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Role of Women in Ww2

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Submitted By hanariya
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Role of Women in WW2
The role of women changed dramatically during and after World War 2 (WW2). Initially women would do the housework and look after the children. During the war, women did not only have to take care of the house, they slowly started becoming popular in the working industry. After the war, women were able to have more power and were considered more than just a pretty face.
Topic sentence: Before the war, women had very little freedom, power and job opportunities. Explanation: Women were the leaders of the house. They would cook, clean, wash and wipe whilst looking after children. Some of them had feminine jobs, like tailoring, where they would work and try to earn money in order to support their husbands or if their husbands were unable to work. Before the war, it was generally thought that a MAN was the main bread winner and provider for their families. Ladies were very limited with their social interactions as well. They were occasional allowed get-togethers along-side their husbands. Evidence: Women were devoted to their husbands and if you weren’t married then you were supposed to be devoted to their father. Meaning that you were born to cook, clean, wash, wipe and bear children. Link: But with so many men away at war, this idealistic view began to change. Women were allowed to work and were expected to be an active member of the workforce.
Topic sentence: The rise of women and their path to change during WW2. Explanation: When all the men where off to war, there was nobody to do the “manly” jobs back on home ground. So the government decided that the women would have to take over the work force. But it was only single ladies who could work because they thought if a married woman worked, it meant that she was replacing the male role in the house which would bring shame to the family. Since the government still needed help with taking care of things on home soil, they told married women that they could do things like teaching, nursing etc. because it was ladylike and had a nurturing vibe to it so it wouldn’t hurt the perfect household image. Evidence: Women were recruited for many jobs such as welding, machine repair, operating tractors and other large engines. They made uniforms, weapons and ammunitions. They helped build trucks, tanks and airplanes. Even though women did prove themselves worthy of being able to work in such an environment they were still being short-changed, they were not earning anywhere close to what men did. Link: During the WW2 ideas and laws had been relaxed to allow women the freedom to support their families. The relaxed laws gave women the freedom to explore opportunities to define themselves and when the war ended, they weren’t going to give this up their freedom without a fight.
Topic sentence: Life after WW2 was saw dramatic changes occur for women liberty. Explanation: The idealistic role of women had changed tremendously. The traditional image of a woman was to cook, clean, wash, wipe and look after children. End of the war brought changes that caused women to stand up and fight for their right to remain in employed workforce. They started riots and campaigns to help gain support for their cause. Evidence: The women's liberation movement was the main riot to help increase awareness for their cause. The main areas of concern for the women's movement were culture, education, health, and sexuality. They wanted to improve the education for women from kindergarten to university. They wanted to breakdown stereo typical barriers and create job opportunities for girls that were reserved for men only which included sport and science. Other women focused on health and safety issues, including having an easier way to access contraception, abortion and protection from violence. Women recognised the area of sexuality as one where there was much inequality between men and women. The also wanted to have to opportunities to be able to have a same sex relationship or not be in a relationship at all. Link: Even to this day, women are still fighting for the same rights as they did so many years ago. The inequalities between gender salaries still exists. Although women have many opportunities in today’s society, some inequalities remain unresolved.
The role of women has changed significantly since World War 2. Initially, it was about having kids and cleaning after them, but then it took a major left turn once the war had begun. Men were forced to go and fight while women handled things on the home front. It created opportunities for women to show their worth and be accounted for the economic workforce. Women were employed in all different sectors of the workplace such as as welding, machine repair, operating tractors and other large engines. After the war, women fought for their independence to remain in the workplace and be active and accountable members of the society. Their fight for independence changed the future for girls and women today. Without the war, the role of women wouldn’t have changed and the world, would be a very different place.

http://www.striking-women.org/module/women-and-work/world-war-ii-1939-1945

http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/australia-wwii/home-wii/roles-women-wwii

http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/women-in-wartime http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-14_u-109_t-290_c-971/women-in-australia-before-world-war-ii/nsw/history/changing-rights-and-freedoms-women/women

http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-56_u-490_t-1336_c-5136/women/tas/women/australia-after-1945/changing-rights-and-freedoms

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