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.
When the men went off to fight in World War II, women took over their jobs to aid the war effort by joining organisations which allowed the men to be recruited into the war as soldiers.
For the
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Some of the “big knobs” who wouldn’t look once, now swapped recipes with you as we all waited in the queue.”
(Australian Women at War, 1984, pg 340)
Women continued home gardening to raise funds and morale and feed local communities and families during the war.
Women’s roles in Australia changed drastically because they were becoming financially independent which gave them freedom that was a major benefit to them and their families.
It changed as the women became the financial heads of the financial heads of their household with the men away at war.
There was a lot of tensions and doubt with the women’s new jobs, and many thought that the women would be incapable of fulfilling their new tasks. They were under tremendous stress as they were dealing with the fear of their husbands, brothers, and other important men in their lives dying or coming home injured.
The jobs that the women were doing that were originally men’s jobs, they were getting paid around half of what the men got paid.
As one woman said:
“It was hard work and boring too. We worked for long hours and it was dirty and very, very noisy. We were always tired.”
(Coup, 1998, pg