This negative attitude towards women resulted in a campaign for women to be more involved in the war effort, organised by the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) -led by Mrs Pankhurst. This took place in the form of a march in the centre of London. 30,000 women participated. In 1915, women’s involvement in the war increased, however this was due to necessity rather than pressure from the suffragettes.
In 1915 there was a munitions crises-there was a shortage of shells and other munitions. This shortage forced the government to realise how important it was for women to work during the war. The government needed to employ women to make shells in munitions factories. To encourage women to work in munitions, they actively campaigned using posters and propaganda. This had a massive effect. In 1914, the amount of women working in munitions factories was 212,000. By 1918 the figure was 947,000. That is 735,000 women employed in four years. Things like the munitions shortage and conscription, which was introduced in 1916 for men aged between 18-41, helped things move along quicker. Although these employment figures for women are very impressive on the outside, the conditions in which the women had to work in were often dangerous. Roughly 300 women were killed by explosions or similar incidents. Some also died from poisoning. Some women’s hair and skin turned yellow because they were in contact with poisonous chemicals such as Trinitrotoluene (TNT), despite the fact they wore protective clothing.
Having said that, there were advantages to munitions work. Wages were reasonable - the average pay was £2 a week. Women could take up new opportunities for greater freedom and independence. They could go to the cinema, music halls and public houses.
Working in munitions factories was not the only option women had - in fact it was mainly unskilled working class women that took those jobs. There were other jobs for the middle class like nursing, surgery, medicine, teaching, secretarial, military services (WAAG). These were reasonably well-paid jobs also, but there was no chance of being promoted, and women did not get the same wages as men in the same profession.
One of the more popular of these choices was work in the medical professions. This was not only because many people in this line of work had gone to war, but also because more doctors, nurses and surgeons were needed to cope with the casualties from the war.
However, not all of the remaining under 18s or over 40 year-old men were happy with this. This resulted in a lot of women being bullied and intimidated in the workplace. One female driver said: “The men led us a devil of a life… they cut a petrol pipe half through, they would unscrew a valve, they would change the leads on the spark plugs…They would give us the wrong directions.” These women found it hard to stand up for themselves, as they had been repressed for so long. Having said that, this was just one disadvantage compared to the many advantages of this new career option.
The Land Army, on the other hand, had a great deal more disadvantages. It was an organisation that began because of the lack of food in England during the war, and aimed to make the country more self-reliant by growing crops in every possible area. Whilst under the strict working conditions, women were expected to have no social life, and to behave like “Good little English girls who expect chivalry and respect from everyone she meets.” Farmers paid the women as little as they could get away with. Sometimes they even employed school children, who they paid even less. In 1914 there were about 100,000 women working on land. By the end of the war, only 13,000 more had been recruited. The Land Army was clearly not a popular job option.
Having the option to work for a living in the war was not the only thing that women gained during this time. In February 1918, a law was passed that meant woman could have the vote. This was a really big step towards equal rights for woman. It was clear that the role of woman during the war had changed because they were able to work, some woman actually became MPs during this period. These factors helped woman get the vote. Unfortunately, to be able to vote according to the law, women had to be over 30, own a house or to be married to a house owner. All men on the other hand could vote at the age of 21. These terms only gave eight million women the vote. It was not till 1928 that women could vote on the same terms as men.
In conclusion, although there were a few disadvantages for women during the war, many opportunities opened up for them and many people realised their importance in society. During the war women gained the right to vote, decent jobs and the respect and recognition they deserved. Although they gained all of these things during the war, they lost them again with the exception of the vote after the war was over. It was not till WW2 they stopped being oppressed and treated like equals, and it was not until the 1960s that women were given the same wages as men. The war just brought up the idea of equal rights for women. It did not have any lasting effects, when the war was over women were expected to go back to being humble housewives as they were before. It was a significant step for women, but only temporarily.
