Effects of World War I on the Role and Status of Women

Criticisms directed at women in war jobs during World War I

- Changes to dress such as leaving off corsets, shortening skirts or wearing overalls were seen as unfeminine. - Some were criticised for spending their wages on frivolous things like pretty clothes. - Their general independence was seen as "masculine". - Employing women freed up male factory workers, making them liable to be sent to the front lines. - Women could be paid lower wages, which threatened men's wages and their future employment. - Employment of inexperienced women was an excuse to mechanize more of the production process, threatening men's future employment. - Women moving in to men's jobs were inexperienced, and therefore less productive at first. - Many women had heavy responsibilities as housekeepers and mothers in addition to long hours of work for low wages, which affected their health and productivity.

Evidence that World War I contributed to women's suffrage

- The demands of war caused everyone in combatant countries to acknowledge the vital role of women. Propaganda reinforced this message, subtly encouraging support for votes for women. - Women in most countries involved in the war received the vote shortly after the war. - In Canada, the vote was given to women who were wives or mothers of serving soldiers in 1917 in order to bolster support for a conscription law. It was a natural progression to expand the franchise to all women after the war. - There is a direct link between the war and the Russian Revolution and the German Revolution, which brought about women's suffrage.

Evidence suggesting women's suffrage was not entirely due to the war.

-Much of the credit must go the the pre-war suffrage movements. -Women could vote before the war in Norway, Finland, New Zealand and part of Australia. Several other places allowed women to vote in local elections, but not at the national level. -The Netherlands was neutral in WWI, but they also granted women's suffrage in 1919, suggesting the war was not he only factor. -In several countries the war brought parties to power that had long endorsed women's suffrage. Therefore suffrage for women was part of a platform, not a single issue: i.e. Ebert in Germany and Lloyd George in the UK. -In France, women didn't get the vote until 1944, although French women had given more than most.

Problems for women in communist Russia

-There remained a "glass ceiling" as in most countries. -Jobs traditionally considered "men's work" were still paid more than traditionally female jobs, resulting in a persistent wage gap for women, although women and men did at least get the same pay for identical work. -Women were still expected to do the cooking, housework and child care. This was particularly tough in the USSR because industry was prioritized over housing and consumer goods, and there were chronic shortages of food and other necessities. Even in 1953, 2/3 of Russian households had no running water and only 3% had hot water.

Reasons why few women were given opportunities to "upskill" and became craftswomen

1) Their jobs were seen as temporary, so there was no point. 2) It would require diverting skilled male workers and employer's resources to training, which wasn't practical in wartime. 3) Many women had little free time because of domestic responsibilities.

Examples of countries granting women's suffrage during or immediately after the war.

1917 Canada, Russia 1918 Austria, Germany, Poland, UK (The UK only gave the vote to women over 30 - younger women got the vote in 1928) 1919 Luxembourg, The Netherlands 1920 Albania, Czechoslovakia, USA

Edith Cavell

A British Red Cross nurse who was accused of helping British prisoners escape. She was executed by the Germans in 1915, which outraged British and French. She was held up in propaganda as an example of a woman taking a public role and making a patriotic contribution to the war effort in solidarity with men. This helped to shape attitudes about women's participation in public life.

Fertility

Birth rates in every industrialized country fell steadily between the wars. This is probably not due to the war. Vaccinations and improved medicine meant that more children were surviving to adulthood, and children were becoming more expensive to raise as child labour laws and mandatory education became the norm. This development caused most couples to take steps to limit their families to three or four children. This freed women from constant pregnancy and child care, but also caused a backlash. Many countries blamed working women for what they saw as a dangerous drop in fertility. The reactions in Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and Franco's Spain were very strong, but even Nazi Germany didn't succeed in convincing couples to return to pre-WWI family sizes.

Hardships for women caused by the war

For many married women, the war brought hardship. They had to deal with rationing, which made it more complicated to shop and cook, they had to worry about husbands, brothers and sons at the front, and they might have to work long hours to make up for the lost income of husbands in the army. Women in Germany, occupied Belgium, and all over Eastern Europe battled starvation by the end of the war.

Women who gained opportunities from the war

For single women from wealthy families who might not have allowed their daughters to work, the war brought new opportunities. Married and single women who were already working before the war also benefitted from more and higher-paying opportunities.

Reasons the outbreak of World War I initially decreased employment among women.

In 1914 it was expected that the war would be short, so it was not expected women would be needed in non-traditional roles in the workplace. Meanwhile industries not considered necessary for the war effort were put on hold. Many of these, like dressmaking, candy making, upholstering, jewelry and shoemaking employed a lot of women, many of whom were laid off.

Extent of women's employment during World War I

In 1914, women made up 22% of German factory workers. By 1916, they made up 33%. In Britain in 1914 23.4% of women were employed outside the home, excluding domestic servants, 3.3 million in industry. In 1918 between 37.7% and 46.7% were employed outside the home, 4.9 million in industry. By 1918 40% of female workers were married.Although women's participation in the workforce increased notably, men older or younger than military age were still the majority of workers in non-traditional fields. For instance, in the USA by the end of the war, women made up 20% of all manufacturing workers.

Women in The Russian Armed Forces

In Russia, some female volunteers served in combat, most famously Maria Bochkareva. She managed to get Nicholas II to intervene personally to allow her to enlist in 1914. After the abdication of the Tsar, Kerensky gave her permission to form a "Woman's Death Battalion", the idea being that the bravery of the women would encourage the men to fight harder. It ended up with 300 women. A few similar units were formed in 1917. Russia also had several female pilots who flew reconnaissance missions and served as artillery spotters.

Reasons why women were generally paid less than men for the same work

It was feared that men's status as breadwinners would be undermined if women could obtain high-paid work. Also, it allowed manufacturers to make larger profits. In theory, it also made war materials cheaper for the government to purchase. Many unions failed to support equal pay for women doing the same work as men.

Women's Employment before World War I

Many jobs, including work outside the home, had long been performed by women. i.e.:Textile factories, agriculture, cooking, cleaning, laundry, sewing, prostitution, child care, education of girls and women, K-12 Education, midwifery, clerical work, retail work, nursing, actresses/singers/dancers. Many women had been employed in coal mines in Britain until the government banned the practice in 1842. Medical schools and universities in most countries had begun admitting women in the 1860s-1880s. (Women had always been able to attend Italian universities.)

Women's voluntary and charitable work during World War I

Many women's rights activists jumped at the chance to work for their countries to prove themselves as full citizens. The women's movement was subsumed in the wider war effort. Many women worked as volunteers for recruitment drives, for the Red Cross, and raising money for various causes.

Progress in improved status for women before World War I.

Married women had obtained property rights in the 19th century in places like the UK and USA.Men were no longer legally allowed to beat their wives in places like the USA and the UK. Divorce was available in most Protestant countries, although it was easier for men to obtain divorces than for women. For instance, men could divorce their wives for adultery, but women could usually only divorce their husbands if they could prove cruelty, incest or rape. Also, if a woman was deemed to be at fault in the divorce, she would not receive alimony. Women could vote in Norway, Finland, New Zealand and part of Australia. Several other places allowed women to vote in local elections, but not at the national level.

Women's Auxiliary Services

Most combatant countries had women's auxiliary services in the armed forces that recruited single women to serve in non-combat roles other than nursing, ie ambulance drivers, mechanics, clerical staff.

Long-term effects of World War I on women's employment

Most of the women who had taken on non-traditional jobs in World War I returned to traditional employment or left the workforce after the war. Many munitions factories closed down, and most other women in traditionally male jobs were laid off to make way for returning soldiers. Given what the men had been through, there was little pushback. Everyone acknowledged that they had the right to have jobs on their return. Women continued to work outside the home in traditionally female jobs, and women's employment increased when the economy picked up in the 1920s. The memory of women in "male" roles presumably helped the gradual empowerment of women. Women's overall employment in most countries increased steadily in the inter-war years. Even in Nazi Germany, when women were barred from most good jobs and pay for "female" jobs was cut to half of the average man's wage, women's employment increased.

Examples of women jailed for pacifist activities during World War I.

Rosa Luxembourg (Germany),Clara Zetkin (Germany) Louise Saumoneau (France) Helene Brion (France), Hana Benesova (Austria-Hungary), Alice Masarykova (Austria-Hungary)

Ways World War I increased gender harmony

The definitive split between home and battlefield made gender roles very clear. Men were respected for protecting their mothers, sweethearts and wives. Women were revered for their familial supportive roles as wives and mothers.

Examples of women taking government roles

The leaders of the General German Women's Association were brought into the government to coordinate women's work. In France, school teachers often took on mayoral functions in small towns. In Germany women moved into roles in the municipal government. Several countries had policewomen. In Germany and Britain, women were brought into the government to supervise women's work and improve working conditions for women - in France, this work was done by men :-).

Women's clothing

The need to save material as well as the need for more practical clothing led to shorter women's dresses after the war. Before the war, it had been considered scandalous for grown women to show their ankles, also, many women wore tight corsets. During the war corsets were abandoned, some women worked in trousers, and hemlines rose to mid-calf.

Effects of the rise of Communism on the role and status of women

There is a clear link between World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. In turn, this revolution brought a party to power which believed, at least in theory, in the full equality of men and women. At the same time, communist movements all over the world were empowered by this example and recruited women as well as men into their ranks. In the USSR, all levels of education and, in theory, all jobs were opened to women. In practice, though, some jobs were very much male dominated and others female dominated. Women were actively encouraged to work outside the home and propaganda extolled strong capable women working in non-traditional roles. They were granted equal pay for identical work, maternity leave, and equal rights in marriage and divorce. Health care provided free abortions from 1920-34. (Stalin made abortion illegal and divorce more difficult in the mid-1930s).

Reasons why women entered war industries during World War I

These included: - Many wives had to go to work because their families couldn't live on meager government allowances. - Patriotism - A sense of solidarity with frontline soldiers - better pay than traditional women's jobs (although not equal to the pay of make workers) - propaganda encouraging and praising their efforts.

Reasons why many suffragists supported the war effort during World War I

These women saw the war as a way to prove their loyalty and commitment to their nations, which would prove their right to be considered full citizens.

Nurses

These women were held up as ideals of nurturing, sacrificial womanhood, but they also challenged gender norms by living and traveling independently and forming friendships with men. Their experience also caused many to become more politically minded than before.

Ways suffragists supported World War I

They used their organizing skills and their networks to mobilize women for the war effort. Christobel and Emmeline Pankhurst changed the name of their paper from 'The Suffragette' to 'Britannia'. For four years they traveled around speaking at recruitment rallies and war bond rallies. They even encouraged their followers to beat up pacifists. Many French feminists closed down their newspapers or converted them to organs of wartime propaganda.

Maria Vallini

This 17-year-old girl was executed by the Austro-Hungarians in 1915 for passing information about the Austro-Hungarian army to her cousin, who was an Italian soldier. She was held up in propaganda as an example of a woman taking a public role and making a patriotic contribution to the war effort in solidarity with men. This helped to shape attitudes about women's participation in public life.

War Propaganda

This enhanced women's status and helped to expand their roles by praising women who undertook war work.

Status of women

This term refers to the amount of power women had in society.

Role of women

This term refers to the different functions women played in society.

Maria Bochkareva

This woman managed to get Nicholas II to intervene personally to allow her to enlist in the Russian army in 1914. She was decorated for rescuing 50 wounded soldiers from a battlefield and was promoted to corporal. After the abdication of the Tsar, Kerensky gave her permission to form a "Woman's Death Battalion", the idea being that the bravery of the women would encourage the men to fight harder. It ended up with 300 women.

Examples of low status and limitations on women's roles before World War I.

Women were paid much less than men for comparable, or even identical work. Women were barred from many jobs and professions and supervisory roles were usually reserved for men. Many school districts would not employ married female teachers. British nurses had to leave the profession when they married until the 1950s. It was easier for men to obtain divorces than for women. For instance, men could divorce their wives for adultery, but women could usually only divorce their husbands if they could prove cruelty, incest or rape. Also, if a woman was deemed to be at fault in the divorce, she would not receive alimony. Only four countries allowed women to vote: New Zealand, Finland, Norway and part of Australia, and women were barred from holding public office in most of these places.

Examples of jobs women did during World War I

Women worked in munitions factories and metallurgical plants. They did transportation jobs like tram conductors subway workers and railway workers. For instance, in 1918 more than half of the streetcar workers in Vienna were women, up from 2.5% in 1914. In industries like textiles, which had long employed women, women began doing jobs that had been done by men, like piecing. Many women transferred from domestic service and textiles factories to heavy industry.