Women During World War Two

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World War ll unveiled a new chapter in the lives of the subordinated women. It took the women from a place of just being house wives to stepping outside of their homes and contributing to the war effort. Society had set a place and role for women. However, during World War ll, women broke the limitations and images society had set on them. Women had made canada reputable trough their new roles. Without women participating in jobs in World War 2, Canada wouldn’t have reached gender-equality and a stereo-free country.

The outbreak of World War 2 forced women to reconsider their roles outside of their home. Therefore, women started volunteering without pay which served as a major contribution to the war effort. In September 1939, there were …show more content…

Women obtained male jobs in various sectors. One of the challenging roles women had to overcome was maintaining and administering the family farms. Women became agricultural farmers and became responsible over jobs such as planting, taking care of livestock, making hay, harvesting the crops and nourishing the animals on the farm. They additionally managed the family finances. Women’s Institutes also helped the on the farm with their tasks as it was apart of their volunteer work. Women managed on their own with the family farm and found work in other places like factories. They performed physical tasks like building ships, aeroplanes and producing munitions where only men were working at the time. Edna Taylor of Dorchester served in the Women’s Royal Naval Service and recalls being the only female at her station. However, she said that “The men would take me under their wing”. It took time for the population to accept the shift in gender roles but the men were beginning to get the picture. By the end of the war women had proven that they were able to perform any job that a man could do as they worked side by side to the men. Women had to learn new skills to work in these types of jobs which only justified their strength and their equality to men. There were about 570,000 women who worked in the Canadian industry which increased to nearly a million women in five years. Elsie MacGill was the first women to …show more content…

The Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC), and the Women’s Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) were established in 1941. The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRENS) completed the trio in 1942 in which forming the three main military forces women joined. Due to the increasing need for manpower in the war effort, Ottawa allowed women to fill in supporting roles for the military in uniform. Despite being excluded from combat, women served in many important sectors in each Canadian type of service. In the navy service, women filled occupancies such as being stenographers, messengers, stewards and cooks. Eventually, women received more training and were able to work as parachute riggers, performing clerical work and driving heavy equipment. Women’s involvement in the military was a huge contribution to the feminist movement because it was the first time women were permitted to join the military forces besides nursing. In order to be accepted into the military forces, women had to be between the ages of 18-45 and women of good character. They must also have a minimum height of five feet and weigh less than 105 pounds or 10 pounds above or below the standard of weight laid down in the table for her height. Additionally, they must have a good education usually about grade 8 level. Women took great pride when they wore their uniform because it symbolized the breaking of gender roles for women

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