Women of steel
World War I began in 1914, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were killed World War I had started and lasted up until 1918. Conflict arose between the following Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and also the Ottoman Empire. And the Central Power was fighting against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States. World War I had affected many people and families all across the world. During this time the eldest male of each family has to fulfill their duty in the war.
Leaving women to step up and fill the jobs occupations that were once worked by males. Women started filling jobs positions once there became a Dire need for materials once made by men before the war. They even created new job occupations for women called munitions factories. Which is a factory that produces bombs, shells, cartridges aka bullets, pyrotechnics and smoke screens. Women took over jobs for example railway guards, ticket collectors, buses and tram drivers, postal workers, police volunteers, firefighters and also worked as bank officials and store clerks.
Majority of women also worked heavy dangerous machinery in engineering in order to make the weapons and planes that were used during the war.
During this time it caused the topic of equal pay and opportunity to arise because of the wage shortages all because they were women even though they were helping and contributing to the war. In today’s time, we are struggling with such a topic. When will women start getting paid equally? Women had to take lead and keep the ship from sinking.
But during this time it wasn’t rainbows and butterflies they experienced so many hardships that caused great catastrophe for everyone. Russia had a starting number of about twenty-six but the employment rate went up to about forty-three percent and in Austria about a million women joined the workforce. In France, a large portion of women were already taking part in the workforce, female employment increased to about twenty percent more because of the war. Finding work varied for many women the reason for this is because of the area they were living in. The jobs went according to what resources they had around them Generally, women in the urban areas had more opportunities and occupations such as factories rather than women from more secluded areas tended to be more surrounded by more life stalk such as farming and maintain the animals, orchards, and homestead.
Social Class played a major role in what was decided for the upper and middle-class women of more money tended to be working for the police, volunteering for local communities, also nursing, and jobs like supervising .when it came to supervising they looked at this job like a bridge that was being formed between the upper class and lower class this bridge was combining two social classes so they would meet in the women and give everyone a chance.
During this time women experienced many fatal casualties that lead to a serious death count. Women were dying left and right the reason for this was because while the men were at work women were hustling to produce mass quantities of products so their soldiers could survive. Women worked so there loved ones could stay alive. They took on jobs that “only men could do” and slandered the name of women who tried to do such jobs for the greater good of men. Women went to extreme extents to fit in with male jobs. For a while, they weren’t accepted and protests arose to get women out of male jobs.
They saw women as weak. They saw them as nothing but just a person who stays home and raises children. But when the war started women were still looked at as nothing. It wasn’t until things started getting more serious and men started coming around to the idea of women working in their shops. They started depending on them for all of the war goods that were needed to supply the soldier with the basic essentials to stay alive. Women worked as nurses for the Army and Navy they helped a ton of wounded soldier that were near to there death bed but because of them, they kept them alive nurses also performed active duty abroad. They were responsible for keeping all the men healthy after they were seriously injured during the war. They also needed to learn all the medical practices that were needed to support the military and keep them thriving for as long as they can.
Before World War women got placed into certain brackets based on their social group. And with these groups came different job occupations such as Women with an average income worked domestic work like cleaning and servantry and Women of the working class worked in the textiles industry, and last was the lower paid women that work in sweatshops producing hats and construction dresses. This was before World War I had broken out. They were experiencing the same stuff as the days went on. Women’s lives were rather boring. Nothing had changed drastically for them till world war I. They were experiencing the same stuff as the days went on. But World War I had started and women weren’t needed they still had the same jobs same issues same lives.
Working class women still worked before World War I and held jobs but they could never do man’s work or even try to attempt to get equal pay. You hear many war stories from women and what exactly they had to endure during this terrible period of time. For example a women named Elizabeth she went by the name of Elsie Knocker and her friend Mairi Chisholm they told their story on what happened during that time in their lives they stated that they set up a first aid post near Belgian front line in Pervyse in November 1914. Elsie practiced medicine and was a trained nurse.
Elsie and her friend Mairi had the idea of “ why don’t we move our post near the front lines” they did this because they thought that them being close to the front lines would increase the chance of more soldiers living after being wounded. They worked in the most dangerous conditions for example they would work during active fire! They described the fear and adrenaline to be so intenses that they didn’t feel anything they just worked through it. They soon left Pervyse after being severly gassed in 1918. During their tour they received the Leopold award in 1915 and the British Military Medal in 1917. For their bravery and persistants.
Another women who goes by the name of Elsie Maud Inglis. She was a highly qualified surgeon and had a great impact in women’s suffrage after World War One she offered her medical services to the Royal army but was refused and sent home. So she started her own organization that was named the Scottish Women’s Hospitals. They treated many troops from Serbia and Russia. She was the first woman to ever received the highest award White Eagle from Serbia. She died from cancer the day after she returned to England she died from cancer. But she truely left a legacy. Women worked in many different fields during World War I. women worked as police officers there main purpose was to patrol and maintain womens behaviour.
They also carried inspections on women just to make sure they didn’t take anything to harm themselves or anyone. They also were in charge of patrolling parks, houses, railroads, allies basically anything that was a public place. They gained these jobs because no one was here fulfill such jobs because all of the men were out fighting in the war! Also the need for childcare increased dramatically because women were out filling the men’s jobs but had to leave their jobs at home taking care of the children . So the government stepped in and applied some type of financial care for mothers who needed help finding places where to leave their kids and where they would be safe.
In conclusion women played a major role in what took place during World War One. And without their help the men fighting in the war would have not made it through without them. They supplied everything from your basic hat to bombs, guns, bullets, planes etc. Women worked that part to fullest and we would not be where we are no if it wasn’t for them. They had to give up everything for everyone to survive including their lives, there health ,there time , even there children. The sacrifice was a major impact on what was to come. Many women died during that time for so many reasons majority of the time was unsafe working conditions, death by working in the field, and sickness. Women deserve to be recognized for the great impact they had on World War one and the sacrifices that were made.
Women Have Equal Rights with Men. (2021, Dec 22). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/women-have-equal-rights-with-men/