Women's Work In The First World War Essay

Between 1914 and 1918, hundreds of British factories altered their functions to make munitions. Over 890,000 women – teenagers, wives, mothers, even grandmothers – joined the two million already working in factories. They filled the gaps left by volunteer and later conscripted servicemen, many taking on jobs once believed to be too strenuous for women. They worked long days in physically demanding, repetitive tasks, but also enjoyed contributing to the war effort and the camaraderie of working in a team, perhaps for the first time. Although these women were doing vital war work, not everyone welcomed them. Trade unions felt that the presence of women workers, who were almost always paid much less than men (sometimes less than half for doing exactly the same job), might reduce wages generally. People even worried about women’s work clothing, in particular that they were starting to wear trousers instead of impractical long, trailing skirts. ( Heyman,1997)
Even though many women were in high demand for industries where previously men were dominant, long-established feminine jobs were still common during the war. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Seattle Times had a full listing of open positions for general housework and other general domestic jobs. The war actually created more …show more content…
The armed forces accepted women into non-combat roles, supporting troops as nurses, cooks and administrative assistants. Organizations, such as YMCA, Red Cross, and the Salvation Army sent women to Europe to help the service men. Professional women such as doctors were few and had a tough time being taken seriously. Doctor Mary Crawford a female physician forged her own pass to service in World War I. Women who served in the military during World War I did not find it easy. All citizens were urged to conserve because so much was needed to support the war effort. These changing roles were all very new to the women.