Ww1 Unit 1 Research Paper

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the role that women in British society played was continually changing due to industry, urbanism and war. The changes in these three aspects of society brought about new roles and responsibilities for women that were typically unprecedented. The changing role of women during this time period is more noticeable in comparison to men, whose role stayed relatively the same during changes in industry, urbanism and war. The advancement of industry and technology, the movement from rural to urban areas and the First and Second World Wars all played a contributing part to how the role of women would change. Because of these factors the role of women can be seen as fluctuating between being involved …show more content…
Prior to the onset of World War I, women’s role was primarily in the sphere of domesticity, with the household and children being their main area focus. When the First World War began in 1914 sixty percent of men ages fifteen to forty-nine signed up to join the fight against Germany therefore creating a need for new labour to fill the positions these men left. By examining the numbers of working women throughout the period of the First World War there is an obvious shift in the role of women. In 1914 there were approximately 200 000 working women in British society and by 1918 the number of working women had grown to approximately one million. With men leaving their jobs at the factory to join to the war and fight on the European content, women were needed to fill these jobs in order to produce products, like munitions, in order to assist Britain’s war effort. Women were no longer viewed primarily as housewives whose role was to maintain the household and children, they were now needed to contribute to the workforce in large numbers to replace the continually growing number of men who were sent overseas to fight the

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Ww1 Unit 1 Research Paper