Changes In Australian Women's Roles Post Ww1

As World War II developed more and more Australian men were conscripted by the British Empire to join the war and therefore tens-of-thousands of men left Australia, leaving their wives and children behind. On the home front, women dealt with the consequences of war in an extreme manner which consisted of managing children and family accountabilities alone, shortages of resources, as well as their concerns for the future, and the grief of losing loved ones. Although this was a distressing and challenging time for the women population within Australia it also enabled them to access ‘a man’s world’ and be successful within the economical workspace, which was previously not accessible to them prior to the war. 'Rosie the Riveter ' was a

World War I, or otherwise known as ‘The Great War’, began with Austria-Hungry declaring war on Serbia. This historical event that lasted between 1914 and 1918 was a turning point for many great powers of Western Society, and many less influential groups, one of which being women. The impact of World War I on Australian women was detrimental to changing the perspective of female roles in society. The war challenged women to take part in capacities that were previously dominated by men. The heretofore-frail homemakers of the 1900’s were able to step up into society by fulfilling paid jobs, forming strong political views and volunteering to help to war efforts.

During the war, Australia adopted a period of censorship, preventing information falling onto the enemy’s hands but also depriving citizens of news. In World War II, women were actively recruited into jobs that had always been for men. At home women had to deal with: loss of loved ones, managing children, family’s responsibilities alone and shortages of resources. Women were scene to have skills that could contribute to the war effort, for example Rationing and shortages meant that

The iconic figure of women working in shipyards and factories came to term as Rosie The Riveter during World War II when women were encouraged and praised for working in place of the men who fought for the country. It was not only the men fighting who helped win the war for the allies, the women working to build the fighter planes and other war machines were victorious on the home front. Throughout the 1940’s, propaganda posters were widely used to promote patriotism in war efforts whether it was to get more men to fight in the war or it was to get women to fill in the shoes of the men. The famous propaganda poster of Rosie The Riveter was used to promote the bravery and strength of women workers, the famous caption being “we can do it” to

The poster states that the women are now needed in the factory industry, “4,000,000 more will be needed to smash the axis”. The authors purpose for this poster is to try to encourage the women of Australia to enrol into a job in the munitions industry. This lead to more women joining the industry and propelling the war effort. A Women’s Land Army recruitment poster, 1943-45. Held at the Australian War Memorial.

Good morning/afternoon Mrs Jansen, Mr Cralwey and class. Prime Minister and human rights advocate, Gough Whitlam, led government into labour during his term from December 5 1972 until his dismissal on December 11 1975. He went on to change Australia through a wide-ranging reform program. He especially influenced society alongside his endless supply of boldness and tenacity, not to mention his aspiration to lead the nation into good hands. Introducing indigenous rights and abolishing discrimination was one of the many legislations Whitlam put forward.

From the 1st of September 1939 to the 2nd of September 1945, life in Australia experienced drastic change. These six years and one day were the catalyst for a radical shift in Australian women’s place in society, ultimately leading to their emancipation from previous roles. The Second World War was instrumental in the liberation of Australian women as their shift away from traditional roles, improved financial equality and increased military participation led to empowerment and new freedoms. The most prominent of these factors in the liberation of Australian women was their emancipation from previous roles. World War Two catalysed the empowerment of women through their emancipation from previous roles in society.

This campaign marked the first time women at a rate this high came together to join something like the workforce. The development of working women was excellent, but it was certainly not the only result of the Rosie campaign. When finally given the confidence to work like their husbands or fathers did, women felt united with not only other women, but all of society. Flavia Di Consiglio, journalist for the BBC, writes that Rosie the Riveter propaganda was “likely intended to encourage acceptance of women in a traditionally male-dominated workplace”, but also “went on to gain greater meaning.” This campaign was one of the first to help accept and normalize women getting out of their homes and working a man’s job, especially in the workforce.

Not only were the women recruited into the old jobs vacated by the men, who had gone to fight in the war, but new jobs were also created as part of the war effort. The government’s attitude towards female employment at first was negative as they were reluctant to allow the women to do any jobs left by the men. This later changed, as the government began pushing forward the idea of employment of women through campaigns and recruitment drives. Working as railway guards and ticket collectors, buses and tram conductors, postal workers, police, firefighters and as bank tellers and clerks, women began to change the concept of what was before deemed as ‘men’s

What about the rest of the women in the home front? These women back in Australia had been majorly impacted by the war. Since the war had taken away the brothers, fathers, sons, and uncles of these Australian women, it was up to these women to continue working, harvesting, running and supporting Australia through this period of time. The war had forced women become more than mothers, taking on tasks such as harvesting and working in factories on top of running a family, making their lives a lot harder. To support their soldiers in the war, these women began creating different parties to fundraise money and support the men at war, such as Red Cross and Advance Guard.

The first women in Australian that were able to vote were in South Australia, in 1895 , and quickly, other states and territories followed. This leap in women’s rights changed Australia into a nation of equality, and moved the nation into the next stage of cultural independence. Vida Goldstein was a Victorian citizen who followed in her mother’s footsteps in becoming a social reformer and a suffragist. She was firmly encouraged by her parents to become educated and independent, and this led her to become the leader in Victoria for women’s equality. She was an excellent public speaker, and this enabled her to grasp her audience and effect and change their opinions on women’s equality.

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.

The Eureka Stockade was the key event in the development of Australian democracy and Australian identity. It was the first time Australians struck back on unfair rules and laws and actually got what they wanted. The rebellion was caused by the Goldfield workers (the diggers) who were opposed to the governments miners' licences. The licences being a simple way for the government to receive taxes from the diggers. Every digger had to pay the fees even if they did not find any gold, and after a while with no profit, it became very hard for people to pay.

Many portray the 1920s as a time of lighthearted leisure and prosperity. When in fact this period consisted of significant economic , social and cultural conflicts. Technological innovations sparked the economy and life post war was significantly different with the introduction to what we know as the “New women” the new women also sparked many social conflicts. Along with the New women tension between religion and science also sparked many important conflicts during the time we know as the Jazz Age.

Australia became known as a workingman’s paradise at the turn of the twentieth century, however, for a large majority of the population Australia was far from a paradise. Due to their rejection of the British class system, and the instalment of the eight hour working day and a basic wage Australians believed themselves to be an egalitarian society with equal opportunities. And this much was true, for the working class, white male. For the rest of the population, the women, children and non-Europeans life was a different story. For them, Australia was not the workingman’s paradise it claimed to be.