Role of Women in World War I

An increase in the the importance of women

World War I was a time for women to increase their opportunities and be of more importance. opportunity to prove themselves in a male-dominated society. Rather than being limited to house-work and tending to the children,

women started getting jobs. (large gap in employment due to men going off to war)

World War I allowed women to have some of the more skillful opportunities that we have today

By 1917: - 68% of women had changed their job since the war began

- 22% of women that were unemployed in 1914 now had work - 16% of women had moved out of domestic service

Jobs of Women in World War I Nurses Munitions factory workers largest single employer of

women during 1918 Sewing bandages Postal workers Selling war bonds, shipyards, and spies The Women’s Royal Air Force was created, which is where

women worked on planes as mechanics

However…

Women received lower wages for doing the same work which began some of the earliest demands for equal pay

Click on picture

After reading Primary Source: “Womens Appeal to Women”

Reflection: Who is writing this? Who are they speaking for? What is being stated as “unfair” in this document? What is being stated as the “women’s tasks” in this document? What are the women directly asking for? Opinion: Do you believe that it is fair for the women during

this time period to be working the same jobs as men and still being paid less? Why?

(Answer Key at end of slideshow)

Women go on Strike

When soldiers returned home from war, women either lost their job to make room for the returning soldiers or they

worked alongside the men, but at a lower wage rate. Even before the war, many women refused to accept lower pay for what in most

cases was the same work that was previously done by men. Caused women to go on strike in 1918, women on London buses and trams went

on strike to demand the same pay as men. This was the first equal pay strike in the UK

Following this strike and many others: a committee was set up by the War Cabinet in 1917 to examine the women’s wages and released it’s final report after the war ended…

War Cabinet: A committee formed by the government during wartime, usually made up of senior politicians and military figures

Report of the War Cabinet Committee on Women in Industry 1919

This declared the principle of “equal pay for equal work” Their expectation was that due to women’s “lesser strength and special

health problems”, women’s ‘output’ would not be equal to men. The unions received guarantees that women who had fully replaced

skilled men and could do the same work at the same efficiency level would be paid the same as the men

It was made clear that these changes were for the duration of the war and it would go back to how it was when the war ended and the soldiers came back

Women who worked at home for World War I

At home, there were many jobs that women had, but most worked in ammunition factories dealing with explosive chemicals, including sulphur. This was a very dangerous job and women worked in very poor working conditions.

Sulphur would often cause the skin to turn a yellowish color and it damaged the lungs. Around 400 women died from this.

A factory manager quoted, “Women were seen as quick learners and that in some departments they are more efficient than men, although those departments have been employing men exclusively for years.”

Women also had to take over the farm work. An organization was created that was called the Women's Land Army. These women were paid 18 shillings a week and had to keep the farms goingWomen often received a lot less and usually half the wage of men.

Women who worked away from home

During the war, some women took the dangerous task of working behind the scenes of the war zone by being nurses. There were 2 main nursing organization the women worked in

during the war. The VAD Voluntary Aid Detachment and FANY First Aid Nursing

Yeomanry-VAD’s were unpaid volunteers who had simple training

and could only provide basic medical treatment to wounded soldiers-FANY nurses did “less glamorous” work such as disposing of bodies and

more complex medical treatments Many nurses were wounded during World War I and some died

Continued…

Other women were in action, with men, fighting in the Navy and Army.

13,000 women joined the Navy and the Marine Corps The enlisted women were given the same uniform, insignia, and status as men Some women worked in the Air Force, however they were overlooked and

their accomplishments were not acknowledged. A large number of women disguised themselves as men in order to fight.

Answer KEY

1. Workers’ National Committee. They are speaking for the employed women during World War I.2. That women doing the same work as men and are not receiving the same rate of pay.3. Suffering from sorrow for the loss of their men in battle, caring for children, preserving their strength to raise children, and men’s jobs 4. To be treated equally as men and receive the same wages for the same work as men. 5. Answers will vary

Citations

http://thbestaboutworldwar1.weebly.com/the-role-women-had-in-ww1.html

http://www.striking-women.org/module/women-and-work/world-war-i-1914-1918