The Changing Roles of Women During World War One

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The contribution of women to the war effort changed drastically throughout World War One and the 1920’s. Their role in the beginning of the war was not very significant. Women, for the most part, were expected to be primarily involved in "duties at home" and "women's work" but as time progressed, their roles during the war changed drastically due to employment, The Person’s Case and the change of women in society. Women's involvement in the war effort undoubtedly helped Canada win the war. During World War 1 over six million men enlisted to go fight overseas, so there were many jobs that were unoccupied. Women took over traditional work that men previously were responsible for. They were responsible of both managing the home and became the heroes of the home front. However, their appearance into the workforce was most of the time greeted with hatred because male workers were worried that their determination to work for lower wages would put them out of work. Women contributed towards the military a lot during the war by working in munitions factories. The type of work these munitionettes did consisted of making explosives, gun shells, and other materials that supplied the war. The working conditions were horrible because the work they were responsible for was extremely dangerous and hazardous to their health. They were constantly surrounded by toxic fumes and had to handle dangerous machinery and explosives. In addition, they were to handle these explosives and chemicals with very limited training, but they were still expected to make them quickly so that the weapons could be shipped off to the men at war. Another common job that women were responsible for was transportation. They worked as bus, train and ambulance drivers. Since ... ... middle of paper ... ... find them and instead they were going to enjoy life. Back then, women always had a persona that they were a motherly figure but the young generation of women started to break away from the old sets of values. They started to completely change what they were perceived as; they began to wear short skirts, drink alcohol, smoke, and even said things that might be considered “unladylike” to be more sexual. Women that were doing these things were known as “Flappers” at the time. Women’s role in society changed drastically from the start of World War One to the 1920’s. They started off as being not even considered as “people” to becoming a diva in society’s eyes. With their courage and determination to take on certain jobs, to fight for their rights, and lastly to change how society perceived them as, they have definitely changed the role of women in our modern society.

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