Women's Role In Ww1

The First World War tore through Europe bring men from all the different countries to the battlefields. Women played an important role during the First World War and while many of the gains they made were lost it was an important time that showed women could do work outside of the home on a larger scale than ever before. In Britain six million men were called to arms throughout the war leaving very few to continue working which was now very important as they needed people in manufacturing to create the weapons, tanks and defenses for the troops. Throughout the war women were needed as the men were off fighting and those were left behind had reasons, health for example. When the country needed bodies to fill position in the factories, women
The war was a jumping off point for the women's movement across Britain and it showed the world that women could do the same work as the men but it was not until after the war that thing began to become more equal for white men and women, it would be longer for racial equality.

Before the war most women stayed in the home while the men would work but when it was not possible for the men to be working as they were off fighting women took the positions. The women who had been working before the war were in more domestic service type jobs, cooking or being a maid for a wealthy family. Women’s employment rates increased during World War one, from 23.6 percent of the working age population in 1914 to between 37.7 percent and 46.7 percent in 1918. With men leaving the country in large numbers at the same time even more workers were needed created a demand and women were the one to be able to answer the call that and do their part in the war as they would not have been able to go and fight on the front lines. Married women who were used to having the income of their husbands also began to join the workforce as they needed the money
When the men did return home many women were let go to make room for them but in some cases the women would keep working alongside the men but for a lower wage and the men who had served were often given priority to women and men who did not serve. There were women who felt that while they were doing the jobs of men they should be paid the same, causing them to strike for a few days leaving the owners no choice but to comply with their demands and get them back to work so they could keep the production up and to supply the boys with ammunition. The creation of munitions was needed to allow the men to fight so the women who were not against the war took the jobs, many feeling like they were really helping the men they had sent over. Some believed that these women were just making things worse by supplying the shells and bullets to the men and that they were perpetuating war. Women who joined the munitions factories came from many different backgrounds, some from shop work and domestic service while others had come straight from the home. As women could not go to fight so the work in service of the war was