ipl-logo

Roles In Ww2

1258 Words6 Pages

Through the organization by the British Red Cross and St. John of Jerusalem, voluntary aid was given to the soldiers who returned from the war as injured combatants. Nurses tended to their wounds in mansions that converted into an at home hospitals for the military casualties. Nurses experienced traumatic events while tending to the injured soldiers on the home front; but the nurses located on the war front experienced different tragedies. The nurses who aided injured soldiers in the war carried admirable qualities and the general public viewed these ladies as sentimental heroines. Due to the nurturing nature of nurses, these roles seemed fit for women as opposed to the munitions worker girls. Feminist icon Edith Cavell served as a professional …show more content…

The Women’s Voluntary Reserve was the most prominent military organization set up for women. The two main aims of the organization were: free men from the firing lines, and organize more succors for the helpless ones in the community. Work and training under the WVR included running canteens for soldiers, transporting the wounded, camp cooking, first aid, and monitoring. Furthermore, the women of the WVR structured themselves in organized khaki uniforms—a color associated for the sacrifice of the fallen soldier. Often facing excessive and exhausting work habits the women faced long days; but ultimately proved that they wanted to aid in the war as much as they possibly could. Though unpaid, these women left their comfort zones and redefined the social boundaries society had previously set. The volunteers that participated in the rallies of WVR in January 1915 consisted of 120 women; however, the organization showed an immediate rise in volunteers just two months later as 500 women marched through the streets of Birmingham . The immediate rise showed that women felt as if they had an obligation and a right to voice their concern, and through participating in these rallies they participated in war efforts. Though many organizations supported the war, a clear split existed on exactly how …show more content…

Through their contributions in various fields of work, women proved their worth to society. They did not only change their perspective of themselves, but also societies perspective on what women could do. After the war, women aimed for universal suffrage which was supported by the men who returned from the war. At the close of World War I, women received partial victory through the 1918 Representation of People Act that allowed British women over the age of 30 to vote . The exclusion of allowing the younger women to vote until 1928 showed the lack of equality as the younger women took up majority of the positions in industries, as nurses, and volunteeres in organizations during the war. This outnumbered the electoral system that allowed men over the age of 21 to vote, and showed the lack of true parity. Furthermore, the war brought a change in attitudes towards sexuality and equality that dramatically changed the British society. After the war, women were allowed to stand in the General Election. The Parliament Act of 1918 saw the election of the first female MP. Ironically, Countess Constance Markievics was elected to be a part of House of Commons and yet did not take her seat. The progression of the role of women in politics changed beyond recognition; however Markievicz refusal to take the seat in Parliament showed that some women still held the prewar traditional ideals. A third act of equal

Show More
Related
1365 Words | 6 Pages

The Civil War, fought mostly by men, is often referred to as the war of brother against brother. Although there were a few women who engaged in the battles alongside the men, the number was very small and their direct contribution to battle was probably not very significant. This is not to say that women were not important to the Civil War. Women were very influential in the national crisis and their contributions were arguably just as important as the male soldier’s on the battlefield. On both sides of the war, women employed their strength, intelligence, and compassion in the critical roles of abolitionists, civil right’s advocates, nurses and spies.

Read More
694 Words | 3 Pages

It was not uncommon for women at this time to work in factories with many working in ammunition factories. The women who worked in the ammunition factories played an important role in the war effort by doing some of the most important work (Kim). These women worked extremely hard and it was argued that they put their lives in danger almost as much as the men enlisted in the war. They worked long shifts, typically 10-12 hours a day, working with highly-explosive materials (Munitions Factories). Most, if not all, factory jobs required women to operate machinery which was heavy and dangerous, causing many injuries.

Read More
534 Words | 3 Pages

An important change in the role of Australian women was their participation in military services. In October 1940, the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force was established and quickly followed by the women’s Army and Navy forces. Women began to join in the military services and to work in these services. “They lived and worked under the same conditions as the men.” It was said by Lorna Byrne, who was a member of the AWAS (Australian Women’s Auxiliary Service).

Read More
1429 Words | 6 Pages

This was demonstrated by the increasing number of “women [that] participated in the workforce and by 1929 made up 20 percent of its numbers” (Dunn and West). A woman that played a significant role in getting women into politics was Agnes Macphail. She was the first woman to be elected to parliament in 1921 (Cecillon 151-152). Due to Agnes Macphail being appointed into parliament, politics started to take a shift, and women were being heard.

Read More
758 Words | 4 Pages

World War II was an eventful time both overseas and on the homefront. Men in the army toiled away fighting battles in the Pacific and Europe, and the war effort was just as strong at home. Industry was booming. Resources were conserved. Everyone was involved. !

Read More
1243 Words | 5 Pages

Women before the Civil War devoted their lives to making a clean and healthy home for their family. Women fighting for the Union organized ladies’ aid societies to supply the Union troops with anything they needed. They went door-to-door, held county fairs, and had performances to raise money for the war. They tried to find ways to help the soldiers on the front lines. They cared for the sick and injured soldiers as nurses in hospitals.

Read More
1002 Words | 5 Pages

Although the Australian Army Nursing Service was a viable occupation for women prior to WWII, few women were engaged in this service, as women needed a sufficient education and there was a strong push from the government for women to stay out of the workforce (State Library of Victoria, 2015). These sentiments underwent dramatic change during the war, with an increasing number of women contributing to the war and enjoying it. Sister Jane Tivey, a nurse on board the ship ‘Destroyer’ in WWII described this liberation, “On the Destroyer it was the most marvellous feeling… [even though] I hadn’t had a bath for five days and slept in my clothing” (Australian War Memorial, 2015). This was a common attitude for women of all ages as corroborated by sixteen year old Grace Wallace, a volunteer for the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) in WWII. Wallace denoted that times were tough, work was hard but the girls got on quite well together (Green Net, 2015).

Read More
1148 Words | 5 Pages

Firstly, during WWI, as a result of conscription through the Military Service Act in 1914 by PM Borden, in conjunction with many soldiers enlisting on their own terms, women were needed to fill roles previously dominated by men. From the perspective of women, that was a desirable change that increased the number of women in the workforce and expanded their roles beyond tradition, to include sales, factory work, and more. Moreover, the development of rights culminated in the Wartime Elections Act by PM Borden that allowed women with relations to soldiers to vote. This was particularly innovative at the time because prior to this, women were expected to perform only domestic tasks and were not able to vote. It was primarily necessity that prompted the development of rights in light of WWI.

Read More
227 Words | 1 Pages

On May 14, 1942, Congress approved the creation of a Women 's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), which was later discontinued by Roosevelt on July 1, 1943. It was not till 90 days later, that it was finalized and became an abandoned idea. The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) then took it’s place. These women’s jobs were to assist the men while at war, by doing the men’s desk work so they could go out and fight, and some women even flew planes. Women worked as stenographers clerk-typists, while officers would do jobs such as personnel, public information, logistics, and military justice.

Read More
1060 Words | 5 Pages

Despite the denouncing of a woman’s abilities, the French general, a political soldier of war has enhanced the status of women by stating “If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the allies would lose the war.” Most commonly, women’s roles in the armed services were clerical, meaning most women worked in office-based services. These services involved traditional men’s roles such as truck and ambulance drivers and intelligence officers. But the most crucial occupation of them all is the nursing of severely wounded soldiers in the battlefield. “I've been a soldier now for nearly three years, and please God I will go right to the end ...

Read More
1106 Words | 5 Pages

During the war. , women also got the opportunity to vote and their involvement is carried out through the Roaring Twenties. In 1921, Agnes Macphail was elected to the house of commons and was one of the first women to be elected to the Legislative assembly and also the main representative of her gender in politics for seventeen years (Crowley i). This was an iconic point in history for women because government was a male dominated work area. Many saw Macphail as an inspiration, especially during the 1920’s.

Read More
182 Words | 1 Pages

The american women 's efforts to win the voting rights were significantly influenced by both the Civil War and World War I. The american women started an organized movement to gain rights to vote, it started in the 1860s. In World War I the choice was the same, although the context and the response were different. Women 's suffrage made a change in the society’s lives. Two women organized a convention which declared a basic right for women.

Read More
818 Words | 4 Pages

Suffrage is probably one of the most important rights that females received in the 20th century. The war effort was a major contributor to supporting suffrage because it proves that women are capable of doing things that males did. It was also a way to reward many of the women who actively helped the U.S. during WWI. Many women utilized their contributions to help bolster their suffrage cause. One poster campaigning for women's suffrage uses the contributions of women during WWI as a selling tool to convince people to support women's suffrage (poster for the New York state campaign for voting rights for women, 1917, https://news.stanford.edu/2020/08/12/world-war-strengthened-womens-suffrage/).

Read More
1063 Words | 5 Pages

Thesis Proposal Title The impact women’s right to vote had on economic growth in the U.S, as women in integrated into the labour force from the 1920’s to the 1990’s. Background Prior to the 1920s, before women got their right to vote in America. They took up in the more subservient role in society, they were not seen as equal to the men.

Read More
1860 Words | 8 Pages

Women’s Suffrage Australia, DRAFT Elizabeth Albans Women’s suffrage was one of the first milestones to achieve gender equality. In 1902, the newly established Australian Parliament, passed the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902, which enabled women to vote in the federal election and stand for the federal election. The suffragettes fought for equality, the right to make decisions and argued against the view that women were intellectually inferior to men. However, not everyone agreed with the changes the suffragettes wanted to bring. They argued that women were equal but different, already had indirect power and could not fulfil the duties of a citizen.

Read More

More about Roles In Ww2

Related Topics

Open Document