Empowerment And Equality: Women In World War I

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Empowerment and Equality: Women in World War I Kawelo Tsuneyoshi History of the Modern World January 23, 2023 On June 28, 1914, the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist marked the beginning of the Great War, also known as World War I. This outbreak would cause a ripple effect, leading to a series of declarations of war and ultimately resulting in significant social, political, and economic changes for women in England, Germany, and Russia. Despite the conflict between the contending countries, the experiences women endured in the war were both similar and vastly different in many countries. Women experienced social and political changes that were largely similar in England and Germany, …show more content…

However, economic changes were vastly different in Russia and Germany, with Germany experiencing a boost in female labor participation and Russia plagued with economic collapse leading to a decline in women's economic participation. Social changes for women in World War I were vastly similar in Germany and England, where women concluded that they should get equality because they worked traditionally male dominated jobs. In England, women “felt the bitterness of being “kept out”; they are feeling the exhilaration of being brought in.” This quote means since the women's husbands were away in war, they felt the need to fill in the roles men had. The quote also states being “brought in”, which refers to women in male dominated jobs, being able to work in factories, farms, and in the military. In addition to women working male dominated jobs in England, women in Germany …show more content…

In Russia and England, women participated in the war by working in factories, farms, and the military. After the experiences women went through in the male related jobs in England, women started “realizing our responsibilities as the mothers of the race, cannot stand passive by. Powerless though we are politically…” This quote indicates that women are starting to realize their own capabilities and are tired of being controlled, which is why they are taking a stand for equality. Women were also rooting for equality in Russia, which they did not want to be controlled. This was shown by the Organization of Women Workers in which they stated, “The day when working women break ancient bonds of submission, slavery…joins the ranks of the international proletariat for the struggle with common enemy-capitalism.” This quote implies that women in Russia are also rooting for the same equality as men because they are tired of being controlled by the capital. In all, women in Russia and England are both tired of being controlled by men and the government, so women are taking action and fighting for the common goal of equality. Although there were many similar political changes in Russia and England, there were also many differences in economic change in Russia and