What Was The Role Of Women In Ww2 Essay

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World War II had a major impact on women. Some of the positive impacts included new job opportunities and a sense of contribution and patriotism to the war efforts. However, there were also some negative impacts, these included less pay than men, horrific working conditions and constant stress for them to support their family. There was also grief for the men who never returned. Many women were employed because of the lack of numbers in the workforce from all the enlistments from men for war. Women began to do a ‘man’s’ role, which was labour work to help out with the war efforts. Some of these included munitions’ work, nurses, famers, etc. New organisations were formed especially for women to feel like they were contributing more in the war. The major groups included the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service, the Australian Women’s Army Service, the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force, the Australian Women’s Land Army and the Australian Army Medical Women’s Service. Source B highlights the involvement of women during the war. The comic suggests that women contributed enormously to war efforts, showing women as high officials as well as nurses on the battlefields. Women were expected to…show more content…
There was a lack of sanitation and so disease and bacteria spread very quickly. They were not given much protective gear or a safe environment. Edna McDonald (a worker in Melbourne) recounts; “There were some very bad accidents - they didn't have any guards on the machines and I saw a women have half her hair dragged out with a drill, she happened to lean over and it happened in a few seconds. Of course that was the normal thing in those days, they didn't look after the worker at all.” Many women were hurt or ill or in some cases even died, because of the inadequate working conditions. The quote also shows that nasty things happened all the time that the working women there began to think that it was the
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