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Changes In Australian Women's Roles Post Ww1

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The Australian Women’s Role Post-World War One The role of women changed dramatically due to World War One (WW1). The reason for this is that whilst the men were at war fighting for Australia, the women took their place and kept things running smoothly, therefore calling attention to each woman's capability to accomplish more than being a housewife. Throughout the following exploration, the drastic change brought to the role of women in contemporary society as the result of WW1. This change occurred due to a variety of causes. Firstly, society began to realise women could do what men could do just as well. Another was that women wanted to step in and help their country wherever possible. Lastly was when the women in this era gained …show more content…

This was shown when it was proved that Women could do what men could do just as well. As a large portion of men left Australia to fight, many jobs crucial to Australia’s sustainability were left without people to fill them. As a result of this, women were given the opportunity to fill what most people in this era would call a “man’s job”, this advanced the position of women in society as it offered them a sense of independence. The popularly used poster titled “Join us in a victory job” (illustrated by Bramley Maurice), was used to promote the notion of working to Australian women. It gives the audience of Australian women a positive impression on the subject and encourages them to sign up for a “victory job”. Women were taken out of nurturing roles such as teaching, nursing etc. to fill the jobs that traditionally only men would fill. The rise in working Australian women meant that after the war, the womens’ rights that were in place at the time were questioned, therefore showing the Australian population that women could do what men could do just as …show more content…

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. The fight for equality is an ongoing battle for women even in the contemporary society but has improved substantially due to

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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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This essay is about how Women’s role has changed during World War II. Women were encouraged by the government to enlist in the Army as nurses or as workers since most men were overseas and this created new opportunities for women. In this essay we’ll discuss about three events, women’s participation in military services, salary increase and why nurses were permitted overseas. Australian women had many responsibilities during World War 2.

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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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While men went away, many women started to take on traditionally male roles in society. This is shown by a record of a letter written to Mary Jane Derrer on her receiving a Medal of Honour for her work as a nurse in the army. (“Nurse Awarded the Military Medal | Naa.gov.au,” 2024). In this time women were seen as weak or uncapable but as the war went on women started to help the war aid by becoming nurses and healing the wounded men as well as helping to find men missing in action. Vera Deakin was one of these women who worked for the Red Cross and helped to find many men who were MIA in the war.

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Good morning/afternoon Mrs Jansen, Mr Cralwey and class. Prime Minister and human rights advocate, Gough Whitlam, led government into labour during his term from December 5 1972 until his dismissal on December 11 1975. He went on to change Australia through a wide-ranging reform program. He especially influenced society alongside his endless supply of boldness and tenacity, not to mention his aspiration to lead the nation into good hands. Introducing indigenous rights and abolishing discrimination was one of the many legislations Whitlam put forward.

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The first women in Australian that were able to vote were in South Australia, in 1895 , and quickly, other states and territories followed. This leap in women’s rights changed Australia into a nation of equality, and moved the nation into the next stage of cultural independence. Vida Goldstein was a Victorian citizen who followed in her mother’s footsteps in becoming a social reformer and a suffragist. She was firmly encouraged by her parents to become educated and independent, and this led her to become the leader in Victoria for women’s equality. She was an excellent public speaker, and this enabled her to grasp her audience and effect and change their opinions on women’s equality.

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From the 1st of September 1939 to the 2nd of September 1945, life in Australia experienced drastic change. These six years and one day were the catalyst for a radical shift in Australian women’s place in society, ultimately leading to their emancipation from previous roles. The Second World War was instrumental in the liberation of Australian women as their shift away from traditional roles, improved financial equality and increased military participation led to empowerment and new freedoms. The most prominent of these factors in the liberation of Australian women was their emancipation from previous roles. World War Two catalysed the empowerment of women through their emancipation from previous roles in society.

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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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Pugh claims that ‘People had simply changed their minds in the sense that male prejudice against women had melted in face of revelations about their capabilities during wartime and their contribution to war effort’. Pugh’s view has somewhat strong validity because women were able to move away from stereotypical roles as they took on male jobs and endured the horrible work conditions and pay - this helped support their country showing patriotism and shifting society’s mindset. This can be supported as on factories and farms it was usually calculated that it would need three women to do the work of two men. Statistics support this claim as the number of women employed was between 1-2 million, this was impacted by the help of the Women’s War Register providing employment. However, not all views were changed as some employers made agreements with unions promising to protect skilled men’s jobs after the war; portraying traditional views of women were still present - they were still expected of maintaining their ‘wife and mother’ role.

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783 Words | 4 Pages

During the War many things had to change in order for the country to survive and function. With so many of the able bodied men off fighting in the war women had to take things into their own hands in order to get things done and many of them did. Many women with their husbands and family members gone to help provide for their family and assist the war effort worked in war factories and did other jobs that were usually viewed as just for men. The jobs that many women took

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818 Words | 4 Pages

What about the rest of the women in the home front? These women back in Australia had been majorly impacted by the war. Since the war had taken away the brothers, fathers, sons, and uncles of these Australian women, it was up to these women to continue working, harvesting, running and supporting Australia through this period of time. The war had forced women become more than mothers, taking on tasks such as harvesting and working in factories on top of running a family, making their lives a lot harder. To support their soldiers in the war, these women began creating different parties to fundraise money and support the men at war, such as Red Cross and Advance Guard.

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704 Words | 3 Pages

Australia became known as a workingman’s paradise at the turn of the twentieth century, however, for a large majority of the population Australia was far from a paradise. Due to their rejection of the British class system, and the instalment of the eight hour working day and a basic wage Australians believed themselves to be an egalitarian society with equal opportunities. And this much was true, for the working class, white male. For the rest of the population, the women, children and non-Europeans life was a different story. For them, Australia was not the workingman’s paradise it claimed to be.

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Many portray the 1920s as a time of lighthearted leisure and prosperity. When in fact this period consisted of significant economic , social and cultural conflicts. Technological innovations sparked the economy and life post war was significantly different with the introduction to what we know as the “New women” the new women also sparked many social conflicts. Along with the New women tension between religion and science also sparked many important conflicts during the time we know as the Jazz Age.

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The Eureka Stockade was the key event in the development of Australian democracy and Australian identity. It was the first time Australians struck back on unfair rules and laws and actually got what they wanted. The rebellion was caused by the Goldfield workers (the diggers) who were opposed to the governments miners' licences. The licences being a simple way for the government to receive taxes from the diggers. Every digger had to pay the fees even if they did not find any gold, and after a while with no profit, it became very hard for people to pay.

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Before WWI, women were restricted to traditionally feminine jobs. Their work was considered inferior and they were paid less than men. However, once WWI began, women were able to integrate themselves into a variety of different workforces. Since most men were off to serve in the military and navy, women that stayed behind replaced their positions in factories and other industries. Other women worked closely with the military as nurses or even soldiers.

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