Men began to feel threatened by the mass employment of women in industry during the First World War, as until then women were employed mainly in the domestic service. It was completely new to men that women could do the same jobs and be on the same level as them and also they feared a larger workforce would reduce their salaries. It was a paradox! on the one hand the women were being encouraged to work in industry by government propaganda, the offer of better salaries, shorter working hours etc.- the women were certainly willing to work and their numbers were necessary to fill the positions in industry vacated by the men who had gone to fight in the war. Also women were needed for the much expanded munitions industry.
On the other hand men resented this situation as they believed women did not deserve equal pay . Also the social, changes of having women in the workplace were hard to accept as the male population had dominated that type of industry. The men believed that after the war women would take some of their jobs and also they feared that women would claim equal rights outside the workplace.
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5. “Without the work of women on the home front, Britain could not have won the First World War.” Use the sources and your own knowledge to explain whether you agree with this view.
Women’s work on the home front was very influential on the outcome of the First World War. The war had far reaching effects not just for soldiers actually fighting but everyone residing in the fighting nations and in 1916, when conscription was introduced in, Britain women’s roles in keeping up the home front became vital as many of the jobs now fell into their hands. One of the main problems that the army faced was a shell shortage on the western front, which was solved by the vast manufacturing of munitions by women, such as described in source A “hand cutting shell fuses” and shown in source J.
Apart from munitions, women entered other key areas of work which were important for the war effort such as transport and other jobs to keep the country running smoothly and as source I suggests they became “familiar figures”. Nursing was another occupation that many women, especially middle class women, entered into. All these occupations directly helped the war effort but the women who worked in agriculture played a pivotal role in keeping up the home front, so their contribution was greatly needed in keeping the nation fed.
The work that women did was so important that propaganda posters, such source E, were used to encourage women to join industries that before the war would have been off limits to them. Source F directly links with source E as it shows the change in the number of women employed in some industries. For example in 1914 there were “2,178,600” women working in the “manufacturing industry” but by 1918 there was “2,970,600”, an increase of 36%, and this was not the only industry that had an influx of women workers.
Although women made a difference there were other factors that helped Britain win the war. The entry of the U.S.A to the Allied side offered man power to the fighting front and gave the Allies a huge economic boost. Also the Allies used better tactics and new technology e.g. tank and heavy artillery.
Another factor that helped Britain and her Allies win the war the naval blockade. This caused the government of Germany to introduce rationing and towards the end of the war many of the Germans were starving and the country was on its knees. Germany did not have enough agricultural production to feed her population or enough supplies of raw materials to produce all the finished goods necessary to sustain a war effort - it had to import these things by sea which the blockade prevented.
Finally, another factor which lead to the Allied victory was the failure of the German Spring Offensive. It was due to lack of supplies and the Allies were able to push the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line and then capture that as well.
In view the ability of Britain to continue the war depended on the women’s contribution. Yet I don’t think that the work of women on the Home Front could have won the war for Britain because other factors that helped the allies achieve victory seemed more influential. So, in conclusion I believe Britain could have won the war without the help of the women but their input into the war effort was extremely useful and made winning the war easier.
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