Women during the war Flashcards
Why did women need to work?
Women needed to work due to the huge numbers of men that had been sent off to war.
What was the WLA?
The Women’s Land Army, it was reformed in July 1939 to cope with the demand for farming:
o 30,000 farming men were sent off to the army
o 15,000 farming men left to complete other war work
What was it like in the WLA?
About 80 000 women joined initially.
They were given lodgings in remote areas, often with very basic conditions.
Many women travelled the country doing everyday farm jobs, such as haymaking, ploughing, harvesting and looking after animals
The WLA employed 2 million women by 1943.
What was it like for women in Heavy Industry?
Women worked in engineering firms, iron foundries and factories.
They were supervised by a man, some found the work too difficult, others really enjoyed it.
What was conscription for women?
December 8th 1941, the government introduced conscription for all unmarried women aged 20-30.
As the war developed, older single women and married women were also conscripted.
How did work change for women?
Conscription helped increase the number of single women in work to 90% by 1943 and 57% of all workers were female.
Women could join the Armed services, civil defence or industry.
By 1943 there were over 100,000 women working on the railways doing all sorts of jobs, including driving the train.
What were the women’s sections in the armed services?
The ATS (Army), the WAAF (air force) and the WRNS (Navy)
How did roles change for women in the armed forces?
To start with, women mostly cooked or cleaned or did paperwork, but eventually they worked on anti-aircraft posts, radio operators, messengers and even spies.
Women pilots were also used to transfer planes from the factories to the airfields.
What happened to women after the war?
When the war ended millions of men came back from the war to find women working in their jobs, women had to give up these jobs.
By 1947 around 18% of women continued to work. In addition, there continued to be fewer incentives for women to work.
How did women feel about returning?
Many welcomed the opportunity to return to the home. Many young women had delayed having children because of the war and now wanted to start families.
How was life far away from equality?
Women continued to be paid around half of what men were paid for the same job. The Ministry of Health refused to set up nurseries to provide childcare for working women, arguing that female employment was only for the duration of the war.
