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Australian Women Vs Ww1 Research Paper

814 Words4 Pages

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

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However, three big things that Australian women changed are participation in military services, education to work in skilled employment and transformation of attitudes and beliefs of society. For the first time of World War 2, Australian women were being asked to do men’s jobs, either in Services or in industry. They participated in military services. The women were recruited to many jobs which could previously have been considered too physically hard for them, for example engineers, mechanics, etc.

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The dangers of working in factories gave a great perspective of what it was like to do a man’s job, but women weren’t afraid. They desired equality and

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Australian women had a very broad range of duties and responsibilities during World War II. Their roles also changed a lot for a long time during 1939 to 1945. There are some factors that show how their roles changed. These factors are participation in military services, education to work in skilled employment and transformation of attitudes and beliefs of society.

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The role of women in Australian society started to change as a result of the war effort during World War II as their domestic roles were replaced by male dominating ones. On the home front, women dealt with the consequences of war – managing children and family responsibilities alone, shortages of resources, as well as their fears for the future, and the grief and trauma of losing loved ones. Australian women rose to the challenge of war by volunteering their services when manpower was limited and all Australians were needed to help sustain a functioning war economy.

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Women contributions to the workforce rose from 24% in 1914 to 37% in 1918. Women had to take over all of the men’s jobs, the physical and financial burden of caring for families. These jobs included farming, deliveries, weaponry work, printing, teaching and shop assistants. The years during the war 1914-1918 were extremely busy and stressful for both the women and the children. Women’s organisations became very active during the time of the war.

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969 Words | 4 Pages

To face this threat all Australian, ‘men, women and children, were urged to put their backs into the war effort,’ (Ww2australia.gov.au, 2014). One of the biggest changes women had to undergo was their new role in working industries, which had previously been male-dominate areas. School children tried to help as much as they could, collecting anything that could be recycled to use for the war effort, such as newspaper and old tires. It wasn’t long until the Australian government stepping, putting in various controls, such as the National Security Act. This act enabled the Australian Government to take over and control nearly everything.

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878 Words | 4 Pages

This evoked a large response from a group of “working women” that were not willing to leave the workforce to resume their past roles as housewives, proving that women in this time wanted to work and gain a sense of personal independence . This was because it opened up many more opportunities in every aspect of their lives. This further developed Australia’s ultimate view on women, their ambitions and abilities.. As shown in the photograph of a protest in Sydney, Parliament House in 1972 ( a substantial amount of time after WW1) although women were being given the opportunity to work during WW1, they were still not being treated with equality in terms of pay etc; even after an extensive period of time after WW1. This caused women to protest constantly following WW1 and revealed the longing women had to contribute to the sustainability of Australia through working.

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In addition to this, unions of the time also continued this movement as predominantly male trade unions began to accept female members. (Fieldes, 2013) This left-wing source possesses bias that places disproportionate emphasis on the importance of unionisation, yet still remains relevant. However, this movement towards liberation experienced widespread traditionalist opposition, one such man writing to the Argus, “Would they [women] not be better fitted for jobs too often held by men in the city shops?” (Guthrie, 1941, pg 7) Despite aforementioned opposition, the movement for equal pay and opportunity for women flourished. Women were greatly liberated from previous roles during World War Two as their increased financial equality allowed for greater freedoms, including the foundation of auxiliary

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Australian women in World War One (WWI) played a great role both behind the front lines as nurses and also on the home front, taking the place of many men who were at the war. Women at this time were split into four groups, 'Ordinary women ', 'working-class ', educated women ' and the 'married working-class ', all of which impacted the soldiers lives whether it be from house hold duties, to working as a nurse at the war. The Australian women involved themselves in WWI leaving a large impact on the soldiers lives. These women were very rarely recognised for their great contribution to war.

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Women's roles were extremely crucial during WW2, and they demonstrated this in numerous ways during the duration of the war, although men played an equally important part. Australian women played a pivotal role in their contribution to the Auxiliary defense services during WW2. Before the war, nursing was the only service women could join, although, when the men had to go serve in the war, it allowed women to join a variety of defense services due to the vacancy of spots. In 1941 women were able to join the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) where they could work and maintain aircraft, operate radars and drive trucks. They could also join the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) where they worked as secretaries to admirals,

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Traditionally, women have been boxed to perform solely within the domestic spheres of their private homes, including cooking, cleaning, and housekeeping (“The Emergence of “Women’s Sphere””). However, with the United States War Manpower Commission’s illustration of women wielding hammers, carrying pipes, and managing operations, it becomes apparent that women from that time are challenging the conventional gender notions by involving themselves in manual labor. From these images, the shift in women’s roles is emphasized in its depiction of women being capable of doing and succeeding in work outside their homes. Moreover, the poster’s message “There's work to be done and a war to be won...now!” acts to persuade women to join the workforce, which allows them to simultaneously contribute to the war effort.

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1395 Words | 6 Pages

With the implementation of the ‘National Security Act’ it was a necessity to have men back home capable of some of the more labour enforced duties that women were incapable of completing. These reserved occupations were manufacturing and farming, which included the need to construct vital wartime infrastructure and military buildings (such as ports, aerodromes and munitions). Although men played a highly important role on the Second World War, without the help of all the women involved at home, the Australian economy would’ve fallen

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1406 Words | 6 Pages

During the Second World War, after many of the men left to join the battle overseas, women were once again given the task of running the nation, and in order to do so they took over traditionally ‘masculine’ jobs, such as working in munitions bunkers, and on farms. By doing so, women were able to keep the economy running, which helped pay for war efforts and even provided the nation with more jobs. Contrary to WWI, women were now encouraged to take on more jobs directly related to the ongoing war. For instance, on the home front, an approximation of 35 000 women were working in munitions factories, making the artillery for the soldiers. Not to mention, for the first time in Canadian history, new positions in the military such as Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRENS) and the Women Division (WD) in The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) were created so that women were able to contribute more towards the war efforts.

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894 Words | 4 Pages

The war had provided a variety of employment opportunities for women and the most common job for women was at home, working in factories and filling in positions for their husbands, fathers, and brothers in their absence. Although the highest demand for workers were in previously male-dominated

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964 Words | 4 Pages

The Nineteenth Century, as known as the Victorian Age, “was an age where the impact of the industrial revolution caused a sharp differentiation between the gender roles, especially of the upper and middle classes” (Radek, 2001, para. 1). Males and females were thought to have separate societal duties based on gender differences. Male’s duty was to the public sphere and women’s duties were confined to the privacy of the home. During the nineteenth century, the advanced female status started to emerge through with the rise in female education and women’s rights. Kathryn Hughes’s article, Gender roles in the 19th century, introduces us to the fact that, in the past, gender roles were not so heavily revered upon.

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