Women In World War I

Humanities Assignment
Women in the war The outbreak of World War one changed the life of women who were mainly tied to the life of domesticity. Women were taught to clean, cook and look after the children. However, as the men were being conscripted for the war, women were starting to play an important role in the following three main areas. Women undertook the jobs that only man did but with the men at war, women stepped up and undertook the predominantly male jobs. Other women took voluntary work as their contribution to the war effort. Another area of importance that women undertook was the grueling and the important work of nursing; often in dangerous war zones. Women’s career options widened when the men left their workforce and jobs

Women who weren't able to work turned their attention to charity work and fundraising to help support the soldiers. Their methods of fundraising varied from doorknock appeals to fetes. However, in 1914 the Australian branch of the British Red Cross was founded and it quickly grew as women from all over the country made their contribution to the war. Middle class women were predominantly staffed and their task was to compile packages for the men serving in the war overseas. These packages included items such as soap and toiletries as well as food, games, clothing and medical supplies. These women also helped establish homes for the wounded soldiers and raise money to assist the soldier's family. Other women began contributing to the Australian Comforts Fund which raised money to provide ‘comfort boxes’ for the soldiers. These ‘comfort boxes’ contained items such as knitted socks, cigarettes, preserved foods and pyjamas. The women’s devotion to the task was recognised by the fact that 1.5 million pairs of socks were knitted. So many women contributed to the war that there were over 200 women’s voluntary groups formed to help the soldiers at

Many women volunteered to serve as nursing assistants in the Voluntary Aid Detachments during the course of the war having only basic first aid training. Since they were not paid, they tended to come from wealthy families. Women were quickly recruited into nursing jobs, to work on the Western Front. This was one of the most extremely dangerous jobs for some nurses since they were close to the front it meant they were exposed to physical danger from enemy action. The nurses went through horrible conditions while helping their patients to survive. Some even had caught diseases and were fighting it off while caring for the troops. Anecdotal evidence of a female nurse who wrote in her diary suggests how much tents, beds and medicine they lacked while having so many injured and wounded patients to care for. However, many lives were saved by the nurses and it proves how dedicated these women were. Unfortunately, some nurses were not able to survive but their efforts are highly