the changing role of women Flashcards
scottish women copped with greif
women copped with the anxiety of loved ones fighting on the front lines
officially the army would send a telegram to inform a family of a dead relitave - often friends, army chaplains or the commanding officer of that soldures would write a letter home aswell.
durring major battles local newspapers published lists of the dead and wounded
by 1918 nearly every family in scotland was mourning the loss of a relative
scots women took on war work left by men fighting on the front
women were needed to ‘fill in the gaps on the home front’ and worked in jobs that would previously have been unheard of for a women
scots women worked as conductors on trams and busses, they became typists or secretaries or were able to find work in the greatly expanded government departments - many became nurses
scots women undertook training and dilution allowed them to carry out essential war work
work previously carried out by a skilled man was broken down into smaller tasks which women were trained to do - trade unions agreed to this on the bases that women would be paid less, supervised by a ‘skilled man’ and would have to leave the job when the war ended
the greatest increase in female employment was heavy engineering - before the war it employed 4,000 women but by 1917 this rose to over 30,000
scottish women worked in munitions factory’s despite them being hazardous to health
munitions work was very dangerous - in total 61 scots women died from chemical poisoning and 71 in explosions. many also suffered long term health problems as a result of the exposure to toxic gas and acid but women wanted to be seen to ‘do there bit’ and the wages were high
scots women joined the womens land army
the government created the womens land army in 1917 and recruitment posters showed farm work as easy and even enjoyable. most scots women were not fooled by this propaganda and new of the hard labour within farm work however middle class city girls tended to take up the roles
farmers were sceptical about women filling the role of a skilled agricultural man but the number of women employed in scottish agriculture between 1914-1919 remained constant at 22,000
scots women copped with food scarcity and rationing
by march 1917 food prices had risen by an average on 32%. more often than not it was women who joined food queues and carried rationing cards etc so much of the governments propaganda regarding voluntary rationing and less food waste etc was aimed at women.
womens magazines and pages in the newspaper included meatless recipes for example
scots women found they had more social freedoms
alongside financial independence (due to work) young single women could openly go to many public places unaccompanied by a man. clothing became looser and more practical and hair was worn shorter
in Aberdeen for example reports claimed that soldiers wives were going into pubs in groups to spend their service allowance on drink
scottish women recieved the vote in stages
franchise reform was inevitable by 1918 - the representation of the people act gave the vote to some women over 30 who met certain requirements.
this still wasn’t enough however as men aged 21 (over 19 for ex servicemen) had the vote and most of the women who risked there lives in munitions factory’s durring the war were either single, in there late teens or early 20’s. The equal franchise act 1928 finally gave scottish women the vote on the same terms as scottish men
