It was a common misconception known in the early days of Australia, that a woman's main purpose was to grow and care for a family. Nevertheless, throughout Australian history, roles and status in womanhood transformed to a great extent, especially during WWI and WWII. During this time, women’s empowerment strengthened and therefore changed the lives of many women in the past and modern society. Roles and status before WWI: Before WWI, women fulfilled roles such as mothers, wives, nurses and teachers, general jobs for women to have at the time. Compared to modern society, opportunities were vastly restricted, as women were considered to be “incapable” of the workforce. In the first half of the nineteenth century, most women spent their days …show more content…
Eventually, women were introduced to the labour market, soon enough taking up jobs such as police officers and doctors, as well as manufacturing and agricultural positions. This image displaying ‘Women at work during the First World War’(c.1914-1918) was taken by Nicholls Horace, a woman in the mechanic force during WWI. She is lying on the ground, repairing a tyre with a spanner. As this job was originally considered a men’s job, it accurately depicts the extent of changes made in women’s roles. By playing a significant part in society, once dominated by men, women gradually earned a place in the association by managing valuable roles. Consequently, this heavily impacted the Women's suffrage movement, as more women were recognised in the labour force. Inevitably, gender norms were challenged, allowing women’s empowerment to …show more content…
They took over male-dominated industries and some were sent overseas along with the men to provide support in the war. Many civilian nurses and teachers volunteered overseas, in hopes of supporting the men and victims of the war. An example is Coral Nancy Hinds, an Australian woman who assisted in the war as a codebreaker. In an interview in 2021, she recalled, “My father rode his bike all around town to find me work and I got a job at a homemade cake shop”. This passage depicts the significant extent that WWII had on women’s roles by giving a comparison of how significantly one’s roles and status could