A Change In The Workforce, A Change In Society.
Since US. and British men were currently in war,women had to take on a number of traditionally male roles. Their ability to do this led to a change in attitudes.
From the beginnings of the war 3.2 million women were in employment. This had risen to 5 million by the end of the war.
Here is some facts to get an idea of the change..
What Jobs Did Women Have?
During WWI over 6 million men enlisted to go and fight overseas, when they left their jobs had to be filled, so women had to take over these jobs, women had many well-known roles such as nurses, factory workers, sewing bandages, and selling war bonds, shipyards and spies. The Women's Royal Air Force was created during this, which is where women worked on planes as mechanics. By 1917 68% of women had changed jobs since the war began, 16% had moved out of domestic service, 22% that were unemployed in 1914 now had work, and 23% had changed to different factories.
The first nurses of the war went to help the troops overseas.They helped out in hospitals, hospital ships and hospital tents and worked in bad conditions. A nurses duties were much more difficult than being a housewife or stay at home mom. They didn’t have many resources or much equipment, and had to work at a quick rate and work with the demands of war. Women suffered as much traumatized as the next male soldier. All the battle wounds and deaths can traumatize . Soldiers went through tough times in terrible conditions on the battlefields, but what about the women that were left behind? For those women that had been left behind by a son, their husband, brothers, fathers, or friends, they were constantly waiting for their return.
What Happened After The War?
1919, a year after the war, the federal woman suffrage amendment, originally written by Susan B. Anthony and introduced in congress in 1878, is passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is then sent to the states for ratification.
1920 The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women.
1920 August 26 The 19th amendment to the constitution granting women the right to vote.
Did WW1 Change Women's Rights?
Yes, but the change was not immediate. World War one was a stepping stone to the rights of women. WW1 gave women the attitude and the idea that they can do what men do. Nowadays women's rights is still a large topic of change, though we can say a lot has changed from before world war 1.
From the beginnings of the war 3.2 million women were in employment. This had risen to 5 million by the end of the war.
Here is some facts to get an idea of the change..
- 200,000 women took up jobs in governmental departments.
- 500,000 took up clerical positions in private offices.
- 250,000 worked on in agricultural positions.
- 700,000 women took up posts in the munitions industry, which was dangerous work.
- Many more women did hard heavy work, including ship building and furnace stoking. These types of jobs had excluded women prior to the war.
What Jobs Did Women Have?
During WWI over 6 million men enlisted to go and fight overseas, when they left their jobs had to be filled, so women had to take over these jobs, women had many well-known roles such as nurses, factory workers, sewing bandages, and selling war bonds, shipyards and spies. The Women's Royal Air Force was created during this, which is where women worked on planes as mechanics. By 1917 68% of women had changed jobs since the war began, 16% had moved out of domestic service, 22% that were unemployed in 1914 now had work, and 23% had changed to different factories.
The first nurses of the war went to help the troops overseas.They helped out in hospitals, hospital ships and hospital tents and worked in bad conditions. A nurses duties were much more difficult than being a housewife or stay at home mom. They didn’t have many resources or much equipment, and had to work at a quick rate and work with the demands of war. Women suffered as much traumatized as the next male soldier. All the battle wounds and deaths can traumatize . Soldiers went through tough times in terrible conditions on the battlefields, but what about the women that were left behind? For those women that had been left behind by a son, their husband, brothers, fathers, or friends, they were constantly waiting for their return.
What Happened After The War?
1919, a year after the war, the federal woman suffrage amendment, originally written by Susan B. Anthony and introduced in congress in 1878, is passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is then sent to the states for ratification.
1920 The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women.
1920 August 26 The 19th amendment to the constitution granting women the right to vote.
Did WW1 Change Women's Rights?
Yes, but the change was not immediate. World War one was a stepping stone to the rights of women. WW1 gave women the attitude and the idea that they can do what men do. Nowadays women's rights is still a large topic of change, though we can say a lot has changed from before world war 1.
"Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less."
- Susan B. Anthony
Want to learn more?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_World_Wars http://www.warandgender.com/wgwomwwi.htm http://newhistories.group.shef.ac.uk/wordpress/wordpress/blurring-the-lines-world-war-one-and-the-dismantling-of-the-victorian-gender-order-in-britain/ http://ww1facts.net/people/women-in-ww1/ http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html |
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