Women in the Second World War participated in the war effort by joining the women’s uniformed services. The Canadian women’s Army Corps was approved on the 13th August 1941 to enlist thousands of women in support roles for the military forces.¹ The CWAC, Canadian Women’s Army Corps largely operated in Canada, as a corps within the active militia of Canada, but by 1944, they were assigned to clerical and support duties in war regions. Several thousands were sent to support Canadian forces in Britain, Italy and northeast Europe. The CWAC made up to 2.8% of the total Canadian Army in 1945.² The CWAC is recognized as great contribution that women played in the success of the Allied victory in World War II.
This was all that was expected of women at the time and the absolutely zero opportunities set up for them did not help much either especially with the state of the economy at the time which was in a recession (Canada Goes to War). Once it was declared that Canada was going to war, 10,000 Canadians volunteered as they believed the war would only last a few months (Canada Goes to War). This left various jobs wide open for women to fill and finally enter the workforce. 30,000 women worked outside of their homes in factories, offices, and in the countryside to aid their families' farms due to the shortage of male workers (Canada and Total War). They also volunteered their time to create care packages for the men living in horrible conditions, they sent necessities such as pillows, sheets, socks, and scarves (Canada and Total War).
The needs of the armed forces, the war economy and the deployment of men overseas created new jobs and opportunities for women. Before World War 2, they were not permitted to enlist in the military services, most of them were working in factories, shops or family businesses. From late 1940, Australian women were permitted and encouraged to enlist in the military services. Australian Women’s Army Service (A.W.A.S.) established the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force, Army and Navy forces. Lorna Byrne who used to be a member of the Australian Women’s Army Services (A.W.A.S.) said that women lived and worked under the same conditions as men.
The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act was a law passed by President Harry S. Truman, allowing women to join the army. Before the act was passed, only men were permitted to be in combat, while women in the army worked in clinical positions. When World War II began, despite women not being allowed to join the “regular” army, the Women’s Army Corps was created and granted full army status during wartime. The growth in the number of women in the corps, along with the fact that they performed equally to the army, were two of the main factors for the law to be created and passed. The WAC was set to be expired in 1948, but the act was passed in the same years which meant that women would continue to be allowed to fight in the army.
Not only were men fighting the war but women were also helping the fight either from the bases or the home front. Some women like Nancy Wake fought
Women played a key role in the war, many women risk their lives and serve in the military, “Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs became the first women to fly American military aircraft. They ferried planes from factories to bases, transporting cargo and participating in simulation strafing and target missions” (History.com). For the time in American history women was doing other thing in the military. Many women enjoy their jobs during World War 2 because it was new opportunity and many were excited because they helping with the war effort. By allowing women in the workforce more will create more available manpower to fight overseas.
During the war, there was a drastic decrease on supplies and soldiers for the war effort. Men, being sent to war by conscription, could no longer work or support Canada. Women saw these needs and
Women’s achievements during World War One is not the only reason why it was beneficial for Canada, the second reason was Canadians in the war at the sea. At the start of World War One, Canada had a major problem, its navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, was established only three years before World War One in 1911, so they only had 3 warships and 350 sailors, this weakness meant a weak country, meaning Canadians could not take pride in their country and its strength. The Canadian Navy was so pitiful that at the start of World War One, Canadians were donating their own personal boats to help with the war effort. By the end of World War One, this had changed, Canada’s navy had expanded considerably to over 112 warships and 5500 sailors, making it the fourth largest navy in the world, this meant Canadians could now take pride in their country and its strength, leading to a growing sense of nationalism and the idea that we should be fully independent from Britain, as we did not need them to protect us any more. Germany’s strategy during World War One was to starve Britain by using its new strategy, Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, where they used a large number of submarines to sink merchant ships coming from Canada to Britain, Canada was able to reduce the amount of
Women joined war service organizations such as the YWCA and the Red
Women in Wars Whether in the American Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, or World War II, women played an important role. In areas of fighting, nursing, or taking care of the home, without women, winning past wars would have been much harder. American Revolutionary War Women played critical roles throughout the American Revolution. Some followed their husbands into battle in the Continental Army.
The need for medical personnel was extraordinary, and many women stepped forward to serve their country. Women who served as nurses during World War II faced significant challenges, including working long hours in difficult and dangerous conditions, often in war zones and under enemy fire (Bellafaire). Women's role in nursing during World War Two was crucial and substantially impacted the outcome of the war. With many men fighting on the front lines, women stepped up to fill the gap in the healthcare industry, including nursing. Women took on new responsibilities during the war, including serving as military nurses, civilian volunteers, and working in the Red Cross.
In 1939, no one thought that women, who weren 't even considered people decades before, would have such a massive impact in the Second World War. Canadian women 's contribution to the war effort, and their role at the home front and overseas had greatly increased since the previous, devastating First World War. The Second World War brought change to Canadian women on an unpredictable scale, though their volunteer work, paid labour force, and their contributions in the armed forces. Surely without the contributions made by the Canadian women, Canada and her allies would not have been as successful as they were. By far, the prime contribution made by Canadian women to the war effort came through their unpaid labour as volunteer work.
The Effect of Women on the Outcome of World War Two World War II effected women tremendously by taking them out of their comfort zones and chucking them into the work force and pushing them to do most of the work men normally would have been doing. The war also effected women by providing opportunities for them to serve in non-traditional roles; in fact, some of them enlisted into the military to serve the United States. The way the war effected women is that they had to take care of family in addition to performing work normally done by men. It was difficult to find people to watch after kids which made life during this time very difficult. After the end of World War II society in general was effected considering the baby boom.
During World War II, Woman’s were assembled for duty in the Canadian Armed Forces, for the first time. The armed force was shy of men in war services and administration, which lead the Canadian government to choose and declare on August 13, 1941 to give woman’s the privilege to take an interest in war utility. 50,000 women were enlisted and more than half provided service in the Canadian Army. Most were doled out occupations including customary female work, for example, cooking, clothing and administrative obligations, also woman had pioneer roles in the mechanized and specialized fields. The Canadian Women 's Army Corps (CWAC) performed fundamental administrations, both at home and abroad, that achieved Allied victory.
In the book written by (Gavin, 1997) it was cited that “As women took over from their absent men in hundreds of new and challenging occupations, many of which had previously been considered inappropriate”. From the beginning of the World War 1, the German women were participating a great deal. They contributed to half a million-people working on the munitions manufacturing alone (Gavin, 1997). It also mentioned in the book that over in the U.S, the men in charge refused to let the women participate up until April 1917 (Gavin, 1997). The U.S government never formally authorize the enrolment of women, despite Army officials repeatedly asking for such personnel’s.
Before WWI, women were restricted to traditionally feminine jobs. Their work was considered inferior and they were paid less than men. However, once WWI began, women were able to integrate themselves into a variety of different workforces. Since most men were off to serve in the military and navy, women that stayed behind replaced their positions in factories and other industries. Other women worked closely with the military as nurses or even soldiers.