Preview

Women’s Role in Wwi: Before and After Essay Example

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1372 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Women’s Role in Wwi: Before and After Essay Example
World War I made a colossal impact on all aspects of human life and almost everyone in Europe was affected by this impact to different degrees as a consequence. One group in particular, most often illustrated as a real turning point, largely in enfranchisement and employment, were women.
The outbreak of WWI saw a number of unexpected changes take place within the common social strata. These changes were prompted by the fact that a new wave of social-thinking was taking shape and eventually affected the manner by which the society reflected itself. While men formed political parties, engaged in planning war schemes and creating economic strategies, women also played an essential and significant role during wartime Europe. WWI women can be described to have “sustained the society through their tireless s efforts” to cut a niche in the changing social setup.
Prior to WWI, women remained subordinate to men in legal rights everywhere in Europe. According to Merriman, women were excluded from most universities, could not vote, and had limited or no control over family financial resources. Women made very little progress entering the professions previously held by men. However, the outbreak of WWI changed the face of everything. According to Perry, during WWI, women were called on, to ‘work in offices, factories, and service industry where those jobs were formerly reserved for men.’ Women’s wartime services sent a clear message that women played an essential role in the economic life of nations.
The outbreak of the war saw women pledging support to diverse regimes. This act of patriotism solidified national cohesion and bolstered peace. It is apparent that within the ensuing period of the war, women across all European states were campaigning for a cause that would give women a profound place within the society. Women stood up during the war hoping that their respective governments would perhaps enhance and promote women suffrage after the war, though

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Before WW1 women had very little policital power and were considered inferior to men. Men didn't see the need for women to have a voice, and that their opinion was not needed. However, when the war began men were sent to war, leaving job spaces to be filled. This was when the women were called upon to fill these spaces. This was an oppurtunity for women to prove their rights for politicial power. Source A1 supports this because it states 'by the end of the war in November 1918, women proved that they were just as important to th war effort as men'. This shows that women were successful in doing so and had been given more political power. This source was taken from a website focused at GCSE students which means alot of research must have been put into the text, making it reliable.…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Because the Germans and Japanese had a ten-year head start on producing weapons, the Allies scrambled to match the opposing side in a very short time. The men were already at war, so the country turned to the women. The backbone of the changes can be accurately summed up by the phrase, “production was essential to victory, and women were essential to production” (Weatherford, 116), and luckily for the country, women were eager to help (Weatherford, 117). The media began recruiting females through magazine ads depicting starving troops looking helplessly over the seas and through posters that declared, “Victory is in Your Hands” and “Shopgirl Attacks Nazis” to make women feel a part of the war (Weatherford, 117). The contributions were now regarded as important toward the country’s common…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    WWI and Home Front DBQ

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Women at the time had a generally positive outlook on war, with the exception of those still working under poor conditions. They are gaining their own work lives and even taking over the men's jobs in Britain. A British woman describes her experience working at a munitions plant as tedious, however they are still filled with interest and zest when it comes to working for their country,…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The role of women whose husbands, brothers, sons and fathers went to fight for what was right was so big and it had a huge part in maintaining the high level of motivation back in the homeland. Women who were part of the nationwide movement of “war effort” were replacing men in industries such as clothes and footwear production, food and printing industry, clerical and teaching positions. Women showed great initiative in being more involved directly with the military, taking their role as cooks, munitions workers, stretcher bearers, but they did not receive authorization from the authorities. Some brave women went to the front where they were nurses helping wounded soldiers. Number of those brave women came back with medals.…

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Women's Role In Ww2 Essay

    • 1810 Words
    • 8 Pages

    After the war, many high-ranking officers ‘praised’ the women’s work and service during the war. Among them was General Eisenhower, who had told Congress that at the time of the formation has completely against the idea, however after all their accomplishments, he was convinced that in the beginning he had a wrong perspective. During the war, while men were leaving to go fight, many women stayed home, taking men’s place in factories, government works and even farms.They made clothes, boots and weapons that were used by the soldiers. While some women stayed at home, other women went to fight alongside the men. Women had a big impact on the victory of the United States and its allies during the World War II because they committed their lives to serve alongside the men, took men’s place in factories to supply them with needed supplies, and formed volunteer services in the communities.…

    • 1810 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    However, the work done by women during the First World War is believed to be what caught the most attention and proved that they were just as reliable as men. Women became actively involved in a wide variety of day-to-day jobs which only men had worked before. They took over jobs such as nursing, munitions, industry, fire-fighting, drivers, and farming in the Women’s Land Army. Many people within the country were impressed and took on more positive attitudes towards those who worked - women were seen to be more trustworthy and mature, politicians saw them in a new light and had the view that they should be “rewarded” due to “proving their worth” to the nation. Historian Martin Pugh said “Male prejudice against women melted in the face of revelations about their capabilities during wartime and their contribution to the war effort”. These acts of help to the country proved that there was more to women than believed up until this point in time.…

    • 1505 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Women in Wwii

    • 1787 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Women served an important role in WWII. They not only took the challenge and stepped up to take the places of the men off fighting in the war to work in factories, but they also fought side by side with those risking their lives and fighting for their country. They were needed everywhere during the war. There were an unbelievable amount of job opportunities for women during the war and many supported the brave acts of voluntary enlistment. “‘A woman’s place is in the home’ was an old adage, but it still held true at the start of World War II. Even though millions of women worked, home and family we considered the focus of their lives” says Brenda Ralf Lewis. Without the help of those women who were brave enough to step, the war may have not ended as successfully as is did.…

    • 1787 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Why Is The Wspu Successful

    • 1441 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In August 1914, the relationship between the British Government and the Women’s Social and Political Union changed when Germany and Britain went to war. The WSPU left their suffrage work and assisted in the war effort (Lance, 1979, 56). “By 1916, when the government raised the question of extending the franchise to women and servicemen as part of an attempt to reform voting rights, the WSPU had long been working to recruit men and women for military and munitions service” (Mayhall, 1999, 3). By 1917, almost all of the opposition towards the women's suffrage had disappeared. “The assistance of women in the war effort and the postponement of militancy were responsible for the change” (Lance, 1979, 56).…

    • 1441 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    4. “Working Woman - Women 's Role in the War and the Workforce.” Red Apple Education Ltd.…

    • 2292 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Do they not plainly inform us, that, because we are females, we ought therefore to be deprived of what is perhaps the most effectual means of acquiring a just, natural and graceful delivery? No one will pretend to deny, that we should be taught to read in the best manner. And if to read, why not to speak?” (Doc J). However, later in history women will be known as the backbone of several prominent wars. During WWI (1914-1918), large numbers of women were recruited into jobs vacated by men who had gone to fight in the war. The women were the ones producing war supplies and materials to help the war effort. Without the women taking over the roles of the men, it is safe to say that America would have suffered greatly during WWI. The wars fought on the battlefield are what most Americans recall in history, but it is what occurred behind the scenes that helped shape this nation into the powerful nation it is…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women in the 1920's

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Before World War II no one believed women had a place in the military, yet women overcame this and helped the United States reach victory. Women felt they needed and wanted to get involved in the war instead of sitting at home, taking care of the children, cooking dinner, and cleaning the house. Women joined military support organizations like the WACs, the WAVES and the WASPs. These kinds of organizations contributed immensely toward the United States war effort. Women felt that if men could serve in the war, they could, too. Women relieved men of certain jobs so the men could go fight in the war. Women worked hard and took the men’s places, but they could not fight or get close to battle. Women’s roles in the war changed society, and lasted long after the United States declared victory.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the Revolutionary War to the 1920s, the role of women dramatically changed from when women lacked political power and representation to when women were finally granted the right to vote. Although the role of women did gradually improve in that women given more freedoms, they still socially struggled because they were seen as inferior and therefore to this day still receive lower wages than men. Despite the fact that women during the times of war lived to serve those in higher positions, their roles changed over time through the development and progression of their own individual voices.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    1950s Consumerism

    • 1943 Words
    • 8 Pages

    “Toward an analysis of the effects of Two World Wars on the Role and Status of Middle-Class Women in the English-Speaking World.”…

    • 1943 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Fortune Magazine declared the margin of victory to be woman power” It opened the way for the female workers of the future. The gender dynamics that WW2 produced had long lasting effects. This paper will go into what the role of…

    • 4075 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Status Of Women Essay

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages

    To begin with, social gains had an impact on the status of women during the interwar years. The role of the mother had the most dramatic change during economic boom since it made the life of housewives very easy (Prentice, 2004). Revolutionized home appliances, widespread use of electricity and corner streets reduced work for women and made everyday activities a bit convenient for women. Inventions like these, helped women have more time for themselves and for their family and friends. Women constantly didn’t have to work for the entire day without some leisure time,…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays