In a career dominated by masculinity and it is hard for females to be recognized for their contributions and skills. In Canada around 1885, the first women to be too considered part of the military served as nurses. At the start of World War II women were employed by the army and air forces to serve as clerks, administrative, and support personnel, so that more men could be freed up for combat. Unfortunately, the Canadian Women’s Army Corps and the Royal Canadian Naval Service were disbanded in 1946. This left nursing as the only source of employment for women by the Canadian government. It wasn’t until 1971, that women were given equal service rights as men. This allowed, Heather Erxleben to be the first women to serve in the regular force …show more content…
Women are viewed as either being extraordinary in their effects or problematic in the army as they couldn’t “clear the physical or mental hurdles” that are necessary to pass to be able to go into combat (citation). Those against the idea on women in combat zones or holding positions in the military believe they will not meet the required standards necessary for the military, qualifications which are based on male recruits and not structured for female recruits. In contrast the military is not structured to support its women recruits. It is arguable to say that women should be allowed on the front lines of combat as they can meet the physical demands required to fight, they will not affect unit moral or cohesion, and as they challenge the prehistoric traditional roles of the military for the …show more content…
Although it is granted that men are stronger than women, it can still be maintained that countless women have tried and passed the issued physical fitness tests. In addition, many would suggest that women lower the moral and unit cohesion as an argument against women fighting in combat. In some units cohesion may not be gained between male and female recruits. However, studies done on Norwegian and Israel armies women bring useful skills to their units and have increases the cohesion within their assigned units. Another argument many believe in is that the military is not appropriate for women due to its traditional gender stereotypes. These people tend to object to soldiers showing stereotypical feminine qualities. Yet, it has been proven that women can show the qualities of a stereotypical soldier and leave their femininity behind while working. Although women in combat may seem as a concern to only a small group of people, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about the equality of women in masculine ruled careers. Women should be given the same and equal opportunities as males when it comes to the military, as they are able to perform to the same physical fitness standards and training, increase cohesion and moral in a military unit, and challenge the old traditional masculine stereotypes
With the women’s rights movement and the end of the draft the pentagon was compelled to review the status of women in the military. (Moore) The Army committee had recommendations to separate the women’s corps to increase the specialties offered to women. The Army committee also pushed opening ROTC and military academies to women and also changed the law that required automatic discharge if a woman became pregnant. It was after these recommendations were followed that women could serve in 430 of the 467 military specialties, but they could not command any unit that had a combat mission.
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.
The Colonel Mary Hallaren, was known as the godmother of the women in the American military. She was a true advocate, before and after her retirement, for women’s rights to serve in the military, especially in the regular army. She believed that women were not the exception in serving. Therefore, she began to alter the society she lived in by proving that women were able to perform more than certain tasks and showed that women were able to serve the the same way as men did.
Wives, mothers, and daughters, of Patriot soldiers were left to operate businesses and keep up with the duties of farms. Other women followed their soldiers to the battlefield. Though their presence around the army men was oftentimes controversial - they were commonly regarded as nuisances - having women around to clean and cook, along with being companions, benefited the American army. Women that wanted to fill the boots that their husbands left, or step up to the plate on their own, would disguise themselves as men so they could participate in battle. Post-war women’s roles were seemingly regarded the same as they had been before.
Many women dressed like men to fight in the war to show not all women are weak. No soldiers in the fight knew women were upon them until after they were wounded or killed. Most of the time women joined the fight to be with a relative or their fiances and/or husbands because they didn’t want them to be alone in the fight and they never wanted to let them go. Not only did women fight on the
At first, there was refusal towards hiring women for what was known as ‘men’s work’, once conscription was introduced in 1916, the need for women workers was crucial. Women started working in areas such as railway guards and ticket collectors, buses and tram conductors, postal workers, police, firefighter and as bank ‘tellers’ and clerks. Some even worked on heavy machinery. Nonetheless, women earned lower wages for doing the same work, and then demands for equal pay began. Since women were paid less than men, people worried that when the men would come back from the war,
Many became nurses, a role that prevailed from aiding the heavily injured men from war. “…female nurses did mostly custodial work, feeding and bathing patients, emptying chamberpots, cleaning hospital wards and occasionally cooking” (Brooks 2013, para. 7). Nursing allowed women to obtain a better sense of their well-being. It expanded their usefulness, emphasizing recognition upon their gender role. Among the roles in the war, the majority were “cooks, maids, laundresses, water bearers and seamstresses for the army” (Brooks 2013, para. 16).
“It was only after that evening that I really started to question whether or not the Canadian Forces, now called the Canadian Armed Forces, had evolved into a welcoming environment for women over the last two decades” (Perron, 309). In the memoir Outstanding in the Field, Sandra Perron fights to be Canada’s first female infantry officer. She battles against her allies, trying to be a woman in a ‘mans world’. The absence of concrete progress in the treatment of women in the military, altered Perron’s naïve view.
In the feature article “All Guts, No Glory”, I agree with the author Molly M. Ginty, that women participating in combat. If I was in the military some of the things that might affect me would be probably because of my gender. First, women would not be put into battle because people think women cannot handle the work or bloodshed. They think women are better off bring a nurse for helping men in battle if they get injured. Second, they think women in combat would be a distraction.
By including women in the military draft it would permit women to view themselves as strong and capable. In an article written by Kelly Antoine, she states that by including women in the draft, “As a nation, we are telling women and girls that we expect the same selflessness, determination, heroism, and grit from them as we do from men and boys,” this expresses that authorizing women to be part of the military draft they will be able to see themselves for who they really are. This opportunity would also cause them to be more confident in themselves because women would be included in something that the patriarchal society said used to be only for the
An important change in the role of Australian women was their participation in military services. In October 1940, the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force was established and quickly followed by the women’s Army and Navy forces. Women began to join in the military services and to work in these services. “They lived and worked under the same conditions as the men.” It was said by Lorna Byrne, who was a member of the AWAS (Australian Women’s Auxiliary Service).
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.
Women can and have made significant contributions in the United States military in all the positions they have held. But there are very specific sectors of combat that would likely diminish the effectiveness of combat units if women were included. The living situation in combat are also much different than what women are used to. Living in confined spaces, with little to no privacy. No spacious sleeping spaces or private restrooms.
The gender role in military as women categorized and stereotyped by men has never been easy. Military does not require muscular or gender power for leadership in combat or command positions. Some men believe that women in command will weaken the military tradition or military in context. The gender role of “women” and “soldiers” proved to many that is uncontested in World War I and II when women served as auxiliaries. Women have a long history of service in the military.