobs. It was a major step in the history of women,…

    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Women's Role In Ww2 Essay
    • 1810 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Women's Role In Ww2 Essay

    Later after America got more involved in the war, women started taking a bigger part. They took different roles in the army, combatant and noncombatant, in which they served the rest of the troops. Not only did they get involved in the army, women also took a role in the industry. They helped produce many weapons, uniforms, boots, and parachutes. In communities women got involved in volunteer organizations and critical jobs. Without the women in communities, there would not have been a nuclear ‘era’ and advance weapons would not have been made. The United States and it allies’ victory was made possible through the many roles that women took. Without women serving, getting involved in production, and organizing volunteer organizations and taking roles in critical jobs, the outcome of the war would have been…

    • 1810 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What did women do in world war 1
    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What did women do in world war 1

    As men left jobs to fight overseas, they were replaced by women. Women filled many jobs brought into existence by wartime needs. As a result the number of women employed increased from 3,224,600 in July, 1914 to 4,814,600 in January 1918. Nearly 200,000 women were employed in government departments. Half a million became clerical workers in private offices. Women worked as conductors on trams and buses. A quarter of a million worked on the land. The greatest increase of women workers was in engineering. Over 700,000 of these women worked in the highly dangerous munitions industry. Industries that had previously excluded women now welcomed them. There was a particular demand for women to do heavy work such as unloading coal, stoking furnaces and building ships. Women moved into the labour force to fill this need. During World War I, for example, thousands of women worked in munitions factories, offices and large hangars used to build aircrafts. Of course women were also involved in knitting socks and preparing hampers for the soldiers on the front, as well as other voluntary work, but as a matter of survival women had to work for paid employment for the sake of their families.…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Women's Role In World War I
    • 94 Words
    • 1 Page

    Women's Role In World War I

    In WWI women are usually not recognized as much as the soldiers were but the women did in fact play a large role in the war. Women did as much as they could to support the war such as work in factories and other war industries. Unlike other countries the women of Italy were paid for working under terrible conditions. Many women were picking up what the men had left behind. Women were employed as railroad ticket agents, street sweepers, and telegraph operators. Women actually were the ones who devised the Italian gas masks.…

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Women's Roles During Ww2
    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Women's Roles During Ww2

    Entering the war drastically changed the United States economy, and the nation immediately demanded more from its men and women. Since women's participation in the war effort was essential for an Allied victory, gender roles were dramatically altered, at least temporarily. While some women joined the new female branches of the military, many of those who stayed at home went to work in factories and filled other traditionally male jobs while their husbands, fathers, boyfriends, brothers, and sons left to fight. Many women who did not fight or work for pay chose to volunteer their time and energies for the war effort. Minnesota women participated a great deal in the home front war effort. Women worked in the shipyards in Duluth and on Lake Superior and as streetcar conductors for the Twin Cities Rapid Transit Company. They also worked on farms to replace their husbands and the hired workers who had gone to fight. Wives and daughters were often left in charge of family farms when their husbands and fathers were drafted. Although only one-third of the state's adult female population was employed during the war, the two-thirds that were not employed found other ways to assist the war effort. Among many volunteer activities, women offered their services to the Red Cross and the Office of Civilian Defense,…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Explain how women's lives were affected by WW1 in Britain.
    • 1238 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Explain how women's lives were affected by WW1 in Britain.

    Jobs in the war occupied by women mainly consisted of working in munitions factories. Source A3…

    • 1238 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Assess the social impact of the Second World War on women and ethnic minorities in the United States.
    • 1043 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Assess the social impact of the Second World War on women and ethnic minorities in the United States.

    Until the United States became involved in World War II, women were primarily confined to domestic duties. With the Great Depression affecting the lives of all American families prior to the war, there were not enough jobs for women and men to fill, and thus men received priority when jobs were being filled. Once many men left the United States to fight the war, however, women were able to fill jobs that were now vacant. Women were soon found commonly in industrial positions, as searchlight workers, and nurses in the military. One important political figure during World War II was Rosie the Riveter, who was portrayed as a buff-looking woman who represented female factory workers during this time period. This was an important figure for the United States because it convinced women to apply for jobs that were previously considered “man’s work”, in order to secure a paycheck and support the nation’s wartime…

    • 1043 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Discuss The Effects Of The Civil War On African American Women
    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Discuss The Effects Of The Civil War On African American Women

    Most women were denied jobs due to the fact that the majority of men believed their masculinity was being diminished. Regardless of one’s race or class, a woman’s most important job was household work. The majority of women from all ethnic groups had to perform some sort of field labor, and they made up a significant portion of the labor force prior to World War…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Important Was the Role of Women During Wwi
    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Important Was the Role of Women During Wwi

    The early rush of volunteers and later the conscription of men led to a shortage of manpower on the home front. Women, already working in munitions factories were encouraged to take on jobs normally done by men.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Women S Roles In World War One
    • 1078 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Women S Roles In World War One

    “Nearly 1,600,000 women joined the work force between 1914 and 1918 in hospitals, public transportation, post offices, as land workers, as telephone operators, in factories etc.” (www.warandgender.com) But most importantly many women took on the dangerous jobs in ammunition factories, which were employing 950,000 women by Armistice Day.…

    • 1078 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Women's Rights In The 1920s
    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Women's Rights In The 1920s

    World War One opened many jobs that needed to be done. At the time, men were at war so they couldn't do all their regular jobs. So women stepped up to the plate. They worked in factories making guns, became auto mechanics, printers, farmers, and even worked in lumber camps. More than two million women started working, setting an instant record on the amount of working women. But as you know, wars don’t go on forever, and the men started coming home. Business dropped like a rock. America no longer needed guns, or biplanes, or as much food. Previously working women were booted out of their jobs to make room for the incoming men. According to The Washington Journey, chapter six, page 150, men said that “women should stay home and give the jobs to the men.” Men decided women should just stay home, doing all the chores and making food, instead of having an actual…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Women in World War One
    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Women in World War One

    World War One dramatically transformed the lives of women in Britain. From a social and industrial aspect, women were given chances that they believed would never arise. From the years 1914 to 1918, the lifestyles of women were indeed turned upside down, as they were employed into a large, differentiating pool of jobs, their sense of freedom and independence increased. Due to the large numbers of men who were starting to leave to serve their part in the War, a lot of jobs were abandoned, and employing women to pursue those jobs was the only option. Although at these times women were only considered useful at the home, caring for their family by cleaning and cooking, the circumstances that followed with World War One gave women an opportunity to prove how they can contribute to society even more so than just caring for their homes.…

    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Status Of Women Essay
    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Status Of Women Essay

    To begin with, social gains had an impact on the status of women during the interwar years. The role of the mother had the most dramatic change during economic boom since it made the life of housewives very easy (Prentice, 2004). Revolutionized home appliances, widespread use of electricity and corner streets reduced work for women and made everyday activities a bit convenient for women. Inventions like these, helped women have more time for themselves and for their family and friends. Women constantly didn’t have to work for the entire day without some leisure time,…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Women In Ww2 Essay
    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Women In Ww2 Essay

    After the United States entered World War II women were needed to run the factories but most factories were reluctant to hire women because the work that needed to be done was thought to be work that only a man could do. Factories waited until there was no one left to hire but women. Eventually more than six million women entered the work force (Bailey33). When women entered the work force the conditions of factories improved greatly.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More