3B - The Changing Role and Status of Women, 1918-1945 Flashcards

1
Q

How was the experience of working women characterised after WW1?

A

Work opportunities highly gendered. Experience of women in the workplace was often one of low skill, low wages and long hours

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2
Q

How did the Representation of the People Act 1918 help women?

A

Women over 30 gained the right to vote if they were married to or a member of the local government register, a property owner or a graduate voting in a university poll

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3
Q

Why was the ROTP 1918 bad for women?

A

It only allowed ‘well educated’ women to vote

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4
Q

How much of the vote did women comprise in 1918?

A

43% which is low considering the loss of life of men during WW1

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5
Q

What did the 1928 Representation of the People act do?

A

Enfranchised all women on equal terms with men

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6
Q

How did WW1 help women’s employment opportunities?

A

Enabled women to make gains in the workplace as the entire population was required to work: worked as auxiliaries, drivers, telephonists, signallers and as nursers

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7
Q

How were women employed in 1914 and how had this changed by 1918?

A

1914 - Large female industrial workforce. 200,000 employed in metals and chemicals industries.
1918 - Over 1 million in these fields alone. 11,000 women worked in one factory to make explosives.

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8
Q

How did women’s employment change after WW1?

A

Gains overturned, wartime empl. only lasted as long as war continued. Men returned to work and forced women out of the workplace. Numbers of women employed returned to pre war levels.

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9
Q

What was considered as women’s work in 1918 as 1.25 million women were in service?

A

Maid, cook or cleaner usually. Unpopular work but opportunities limited due to lack of education and the prejudices that existed.

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10
Q

How were there clear gender roles in the 1920s?

A

Factory work - WC. Clerical work - MC, educated, artisan class.

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11
Q

What area of work was the biggest growth area for women in 1920s?

A

Clerical work biggest growth area, 1920s 1 million employed as typists or clerks, 1931 - 1.3million

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12
Q

What emerged as an option for women in the 1920s?

A

Light manufacturing - poorly paid, unemployment benefit for women set at a lower rate, no incentive for employers to offer better rates of pay

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13
Q

What did 2/3 of all work done by working class women consist of in 1920s?

A

⅔ of all work done by WC women = baking, brewing, sewing, household tasks and caring for children

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14
Q

How did MC women feel about the ROTP acts?

A

Suffrage campaign led by MC women and wanted women owning property to be enfranchised, only radicals wanted WC enfranchised

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15
Q

When did unis begin to accept women and how was this done?

A

Sex Disqualification (removal) Act 1919 - made the civil service or law a profession open to women

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16
Q

How many female medical practitioners, nurses, architects, civil and structural engineers were there in 1931?

A

3000 female medical practitioners, 180,000 nurses, 21 architects out of a total of 6000, two structural and two civil engineers

17
Q

What was a common career for educated women?

A

Teaching but until 1944 they had to leave the profession if they got married.

18
Q

What % of the workforce was divorced, single or widowed in 1931 and why?

A

84% because married women expected to stay at home to be supported by their husbands

19
Q

How many women were in politics in the interwar period?

A

Never more than 5% of MPs were women and number of women MPs peaked at 15 in 1931. Couldn’t use commons dining room.

20
Q

How did Edith Summerskill, Labour MP, describe life as a women in politics?

A

“it was like a boys school which had decided to take a few girls”

21
Q

How many women did the Labour party attract?

A

More than any other party, 150,000 joined between 1918-1924. Many Labour still felt that women should stay at home, only 9 women served as Labour MPs in the interwar period

22
Q

How were women more influential at a local level in the interwar period?

A

1930 - less than 15% of elected local councillors were female. Many focused on social issues such as education and welfare.

23
Q

How did total war increase women’s working opportunities?

A
  • 1944 - 80,000 women worked for Women’s Land Army

- Women’s Voluntary Service supported civil defence forces and offered shelter to bombing victims

24
Q

What non combat roles did women take on during the war?

A
  • Drivers, cooks, intelligence analysts, clerks, radar plotters and mechanics in Air Force, Army and Navy
  • Women cryptanalysts and translators worked to break enemy codes, women spies occasionally carried out work
25
Q

How did women help with war production?

A

Worked in munitions factories, aircraft construction, parachute packing and uniform manufacture

26
Q

How did the war benefit women?

A
  • Better pay
  • New skills and confidence in their abilities
  • Had levels of importance
  • Overseas postings and relocation gave women opportunities and experiences they had never had
  • Opportunity to work alongside men gave a sense of participation and contribution
27
Q

What did the 1937 Matrimonial Causes Act do and how did people feel about it?

A

Allowed for divorce if either partner had been unfaithful, or deserted them for 3 years or more, opposed by CofE and Catholic Church but widespread public support

28
Q

How did 1937 changes in divorce law impact women?

A

4,800 before vs 38,000 in 1951. Although, views towards divorce reflected in King Edward attempting to marry to American divorcee Wallace Simpson - unpopular

29
Q

When was the first Birth Control clinic founded and by who?

A

1921 - Dr Marie Stopes but health workers who directed women to this clinic were sacked

30
Q

How did people feel about the Birth Control Clinics?

A

Clergymen condemned clinics as filthy and unnatural. Labour in 1927 voted against allowing local authority funding for birth control clinics.

31
Q

How did the authorities react to birth control clinics in 1930?

A

Local authorities arguing that it was essential to fund clinics. Gov decided that it was acceptable to advise mothers who already had one child and for whom second pregnancy would damage their health.

32
Q

How did the church and the General Medical Council react to birth control clinics in 1930?

A

CofE allowed married members of their congregations to use birth control. General Medical Council allowed doctors to give contraception advice to married couples only. WC women not covered by insurance schemes did not benefit from this advice.

33
Q

What freedoms did women have after WW1 in the 1920s after their husbands had died?

A

Clerical jobs allowed some single women to enjoy the birth of consumerism in the interwar years. Young women rejected fashion of Edwardian era - liked ‘flapper’ look - short haircuts and exotic fashions e.g shorter skirts

34
Q

What did the glamorous and promiscuous Flapper girls of the 1920s and 1930s enjoy doing?

A

Dancing, jazz music and social freedoms. No evidence to suggest their sexual attitudes were any different to others. Unladylike activities like smoking and drinking also adopted.

35
Q

How did the GD have a disproportionate impact on women?

A

Ate less so their families could eat. 1933 - Hungry England Enquiry reported that women were starving to feed their families. Assistances means tested in 1934 - more difficult