The Changing Role Of Women During World War II

2 years after WW II started, the government made the work force open to women to help contribute to the war from home. The women mainly served clerical jobs such as farmers, canteen servers, Red Cross nurses, and in the war industries. A few years after, the National Defense Headquarters began allowing women to work in uniform such as the air force, army corps, and naval services. Since the women took on such a strong role during the war as workers, and in uniform, it impacted women then, and now, pushed women’s rights, and drove our victory against Nazi Germany. Without the help of women during WW II, war on the home front for Canadian soldiers would have been drastically different. After the war had been going on for 2 years, in 1942, the
Since women started working in the workforce, it led young women, old women, and Canada to a bright future for the end of WW II. Also, the women working in the factories created a positive effect because the factory workers sent out much needed ammunition for the Canadians. In the beginning of the war, there were nearly 600,000 women that had steady jobs in the workforce. Once 1943 hit, the employment rate peaked with 1.2 with 46% of all women aged 14-59, and 90% of all women aged 18-40 were engaged in some form of work in factories or national services. Then, in 1944, 27% of Canadian women were working.(Canadian Encyclopedia) However, it wasn’t easy for the women working. Women earned 2/3 of what a man would have earned working, and risked their physical and mental health daily while working in the factories. Women were often being rushed to the hospital because there were cases of women being scalped by machines and hooks, women getting their hands and arms caught, broken, or crushed in the machines because of a malfunction a machine was having or trying to fix a jam in a machine. Women also went through many other health risks from machine malfunctions, forcing them to leave their jobs
The government started hiring more nurses to help take care of the male soldiers until the wounded were healthy and fit to fight again. Soon, the government realized that just having women as nurses wasn’t pushing our country towards victory. Therefore, the National Defense Headquarters began allowing women to work in uniform. Women were recruited in the Royal Canadian Air force, Canadian Women Army Corps, and the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Services. Women jumped all over the opportunity to enlist. Even though, law did not allow women allowed to fire a gun at war that did not discourage women enlisted and the government had 350 to 430 women each month that enlisted in the war. (Striking Women) The Canadian government soon came out with propaganda films to persuade more women to enlist. The propaganda films brought in 100s of more women enlisting each month. To be able to enlist, women had to be married and have children that were dependent on them. Some women, such as Elsie MacGill, Marrion Alice Orr, and Helen Harrison Bristol, even became famous poster girls for WW II and stared in propaganda