Work in the factories was dangerous- a number of major incident resulted in over 200 munitionettes being killed throughout the period of the war. The most serious of these incidents was in January 19 – when a factory in East London blew up. There were 450 casualties – 69 of whom had died. Vera Brittain later wrote, ‘A journalist friend told me that on the evening of the disaster she had been working in her room… when the drawn blind suddenly lifted without a sound, remained horizontal in the air for a moment or two and then slowly dropped. There was no wind and she heard no noise… it was a most terrifying experience.’
Many other women also received TNT poisoning, while others’ skin turned a yellow tinge as a result of the chemicals in the munitions factories. The munitionettes were often referred to as ‘canaries’ because of this.
Despite these dangers, however, there was no shortage of women who were willing to take their place in the munitions factories. The majority of women who went into munitions works were working class and had very little education. They were attracted by the prospect of earning five pounds a week as a munitionettes rather than two pounds a month for a fifteen- hour day as a domestic servant. However, there were several middle- class women who also worked in the factories.
Women’s involvement in the war began as voluntary work not only because of the authorities’ reluctance to let them serve in the war, but also because of the belief that women were not capable of contributing to the war effort. Nursing was the most acceptable form of war work for women in the middle- and upper- classes. However, at first, female requests to volunteer for nursing assignments were not accepted by the government. An example of this is when Mrs. St Claire Stobard offered the services of the Women’s Convoy Corp to the Red Cross and was subsequently rejected. Another example is when Dr. Elise Inglis offered the services of the Scottish Women’s Hospital units and was denied the chance to serve overseas.
As the danger of food shortages rose, it became increasingly important to maintain and increase agricultural production. With most of the farm workers serving at the front, some women chose to work on the land. By 1918, the Women’s Land Army numbered over 16, 000. Although, this was not a popular choice of work for women for a number of reasons, including that the farmers resented having female workers, the pay was low, and the accommodation poor. It was evident that most women preferred to work in the city.
Other jobs, once male- dominated, where being taken up by women – including blacksmiths, gravediggers, managers, and ambulance drivers. Women took on board a variety of transport roles such as tram drivers, ticket collectors, rail guards – and any other jobs that has been vacated by men. Women filled the office and bank jobs as they worked as clerks and tellers. However, some areas remained totally off- limits to women for instance train drivers, iron and steel industry, and they rarely worked in jobs such as shipbuilding, accounting, or architecture.
By the third year of the war, women began to participate in the armed services. Each branch of the armed forces formed a women’s auxiliary service so that women could take over the non- combatant roles – freeing me for fighting on the front. In the WRNS (Women’s Royal Naval Service), women did ‘their bit’ as electricians, gas- drill instructors, telephonists, coders, and decoders. The women, however, were given no full military status – they were enrolled, not enlisted. If the women broke the rules they would be tried in a civil court as opposed to the military one. They were not given ranks – rather than Sergeant, Corporeal, or Privates- they were simply called workers. Soon also, women had entered the police force – helping with crowd control and assisting in air raids. The Ministry of Munitions used women police in factories to ensure the munitionettes obeyed regulations.
Trade unions were not keen on women – they frequently insisted that female workers be the first discharged, refused to allow them to become union members, amid fears that unskilled women entering the work force would permanently damage the status of the skilled worker, and seldom assisted them in their efforts to obtain equal pay – in fact, actively fought against it at times. At one factory the women who replaced the men earning 3 pounds a week were paid only 12 shillings for the same work. Although, women’s low pay made them attractive to employers who were looking out to cut costs.
The trade unions also enforced the firm belief that when the war was over women would return to the home where they belonged – this was the prevailing view of society at the time.
However, the war was able to stimulate women’s consciousness of their value and some did unionize – going on strike for better pay. Mary Macarthur – the British Union leader – fought for increased wages for the munitionettes. In 1918 there were 838 trade unions that included female members – with 36 of the organizations being consisting of women only. ‘Of all the changes wrought by the war, none has been greater than the change in the status and position of women, but it is not so much that woman herself has changed, but that man’s perception of her has changed’ – Mary Macarthur’s 1918 view on the change in attitude about women’s worth.
Pre- war there had already been hard campaigns for women’s vote – including many violent campaigns. However, at the outbreak of the war, the main suffragette movements suspended their campaigns and threw themselves into the war effort. Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Cristobel – key figures in the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) – encouraged men to enlist, campaigned for harsh treatment of conscientious objectors, and encouraged women into munitions factories.
In regards to the women receiving the vote with the ‘Representation of the People Act 1918’, some historians argue that the government rewarded them for their efforts and vital contribution to the war – however this idea is not heavily supported by evidence. In fact, WSPU violence and opposition to Prime Minister Asquith had ceased by 1918 – two important factors that prevented women from receiving the vote. The ‘vote’, however was generally enfranchised to only middle- class women who were married and not young – excluding a majority of the female workers, who were mainly working- class, single, and young – so it was hardly a reward for their war services.
As far as the social impact World War I had on women goes – it differed on the basis of a woman’s age, class, and location. Although women did experience an improved position in society – with even the press playing up female patriotism – most war workers were women from the working- class who were used to long hours, and physical hard work, therefore the impact of the war was minimal – there was essentially ‘nothing new’. The middle- class women, however, were freed from the restraints of domesticity – the war had a major impact on their lives – and because they were more literate than the lower class women, they were able to make accounts of their war time experiences in print – that described the war as nothing short of revolutionary to their lives.
It seems to be the traditional view of the impact the First World War had on the lives on women in Britain to have in fact been revolutionary – a time of great freedom and opportunity for women – freed from the confines of the home – given higher pay, received the vote – and were moving along the path to gender equality. However, as supported by the evidence - even though the media played up female patriotism they were often extremely patronizing, at the beginning of the war female employment actually fell by 10 percent in October 1914, and munitions workers had switched from other jobs – so the talk of sudden increase in employment is incorrect.
After the war, women were encouraged to return to the home or traditional female jobs. The ‘Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act’ tried to actually take the jobs from the working- class women – and while the Sex Discrimination Removals Act helped – it only benefited middle- class women.
Despite this dispute to the traditional views, however, the First World War did witness a significant change in the roles women played within British society. From the traditional tasks, such as volunteer work, to the munitionettes, who became responsible for much of Britain’s armaments output, to active roles within the economic life of the country – including fields in transport, agriculture and clerical work, and to the creation of women’s auxiliary organizations in the armed services, and general improvement in wages and working conditions – the fortitude of the nation increasingly became dependent on the efforts of the women. Although for some women the war was far from revolutionary – all the lives of women, and the social and economic changes experienced by them, whether for better or for worse – were impacted greatly and perhaps even profoundly by the occurrence of the First World War.
