Describe the employment opportunities of women in Britain between 1914 and 1918.
Robert Haines 5V
Describe the employment opportunities of women in Britain between 1914 and 1918.
Before 1915 there were high unemployment rates as trade with the Triple Alliance had ceased, many servants and maids were dismissed and some employees shut down their factories in the initial war panic. In September 1914 44% of working women were unemployed. In 1915 the situation changed. The shortage of armaments and supplies for the army and navy meant that there was a shortage of supplies in the munitions industry. There was a growing need for more people to take up posts in the army such as clerks and nurses as it was growing larger. As those who worked in farms were going out to fight there was a shortage of people to work on the land and in the public services.
At first there was hostility towards women in most areas that they started to work in. Men argued that it was wrong for women to be paid as much as a man who was working to support his family. Trade unions were worried that if women took up men’s jobs now then after the war they would not be able to return to their jobs. Although soon most women were working along side men on a friendly basis some men refused to help them as they feared their employees would cut their wages as women were cheaper to employ. Many women joined trade unions. In 1914 433,679 women belonged to trade unions and by 1918 this figure had almost trebled to 1,209,278. Women left the traditional working areas like cotton, silk and tailoring to move to better paid jobs that were traditionally taken up by men.