Women on Home Front Making Munitions - Assignment Example

Women on Home Front Making Munitions Stephen Lutar John Bingham History 1004Y/1005 The society today has gone an extra mile appreciating the role of women in men dominated areas, which comes with abundant knowledge, skills, and concepts pertaining to these respective fields. War, a turf largely dominated by men, was initially a “no-go” zone for women. However, in the contemporary world, women play a vital role in this field. This paper looks at the role women played in munitions during the First World War. It investigates the characters they had to adopt to suit their needs in ensuring a constant supply of ammunition to their warriors. Apart from relating directly to production of ammunitions, women participated in practices that indirectly guaranteed continued provision of ammunition. Their longing to participate in their countries’ economy was quite impressive. These participative roles; direct and indirect, are all deliberated in this essay. During World War 1 , women were chosen to fill the positions that men had vacated or ranks that men were never eligible to occupy. At first, women did not get to enjoy the wages that came with labor. Therefore, letting women work in ammunition industries led to their liberation and enjoyment of their wages that were dominated by men. During this period, the need to produce more firearms and ammunitions rose. This occurrence led to the emergence of ammunition industries. As men fought in the fields, ammunition industries employed women. Eventually, this event brought about one of the largest producers of ammunitions. Women engagement in making munitions became conventional. As a result, men lost their place in respective industrial set ups. For this reason, certain perpetrators of conspiracies campaigned against women’s new role. However, after a period of conflict between men and women work groups, ironically, women became more recognized in various industrial contexts. There was thus the chaos that arose once the women abandoned their social responsibilities. In fact, the number of women in the army who owned ammunitions escalated1. From the book, 2making the west 227 in World War I, women in the ammunition factories created 80% of the munitions used.3 By 1917, ammunition supply work was solely entrusted to female workers. Despite related risks that came with it, women still risked their lives while producing these weapons that had TNT chemical compound. Men were not willing to work in the ammunition factories because of various clear-cut reasons. Arguably, above all, their superiority complex, especially during that time, made them prefer facing death in the battlefields rather than dying in the military factories producing weapons. As a result, there were few men or none at all in these respective ammunition production firms 4 . Notably, to some extent, women were forced into this production process and worked as slaves. This means that they worked without any form of remuneration whatsoever. Whereas slave men fought battles, women produced ammunitions for the same purpose. Approximately 400 women lost their lives after the introduction of “canaries” in the production of poisonous gas. In turn, the forced labor and continuous loss of life in the manufacturing industries brought about activism during that period, which buttressed women rights5 . In addition to ammunitions and gas, women participated in the production of coal and iron6.The coal powered the transportation of ammunition7. Regardless of the dirty work, long working hours, and their excessively demanding job, women turned up in large numbers to seek liberation .The search for freedom was experienced expressly in Northern England. Also, they indulged in the production of tires, gas masks, and rubber products. The tires were used for transportation while the soldiers used the masks to prevent them from harmful gasses. Production of glucose, glass, oil, and using asbestos in manufacturing mattresses prepared the ammunitions’ holders to face the enemy, and safeguarded the ammos. It is because glucose assited in providing energy whereas others like asbestos assisting in safeguarding ammos8. Arguably, women were given less pay compared to the working men. However, women did quite substantial work as compared to the men. The employment rate of women in the industry rose at an alarming rate during 1916 to 19189. However, this occurrence put females at risk of losing their jobs when men came back from the war. Therefore, women had to fight for their place in terms of increased pay. The adamant level of women, when it came to wages and working conditions, helped them create a union. This union pressured the employers to consider their demands. Britain, for example, was one of the regions where women stood for their rights and their employers later recognized their numerous efforts by remunerating them well and allowing them to express their thoughts. This triumph was a unique experience. For once, women’s considerations were put into practice. In a quest to prevent strikes from happening, women committees were set up to voice their grievances during that period. The committees were intended to be in favor of the women, despite the fact that it would last for a short time, that is, till World War I ended. As much as the employers argued that women could not perform as well as men, they were proved wrong by the committees when women replaced the skillful and powerful men and performed the jobs better than them. As a result, employers had to increase the women’s wages to be just as good as what men earned10. However, the fact that women understood their job requirements quite well was a surprise to many men, especially the owners and managers of the ammunition firms. The number of married women increased in the ammunition firms. For this reason, single women were assumed to be more resentful in comparison with married ones. They expressed their feelings and thoughts openly more than their married counterparts. It was hard to understand if they perfectly knew what their job entailed, or they lived in the fear of losing it once the men came back and took their initial positions in the manufacturing companies. In fact, it had occurred in other countries as well, which incited more fear and insecurity among women. This moment must have been the source of their “feminist” action. On the other hand, the wounded women who had lost family members, friends and relatives had to fight for their rights to maintain their jobs for the sake of upholding the respective families as well. Due to this, women had to come up with plans that were to ensure that they served just as good as men, even though it was to last for a short span. One could imagine the meetings they held, the opposition they formed while they were heading back to their homes dissatisfied and the quench they sought for the purpose of securing their place. As women would think socially, they would come together; develop more feminine plans and “attitudes” that would send a message to their employers once they acted. Somehow, the principle of “act like a woman, think like a man” would apply, in terms of what was proceeding throughout this time. Later, strikes become a frequent occurrence in these ammunition firms. In addition, conspirators turned out to be quite aggressive and dominant. They ensured repression, imprisonment of agitators and firing. One fact that I consider fascinating and interesting was the role of women in exposing the existing poor working conditions, as well as meager pay. As a matter of fact, it can be argued that women were responsible for exposing their employer’s social evils. In addition, they had the desire to improve their work conditions. From this struggle for liberation, a film was made by a woman who once visited a hospital and realized the alarming rate of unwell women present in the hospital. Unfavorable conditions in the ammunition factories were the primary causes of the women’s illnesses. Mary, one of the women behind the strikes, went an extra mile for the sake of her fellow women, and made a film about women rights that got considerable attention. The period was not only characterized by such media practices, but also efforts in bringing out the evils in ammunition factories. Apart from using the media, the use of poetry also expressed what the women felt while working in the ammunition firms.11 When British women decided to strike with the purpose of improving their working conditions, they showed their endeavors in the form of poems. They used the poems as posters, which spoke extensively on behalf of the women. Some of the poems were from people like Rupert Brooke and Anna Akhmatova. The posters sermonized peace as the women demanded their rights. They also addressed employers to improve their working conditions, as well as the pay.12 Women on the front line making ammunitions could have something to do with the need for various nations wanting women to serve in respective firms for diverse purposes. WWI served as a catalyst to create ammunition companies. Then again, it can be contended that the fact that there existed abundant energy to have women in these firms depended on personal interests. For example, the German ammunition firms employed women for the sake of improving familial welfare. It was an intention to overrule the pragmatic nature of the French and British men who involved their females in war. On the other hand, British women wanted to participate in fields of professionalism as well as take part in trade unions. This aspiration can be seen through their enormous efforts to ensure that women who “worked for the war” joined trade unions. Notably, women used peaceful methods to fight for what they considered right. They knew the kind of “trouble” that demanding for their rights would land them in. Even so, there were no reported cases of use of ammunitions or violence to express themselves. They used peaceful mutinying methods and created nonviolent platforms to air out their views. Therefore, it can be asserted that they had good intentions in the ammunitions firms, which, in turn, led to them being granted their wish. The efforts that these women engaged in to ensure that they were recognized and given the treatment they deserved are inspiring. Such efforts inspire today’s activists including feminist societies in their urge to support women in male dominated areas. Such backing helps put women in essential leadership positions in the society. Bibliography Grayzel, Susan R. The First World War: a Brief History with Documents. Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. Hunt, Lynn, Martin, Thomas R., Rosenwein, Barbara H., and Smith, Bonnie G. Making of The West Peoples and Cultures: Since 1500. Bedford/st Martins, 2012. Hunt, Lynn. The Making of the West: Peoples and cultures: a concise history to 1740. Bedford/St. Martins, 2006. Lualdi, K. J.Sources of The Making of the West, Volume II: Since 1500: Peoples and Cultures. Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. Read More