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World War 1 Women Essay

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World War I was a pivotal moment in history, as the first global conflict that involved major world powers, but it quickly became a catalyst for change. One of the notable changes was the changing role of women. As men were going off to fight in the war, women began to fill the important roles they left behind. Women started to be seen holistically and were able to pursue other avenues, rather than just motherhood and marriage. For Marie Curie, she was winning Nobel Peace prizes for her work in physics, but too often her contributions to World War 1 are overlooked. Curie created mobile radiography units, trained hundreds of women to use them, and saved millions of lives on the battlefield. For Mabel St. Clair Stobart, she became the first …show more content…

Aileen Cole Stewart was one of the first African-American women to serve in the Army Nursing Corps, and despite the demand for nurses, women of color had to fight for their roles and faced discrimination, lower pay, and had no chance for promotion. While these are just three women whose contributions impacted the war, their stories are representative of many women at that time. Before the war, women's roles were primarily limited to home and domestic duties. They were expected to get married and have children; educational and career opportunities weren’t even a part of the equation. Women’s rights were limited, and they weren’t even allowed to vote in many countries. Still, there was a demand for workers once the war started, so laborious jobs became available to women. However, there were still limitations, as women were only allowed to work as nurses, clerks, and telephone operators, but with the sheer number of casualties from the war, the most notable was the role of …show more content…

Not only was Stewart a female nurse, but she was a Black female nurse. Despite the nursing shortages at the time, it was not easy for Black nurses to be accepted or respected in the profession. However, with the significant war casualties and the outbreak of the Spanish flu, there was an increase in the shortage, which allowed 18 Black nurses to be inducted into the ANC. These nurses used this moment to garner further support in their long-standing campaign to integrate the ANC, but it took 20 years for it to become fully

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As World War 2 progresses, we will see millions of males being drafted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This created a lack of manpower in the workforce which women beginning to take the jobs that men usually before the war. As women move into the workforce during World War 2 they will experience inequality and discrimination. Despite the inequality and discrimination that women had to endure to while working during World War 2 was a good experience for women across America. Women entered the workforce open up many opportunities, “It had been long assumed women couldn't do those jobs -- engineering, other professions in the sciences, manufacturing jobs that had been considered men's work, things women were believed to be too weak to do” (kcts9.org).

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Women during the war became nurses, cost guards, sold war bonds, telephone operators, anything that needed to be done. When the men left for war the women stepped into to every role. Women's hard work showed that they were not as fragile as men believed and they were capable of everything a man could do. A large part of America's success in the war is attributed to the work of women. The work of women also helped convince President Wilson to support women's rights.

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World War 1 played a crucial role in aiding the movement for female equality in Canada, however, it also hindered it by contributing to the enforcement of gender roles in the workplace. Not one single event will end the constant battle women must endure in all aspects of life, though certain opportunities, such as the job opportunities received during the war, most certainly help women in the fighting of said battle. When numerous jobs were left open by men who were called to the front lines of the war, women were finally presented with the opportunity to work outside of their homes for the first time and provide for their families. Next, generous amounts of awareness of social change were brought to light for women’s contributions throughout

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At the start of the war, several work positions became available, as men had to enlist, which meant women were able to fill them. Women could take on “war essential jobs” that contributed to the “all in effort.” The jobs they could take on were, tram conductors, taxi and truck drivers, and, they were able to manufacture munitions and military equipment. During the duration of WW2, 200,000 women joined the war essential jobs to contribute to the all in effort. Secondly, women were able to join the Australian Women's Land Army (AWLA).

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As a result of the war women were forced into the workforce due to many of the men being away at war. Many women had to run the family farm and work in factories and stores due to the reduced workforce. This provided an opportunity for women to obtain new job skills and change the belief that a woman’s place was in the home. Also, World War I provided an opportunity for women to enlist in the military as nurses and as part of the Naval Coastal Defense Reserve. Women participation in the labor force was helpful in the women’s suffrage movement that eventually gave women the right to vote thru the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

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Throughout World War 1, the Home Front experienced a drastic change in the role of women in society. When the men went to war, the women had to take on the duties that had previously been the responsibility of men. Women took on traditional male roles such as store clerks, bank tellers and working in munition factories. WW1 had also had a massive impact on the economy. The cost of supplying weapons, ammunition and resources overseas and at home simultaneously was immense.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill to have the Navy, Coast Guard, and the Marines start accepting women. On the same day that Roosevelt signed the bill the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service or WAVES was established (“Women”). Both the Army Nurse Corps and the Navy Nurse Corps have been significant organizations for women in the past. Essential noncombat responsibilities were carried out by women in the military. Women in the military carried this out because they supported the American war effort.

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When you think about World War 2, are you first thinking of women? Most likely not, however, women were very important in the victory of America. Men were sent out in thousands to fight for their country leaving their jobs behind. Most of these men were normal working men which left the women and other people with no economy. The government had to improvise, they did this by allowing women to take over men's jobs.

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World War I, a crucial event in the history of not only Australia, but the world, occurred from July 28th, 1914 and ceased on the 11th of November, 1918. During these four years, the role of women within Australian society was modified and changed for history. Throughout WWI, women had various jobs including providing medical aid and support to the men who were fighting in the war. This evolved into women completing engineering work and crucial public roles such as working as police, transport conductors and firefighters, as a vast majority of the men that would usually complete these jobs were fighting in the war and were unable to fulfil their occupation. This new physical asset to the role of women changed the way they were seen from then

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Hundreds of thousands of men risked their lives in the Civil War, but history tends to leave out all the women who went against what society believed and courageously contributed their efforts to the fight. American women witnessed their fathers, husbands, and brothers go off to fight in the Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865. These women held the choice to watch the battles and all the action from their homes or to stand up for their beliefs and find a way to help. Their contribution, whether it be on the battlefront or along the sidelines, forced American society to rethink the stereotypical submissiveness of the traditional housewife and served as a push in the ongoing struggle for gender equality. As a whole, women found many ways to contribute a great deal

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