Women Before Ww2 Essay

The end of World War II is often viewed as a great turning point in society. The United Nations was created in October 1945, there was an economic boom for many countries until the 1970’s, and a fairly sustained level of peace was maintained in the world. This time of acceptance and change was not, however, extended to all individuals of society. The women of Britain throughout World War II were welcomed into the workforce in a variety of different ways; both in peacetime as well as wartime jobs. However, when looking at the roles of women before the war in comparison with after, it can be found that there was very little change in their status within society once the men returned from war, contrary to the treatment of women during the war and the importance placed on them in terms of propaganda. The roles of women before, during, and …show more content…
The 1919 Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act stated that, despite their contributions towards the war effort, women were to be removed from their jobs in order to make room for the returning soldiers. With increased female unemployment, women were encouraged to return to their domestic lives and to leave the higher paying jobs for the men. During the war, a guarantee was made to unions that if a woman had fully replaced a skilled man, then she would be paid the same amount of money as he had been. However, this agreement was only in place for the duration of the war; meaning it would be reversed once the war ceased. Women were however better educated than they had previously been, with girls being educated to the age of 14, and did occasionally have the opportunity to go to university in order to get higher paying jobs; however, this was far more difficult and uncommon than it would be for a man to enter training for more professional fields. In addition, the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919 made it illegal to deny a woman a job based solely on gender. This