How Did Ww2 Influence Australian Women

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World War 2 changed the roles and prominence of Australian women significantly. Women were no longer confined to home duties; they were able to join the workforce as men left their jobs to go to war. Women made valuable contributions to the war effort and fulfilled many roles on the home front. World War 2 had a tremendous effect on the liberation of women. Whilst their husbands were away, women had become the head of the family; they had taken over all the responsibility. There were tensions associated with women’s roles, and for many people old attitudes and values were hard to change.

Women’s roles prior to World War 2 were as nurturers and home-makers. Their future was to get married, have children and dedicate their lives to the needs of their husbands and children. This was reinforced by beliefs that women were incapable of leading any other sort of life. It was generally expected that a working man was the main provider for his family. So, any woman who took a job was somehow taking it from a man, who needed it to support his family. If a woman was unmarried and in the working class, she would generally have a job as a maid, be in domestic services or in work in a repetitive job in a factory. The jobs were very much prescribed as the attitude was that women were to be nurturers; this influenced the
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Australian women’s roles changed drastically during the war. Often, a woman’s work was multi-faceted. She had the responsibility of running a household, as well as a job in the industry. For the duration of World War 2, Australian women played an imperative role on the home front and abroad. These new roles created a new sense of independence for many women. Women were finally able to prove themselves in a male dominating society. The war transformed the roles and significance of Australian women. This became the foundation for generations of women to