Women in the 1900s

Hypothesis:

Was the Experience of Women in both World Wars Largely Positive?

Before 1914, British society had a traditional view of women. They were seen as second class citizens, as they were thought to be weaker and less intelligent than men. Before marriage women were under the control of their fathers. Those who were married tended to the home and looked after their children and husband. Some women worked as domestic servants, primarily those in the working class. More educated women, like those in the middle, and sometimes upper class often went into professions such as teaching and nursing. It was respectable enough for them to work as secretaries and ‘posh’ shops, until they got married. Normally, upper class women did not work, as before marriage they were provided for by their father, and after marriage they were provided for by their husband. However, not all women accepted this role, and many rebelled, fighting for suffrage - the right to vote. In 1897 Millicent Fawcett set up the ‘National Union for Women’s Suffrage’, more commonly known as the ‘Suffragists’. Their’s was a peaceful campaign for women’s right to vote, but Emmeline Parkhurst and her daughters felt they were not making enough progress, so in 1903 they set up the ‘Women’s Social and Political Union’ - ‘Suffragettes’. They had a much more violent approach, and had an additional aim of achieving better living and working conditions. Despite this, by 1914 women had still not achieved suffrage.

During World War One, men left their jobs to fight the war, and in many places women took their place. Their jobs were a lot safer compared to those which men had. However, as some sources show they were offered new opportunities. For example, Source 4 advertises new jobs for women in the WRAF, the Women’s Royal Air Force.

After the war there was change. In 1918 The Representation of the People Act was passed. This allowed women over the age 30 to vote. Later on in 1928, another law was passed. This allowed all women, aged 21 or over, to vote (the same age as men). These changes suggest that the war was a positive experience for women.

In World War Two men were conscripted to go to war. Because of this, women were needed again to take their jobs. Many joined the military, doing dangerous jobs like being air wardens. Building on their success of World War One, they were also given the choice of working on land or in factories, and often their jobs were a lot more dangerous and important. However, it must be noted that this change was only short-term. After both wars, the government forced women back into traditional roles. Furthermore, although they had the vote, they did not have real equality. For instance, men got paid more than women, even if they had the same job. This continuity suggests that the wars were not a very positive experience for women.

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During the wars, women experienced a lot of change. On one hand these experiences were positive. They now had more opportunity to work. Although initially some were reluctant to do so, most were not, and were in fact, motivated to go and work. Source 2 is a newspaper article about women in work. It tells us that women did not take many days off, and did their job without any problems. This shows that they wanted to work. Source 3 also supports this. It is a World War 2 photograph of women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service operating a searchlight to look for the enemy. This was very dangerous as the enemy would try to bomb the light if they saw it. Despite this, women still agreed to the job, as with Source 2, women felt more independent as they were earning their own money. Those jobs which required them to wear uniforms made women feel part of a community, creating a sense of belonging. Also, by working, especially in dangerous jobs like Source 3 shows, women had the opportunity to prove that they were not fragile and feeble, but were in fact useful and hardworking.

Another positive experience was that the government’s attitude towards the role of women in society was changing. They realised that with the men gone to fight, women were the only choice to keep the country’s home front stable. Source 6 is a photograph from 1945, near the end of World War 2. We can see two women scrambling over rubble to help wounded victims of a V2 rocket in London. This illustrates that women were brave and heroic, giving them a more equal status with men. The government clearly encouraged and promoted women working through propaganda. Source 4 is an advertisement for the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF). This organisation used advertising to encourage women to join. They offered various jobs, including being waitresses, clerks and cooks, but they were still mostly domestic jobs. After the First World War the government realised how helpful and courageous women were, so introduced the Sex Disqualification Removal Act in 1919. This meant that women could have professional careers, such as barristers, vets and higher civil servants. Women were now seen in a more positive way. Moreover, Nancy Aster (of Sutton, Plymouth) became the first female MP. Also in this year, Oxford University allowed women to study for degrees. Furthermore, women were allowed to vote. This showed that even the government began to accept that women should have political equality.

Finally, both wars gave women greater independence. During and after World War One, women did gain more freedom. This was due to the fact that they had jobs. They earned their own money, therefore did not need to depend on their father or husband. Because of this they had more freedom, clearly supported by Source 8, a photograph of a group of women at a restaurant. It seems as if they are without a chaperone, which would not have been normal before the war. Also, we see them smoking, despite the ‘LADIES Please Do Not Smoke’ sign. This shows them rebelling. They were doing what they wanted to, not what they were expected to do. However this was not the norm for the working class women. They were not as wealthy as the other classes, so could not afford this kind of lifestyle. Women did gain more freedom. They were given the right to vote, and the Sex Discrimination Act opened up more careers to them.

Although some experiences of women were positive, they also had many negative experiences. One was that they still had to take on roles expected of them, and had to leave behind the roles which they adopted in the Wars. During the wars, the British government needed women to replace the men. However, this was only temporarily, as when they returned the men expected to take their jobs back, and for women to go back to their traditional roles. Source 1 clearly shows this. It is a description of Helen Parker’s work at Peek Freans. Before she got the job, her employee asked if her children would be cared for whilst she would be working. Her job was quite domestic: to bake biscuits. This followed the housewife stereotype. She also tells us that men got their jobs back when they returned, and only some women could keep their jobs. To support this further, Source 3 is a photograph of a girl who drove a bread delivery van during the war. She cried at the end of the war as the men had returned. It would have seen as being wrong and against stereotypical views if a girl was driving a bread delivery cart. Women had well paid work during the wars as they were needed then, but they weren’t needed after the wars, so usually lost their jobs and were forced back into their homes and expected roles.

Although the government helped women by introducing the Sex Disqualification Act and others, giving them greater equality, even they still held the traditional view that they should only work in traditional areas. When men returned after the First World War, the government actively set out to force women back into domestic work. Source 5 is an article from a 1919 newspaper, suggesting that it would be a warning to every woman. It tells us that unemployment benefit was restricted to women who refused to work in domestic service. This is showing that many women had no choice but to return to jobs they used to do before, clearly against their will. For a while after the Second World War women were not called to work. This was because the government were reluctant for women to take the jobs men had, unless they were really needed. In 1941, the government realised that they did need women to work, so conscripted them. Some women were reluctant to do so. The reason for this was because they had gotten used to staying at home. Because of this advertising was often used to encourage them to have a job as well as carry on working at home. Source 6 is an example of one of these adverts. Despite the fact that women worked for the country, they were still expect to carry on their roles as housewives. This emphasises how many still had a traditional view of women.

There was a further negative experience which women went through, linking to the previous points. Other than having expected roles, and the government’s attitude towards women throughout both World Wars, Britain was still very much a patriarchal society. In 1944 Winston Churchill rejected the women teacher’s claim for equal pay as men. Women were seen as second-class citizens, and men were given an advantage over them. In Source 1, Helen Parker says that women were only used when they were needed. When the men returned from War, they received their jobs back, despite how helpful they had been. Even in the war time, the superiors were male. Women did not have much of a say, whereas men could do what they liked. Also, Source 6, the advert, as previously discussed highlights the issue that women were there to serve their husbands. The women in the advertisement had a job, but risked losing it if she could not be a successful wife by making her husband a hot dinner. Getting the vote clearly did not alter the position of women in Great Britain.

During World War One and World War Two women of all classes experienced a lot of change and continuity. Some of these experiences were positive, and some were negative. Women wanted to work, and the government sometimes encouraged them to as well. This gave them a greater level of independence. Also, the government recognised the help and effort women had put into the war, and therefore allowed them to work in more qualified professions. By 1928 they were even given the right to vote if they were over the age of 21.

Despite all of this, the main role of women did not change much. This was significant during the interwar period. They were still expected to tend to the home, whether they had a job or not. Men were still seen as being more important. This is proven as they took the women’s jobs after they returned from war. Even the government limited them from working. They were only asked to work during the beginning of World War Two when they were urgently needed. After this, they were forced back into their homes. Although some women carried on working, they were not treated the same as men. This was apparent as the president rejected the Equal Pay Act in 1944. Today, women do usually have equal pay, but they are often still victims of discrimination.

In conclusion, there were positive aspects in both of the World Wars for women. However, they still had negative experiences, so the experience was not wholly positive.