Women & the War Efforts
The Roles of Women before ‘The Great War’
British society has undergone many changes during the Great War. Significantly, the changes had affected many women of all statuses to bring the good for the rights of women and how they eventually obtained their voting rights. Before the Great War, Upper Class women in Britain did not work at all, where they were known to be caring for their husbands, children and of course their homes. Also, they had the job of being a housewife; fulfilling the basic essential needs in the home of cleaning, ironing, preparing meals, etc. Like nowadays women have several rights they are eligible to, however in the late Victorian and early Edwardian period (1880’s – 1914), women had no rights at all.
Women were known not be as clever as men and for several other reasons they were not allowed to go out into the financial world and receive jobs for extra income. The average woman would spend their day looking after their children, cleaning their house and cooking for their family. The woman's husband would have a job and earn the money whilst the woman stayed at home and looked after the children. Women's family were very important to them. Woman wanted to be treated as equally as men. Women's only professions were said to be motherhood and wifehood. "A woman's place is in the home" is how women expressed their selves as all their chores were in their home whilst the men went out to work.
Girls were said to follow their mother’s footsteps so it wasn't as important for them to go to school. If a poor man chose to send his children to the 'poorhouse', the mother was legally defenceless to object. Some communities let women act as lawyers in courts, sue for property and to own property in their own names if their husbands agreed.
Though, there was quite a division between the upper, middle and working class women during the First World War. Having discussed about the status of the upper class women, it was however not the same case for the
British society has undergone many changes during the Great War. Significantly, the changes had affected many women of all statuses to bring the good for the rights of women and how they eventually obtained their voting rights. Before the Great War, Upper Class women in Britain did not work at all, where they were known to be caring for their husbands, children and of course their homes. Also, they had the job of being a housewife; fulfilling the basic essential needs in the home of cleaning, ironing, preparing meals, etc. Like nowadays women have several rights they are eligible to, however in the late Victorian and early Edwardian period (1880’s – 1914), women had no rights at all.
Women were known not be as clever as men and for several other reasons they were not allowed to go out into the financial world and receive jobs for extra income. The average woman would spend their day looking after their children, cleaning their house and cooking for their family. The woman's husband would have a job and earn the money whilst the woman stayed at home and looked after the children. Women's family were very important to them. Woman wanted to be treated as equally as men. Women's only professions were said to be motherhood and wifehood. "A woman's place is in the home" is how women expressed their selves as all their chores were in their home whilst the men went out to work.
Girls were said to follow their mother’s footsteps so it wasn't as important for them to go to school. If a poor man chose to send his children to the 'poorhouse', the mother was legally defenceless to object. Some communities let women act as lawyers in courts, sue for property and to own property in their own names if their husbands agreed.
Though, there was quite a division between the upper, middle and working class women during the First World War. Having discussed about the status of the upper class women, it was however not the same case for the