Women's Rights During Ww2

For many centuries, women were meant to support and free men in combat duty. Beginning in the eighteenth century, women took a part in the military by disguising themselves as men. Actions such as these continued into the nineteenth century as well. However, doors began opening in the twentieth century when General George C. Marshall demanded that women be a part of the military. In the 1940s, the Women’s Army Corps was formed which expanded women’s careers throughout military services.

One would not think of fashion trends when thinking about the wars, but it was important to the women at the time “as the uniform shaped soldiers, so did the uniform shape the military. Women were practically indistinguishable from fighting forces when in battledress. (Toman, 110). Women’s clothing during the Second World War was greatly influenced by new role that they played outside of the home. Clothing shortages, the introduction of pants into women’s wardrobes and Uniforms were all significant changes that reflect the economic and social changes of

For example, the author gives the example, “Other women entered new occupations created by the Industrial Revolution, which replaced the work of individual craftspeople with machine manufacturing.” This quote comes to show that because of the war women were given new opportunities to explore. Another example to show how the war changed the lives of women is, “ The civil war, and the absence from home of so many men, brought profound challenges and opportunities to all women.” Which shows that women 's lives changed by the civil war because the men were gone and the women got to fill in their jobs, which was a huge improvement from what they were doing before. Finally, the author shows how the women’s lives changed for the better, after the civil war, because of the absence of men and the independence that the civil war gave them. In conclusion, the author, Kathleen Ernst, talks about how women’s lives changed from before the civil war, and after the civil war. In the beginning of the passage, before the civil war, the author states that women were only good for tending the wounded and taking care of the babies and children.

As depicted in the photograph of women building bombs and missiles, women were asked to work in munitions factories due to the high demand of weaponry because of the war. Despite the initial resistance in hiring females to complete ‘male’ work such as this, the need for workers became urgent and these factories became the largest single employer of women during 1918, as stated in the article titled ‘Women’s Work in World War I’. This specific impact on the role of women because of WWI is what allowed society to slowly move away from the gender-specific jobs, as following WWI, women were allowed to stay within this field of work and take it as a career path. This crucial impact on the jobs of the female population in Australia has lead society to its current state, and without the opportunities for these careers for women which became available during WWI, such as

Not to mention, for the first time in Canadian history, new positions in the military such as Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRENS) and the Women Division (WD) in The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) were created so that women were able to contribute more towards the war efforts. This advancement in the military allowed both men and women to fight alongside each other and defend their land. Canadian women even had their own mascot, ‘Ronnie, the Bren Gun Girl,’ which inspired more and more women to get out of their houses and encouraged them to partake in jobs that portrayed them as strong independent women. By 1945, near the end of the Second World War, 1/3 of all Canadian women were employed in war efforts under the National Selective

(Women in the military, 2008) Although the increase in women involvement within the military has been a huge stepping stone within our society, the military still has a long way to go. Many women are still restricted from different positions within the military. (Colonial women’s foundation, 2010) Gender differences in the military are a crucial part to the success of our military. Women still struggle to find equal opportunities or fair and equal treatment. Making the decision to allow women into the military was a positive impact for our soldiers however the leadership team needs to continue to find ways to balance those differences and put plans into place to better care for both genders.

Before 2016, Tan (2015) states that female soldiers could serve in 90% of the positions in the U.S. military. The percentage of all-male specialties was just 10 %. The new policy announced by the 25th Secretary of Defense, Ashton B. Carter, is a breakthrough for female presence in the military. Because women can officially be on the front lines, and society has started observing female graduates from tough courses. For instance, two female officers have graduated from Army Ranger Course and America has two female Rangers now (Sanchez & Smith-Spark, 2015).

For so long, women were thought to be unable to do the things that only men did, such as serving in the military. Women stayed home with their children, while men went to war. Things changed after First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt urged Congress to authorize women to serve in the military. After women were allowed to serve in the war, men who had performed clerical and office jobs during the war were able to move to the battlefield. It was a transforming moment for women, as women entered WWII as pilots, nurses or factory workers and altered the role of women, affording them more rights, and allowing them to express more freedom, redefining women as independent members of society.

However, women are progressing in the services. C.J Lin acknowledges the progress in the article, “ Military 's Progress on Women in Combat Criticized”. Lin states that, “....The Marines have made little progress in integrating women into jobs they already qualify for, and the purpose of a proposed physical screening test is questionable since it focuses on strength-based measures and not skills actually needed for the work, according to Greg Jacob, a former Marine and policy director of the Service Women’s Action Network. The Marines’ plan calls for testing women to see if they can lift 135 pounds, bench 115 pounds, carry 95 pounds for 50 meters while wearing full combat gear, load a 120mm tank round and scale a 7-foot wall. But these skills may not be needed, Jacob said…..To date, 10 women have volunteered for the Marines’ rigorous Infantry Officer Course as part of research on whether or not to keep all-male units closed to women.

“Further, the 1948 Women’s Armed Services Integration Act created a permanent corps of women in all the military departments” (Let Women Fight, The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, 341). Recent policy changes have caused confusion between the distinction between support roles and actual combat roles. Since women are allowed to serve in support units, the barrier that once existed to keep them from combat has almost disappeared. Meanwhile the U.S. military is searching to find a method to recognize the fact that women fight in wars. As time marches on, the idea of women in combat is becoming more and more accepted in the United