Women of Great Britain during WWI & WWII - Essay Example

Name Grade course University Tutor Date Women of Grеаt Britain WWI & WWII Both the first and the second world wars played an important role in the social construction of women of the Great Britain. Historians observe that in the World War 1, women played an important by volunteering to some of the essential tasks so that men could be released in order to join the armed forces (Sheridan 52). Similar roles were to be played 25 years later when the World War II begun. Coupled with the great demand for stronger forces in the World War II, volunteering seemed to inevitable thus calling for the participation of women in various jobs though they could not carry weapons as noted by Sir William Beveridge (Brayley & Ingram 29). Beveridge also observed that all women aged between 18 and 60 years were required to be registered in addition to their family occupation. This was followed by a process of interviewing them and giving them a chance to choose among many jobs with a main emphasis that the jobs selected did not require them to be armed. Despite the conditions set, many women would eventually end up working and dying under fire. Conscription of women would later be made legal in reference to National Service Act No.2 in December 1941 (Bentley 19). The calling up of women began with those between 20 and 30 years but this later included majority of all single women and 80% of the married ones in order to bring more effort to the war. According to DeGroot (73) the social construction of women witnessed after the Second World War emerged from the changes that had transpired during the world war one. The World War I witnessed majority of the young men venturing into the armed forces. This implied that there were so many gaps left in the employment sector that called upon the women to fill in such positions. This provided women the opportunity to prove some potential in the male-dominated society that they were capable of doing more than bringing up children and tending homes (Blakeley 424). One of such role played was the participation of woman in the transport and construction industry. Particularly, women ensured that soldiers were always equipped with ammunition during the war. At the start of World War 1 in August 1914, women did not have any political power. By the end of November 1918 when the war was coming to an end, women had proved that their importance was as equal as that of men by their active and crucial role in the war (Winter 61). This saw the need for women to acquire some form of representation in the political environment. Women’s social construction intensified further after the World War I following the high death tolls after the war. Approximately 8.9 million young men from Great Britain had participated in the war, 36 percent of this become casualties of the war. This comprised close to 908,000 who died and round 2 million who were wounded severely (Nicholson 29). According to Simonton (48) the loss of many lives would have negative social outcomes on the lives of the young women in the late 1920s as observed by Virginia Nicholson. The historian noted that many unmarried young women would remain single due to the gender imbalance. The highest number of the army officers who were killed comprised of those in the middle class than those in lower ranks. The population census carried out in 1921 indicated there were 1,158,000 unmarried women as opposed to 919,000 unmarried men of the age between 25 and 34 years indicating clearly the gender imbalance (Roberts 18). The Great Britain therefore had a compulsory call to step up and take responsibilities that would have been taken by these men in order to move forward. Some of the various jobs that women had to take were for instance in the transport industry (trains and vehicles), nursing, and factories among other. These sectors were initially dominated by men. Women therefore had no choice other than to change their job in order to move forward, those who were unemployed also had a chance work in the many industries that needed workforce. A survey involving 444,000 women carried out by the London gazette in 1917 indicated that 68 percent of the surveyed women had changed their jobs from 1914 when the war began. Some of the changes witnessed were not common before 1914 when the war started (McIvor 101). By the time the World War I was coming to an end, many women did not wish to go back their household chores. Women Worker magazine carried out a research on February 1919 by interviewing a number of women only three months after the World War I ended. An overwhelming 65 percent of the women noted that they would never go back to their domestic chores irrespective of the situation. Of the small percentage of women who admitted that they could go back to their domestic service, they specifically stated the conditions of work that they would wish including the desired salary and preferred clothes for work (Nicholson 44). The two main World Wars have played a major role in the social transformation of women of Great Britain life by transforming the roles played by women. The same way that women volunteered in the domestic chores during the World War 1, it is the same way that their duties were well defined until the onset of World War II. Up to the 1930s, the social roles were well defined between the two genders; the home was meant as the place for the woman while the man was supposed to be at work. The only time that the woman would work away from home was when there was no work to be done at home (Holden 39). However, a woman would get a lesser pay than a man in such a scenario irrespective of whether they were doing the same job. Before the onset of the World War II, approximately five million women in the Great Britain had paid employment; however, they were expected to leave their jobs if they either got married or after the gave birth to the first kid (Kennedy 411). DeGroot (72) further note that the commencement of the World War II saw the entire change of the life of both men and women. Men were obviously required to join the military or to be sent away for some civilian duties. This implied that women were left to run the home alone implying that they had to get used to go out. Various changes had to be made in the work environment in order to accommodate needs of women and their children. Such changes included setting up flexible working hours and establishing nurseries to cater for the needs of the young kids when their mothers were working. The role of women in the economic development would not be underestimated considering that they comprised of a third of the total number of employees working in the ship-building, vehicle manufacture, meat and ceramic industries before the World War II started (Nicholson 46). Fashion and freedom were also identified by historians as major aspects of social construction. Most of the clothes that women worn were influenced greatly by the military styling and line at the time the wars were starting. Trousers and sometimes one-piece siren suits were common amongst Great Britain women. The one-piece siren suit acquired that name from the assumption that one could easily pull on as fast as possible in instances when air raid warning siren was sensed or heard. Women also got used to wearing headgear which was perceived as a means of keeping the hair out of the way rather than as a fashion. Women could also carry some large handbags which could fit all the family’s ration books as opposed to the current purpose of carrying accessories in the handbag (Simonton 66). As a resulting of getting used to work, most women developed the desire to knitting. Various techniques that would make clothes to last long and recycle some old garments were developed. With regards to the hair, women maintained long hair which was kept off the face. When the war time drew closer, women rolled up their hair tightly, they also topped it up with a swept-up curl to signify ‘victory roll’. Such long hair and red lips were considered to add glamour to the women. Such glamour was associated with boosting the morale of both men and women during the war. These fashions and designs were thus closely associated with the war and were mean to signify something that was influential or useful in winning the war (Roberts 38). The social customs were also greatly influenced by the practical demand of the ongoing war. Social freedom was very prevalent than before as there were more opportunities for the people to interact with the members of the opposite sex. In addition, the sense of normal rules did not seem to apply in the faces of the people as expected in the case of imminent danger. The main achievements of the woman during and after the war would not be easily identified. However, the impact of the women could not be underestimated as it played some significant role in the social transformation of the Great Britain women which is being referred to social construction. It is this impact that led to the birth of equal work opportunities and pay from the 1960s. Works Cited Bentley Katharine. Green Sleeves: The Story of the WVS/WRVS. Seeley: Service and Co, 1977. Print. Blakeley Brian. The Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women and the Problems of Empire Settlement, 1917-1936. 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London: Windrow and Green,1995. Print. Sheridan Dorothy. Wartime Women - a Mass Observation Anthology. London: Phoenix Press, 1990. Print. Winter Jay. Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning: The Great War in European Cultural History. London: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Print. Read More