The Liberation of Australian Women in World War Two World War Two (WWII), the war between the Allies and the Axis, is known as ‘the deadliest conflict in history’ because of the holocaust, the Japanese invasions and bombings, and the millions of prisoners of war. However, amidst all this destruction, WWII also brought about a new and better era for Australian women; an era of military, home and employment freedom. The male absence in the home during the war dramatically increased the female participation in traditional male roles. As a consequence, WWII was instrumental for the liberation of Australian women in the workforce, family life and agriculture as it empowered women, giving them a newfound freedom as well as a sense of achievement. …show more content…
Although the Australian Army Nursing Service was a viable occupation for women prior to WWII, few women were engaged in this service, as women needed a sufficient education and there was a strong push from the government for women to stay out of the workforce (State Library of Victoria, 2015). These sentiments underwent dramatic change during the war, with an increasing number of women contributing to the war and enjoying it. Sister Jane Tivey, a nurse on board the ship ‘Destroyer’ in WWII described this liberation, “On the Destroyer it was the most marvellous feeling… [even though] I hadn’t had a bath for five days and slept in my clothing” (Australian War Memorial, 2015). This was a common attitude for women of all ages as corroborated by sixteen year old Grace Wallace, a volunteer for the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) in WWII. Wallace denoted that times were tough, work was hard but the girls got on quite well together (Green Net, 2015). Furthermore, “this service [the WAAAF] gave women every opportunity to emancipate themselves” from the routine of life at home (Patsy Adam-Smith, 1984). The empowerment women gained from working in a ‘man’s job’ was a significant contributing factor to the beginning of their liberation, breaking previous home and marriage
According to many historians, 1917 was the worst year in WW1 for Australians. This year was the third year in a devastating war that many Australians believed we should have been involved with because it was on the other side of the world. Due to the distance and the number of deaths, volunteer numbers dropped considerably. It was because of this, that the Australian government wanted to introduce a divisive policy of conscription. 1917 Was truly a destructive year for Australia and Australians.
To face this threat all Australian, ‘men, women and children, were urged to put their backs into the war effort,’ (Ww2australia.gov.au, 2014). One of the biggest changes women had to undergo was their new role in working industries, which had previously been male-dominate areas. School children tried to help as much as they could, collecting anything that could be recycled to use for the war effort, such as newspaper and old tires. It wasn’t long until the Australian government stepping, putting in various controls, such as the National Security Act. This act enabled the Australian Government to take over and control nearly everything.
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
Australia’s declaration for entering into World War Two, was different from World War One, due to the lack of enlistments at the beginning of war, fear of invasion by the Japanese and how propaganda reflected attitudes towards war. The lack of enlistments in war, was mainly caused by the change of characteristics after World War One. Due to Japan invading Singapore in 1942, Australia had a fear that they were going to be invaded by the Japanese next. The recruiting posters impacted the different attitudes towards war, in World War One and World War Two. Thus, the main cause for all these differences in World War One and World War Two, was due to the loss of “innocence,” after soldiers experiencing injuries and death in World War One.
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.
1.0 Introduction The aim of this essay is to discover what life was like in Australia during World War 2. Because we should know what it would of being like living in the war. On the 3rd of September, 1939 Australia declared war on Germany to help there allies in the United Kingdom. In 1940 and 1941, Australian troops saw action in the Middle East and North Africa. In January 1941, Australian troops helped capture Bardia and Tobruk in Libya.
But, as the war progressed, more and more women were able to go overseas to serve primarily as nurses. Over 80,000 volunteered to serve as nursing assistants in Voluntary Aid Detachments (VAD), and Canadian nurses were able to hold the same ranking as officers in the Allied forces.
Canada has been involved in various wars from the beginning of its colonial history. Just as the nature of these wars has changed over time, so too has their effect on Canadian women. Women have actively participated in war, from nursing and munitions manufacturing during the First and Second World Wars to the increasing involvement of Canadian women in the military. While some women have been traumatized profoundly by Canada’s wars, others have benefitted from them. Women have often assumed traditionally male work during wartime.
During World War 2 (1939 – 1945), Australia had a variety of impacts on both its government and its people. The war had a great effect on the place of indigenous people in Australia as indigenous men and women joined services throughout the country. The Aboriginal Australians, both the men and the women had contributed in the second Great War. Meanwhile, when the Aboriginals of Australia had jobs during World War 2, Australia’s economy boomed with the help of the war as many Australian troops had gone out to fight for the British. The economy had boomed during the period of the Second World War as Australian products could be produced as well.
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.
Australia’s experiences of World War II were significant for Australia and impacted on the shaping of our national identity. Australia 's response to entry into World War II in 1939 differed from Australia 's entry into World War I in 1914. Reasons for this includes attitudes towards war changing after gaining the knowledge and experiencing consequences of World War I, the conditions and lead up to World War II as well as Australia’s strong support for Britain. Firstly, the attitude of Australians changed due to World War 3I proving that war was not glamourous or exciting like it was assumed. During the lead up to World War II Australians had already struggled to survive through the depression and were now required to survive at war.
American Women during World War 2 had many responsibilities at war, work, and home. But they did not have many equal rights compared to the rest of the society. The women’s rights and responsibilities topic is very interesting. One is understanding and knowing the history about the responsibilities women had to do and how hard working they were. This topic is very important because there was a big change in women’s rights and responsibilities during World War 2.
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.
Doing Their Bit: The Women on the Front Lines of World War I Back in the times of World War I, there was no such thing as women soldiers. Because of this, it can be easy to assume that men were the ones who were more affected by the war than women. The novel Not So Quiet… by Helen Zenna Smith (a pseudonym for the author Evadne Price), challenges this idea. Although the story is fictional, the truth is that many women actually experienced what the protagonist of Not So Quiet… Smithy experiences. It is clear, that the assumption that men were further impacted by the war than women is false, as many women who aided the injured soldiers, and were placed in war-torn areas of the world, suffered the war as greatly as the soldiers did, and in such