Key Features of Life on the Homefront for Women
Describe the key features of life on the Home Front for women.
One key feature was that many men went to fight in the war, so many industry and agriculture workers were no longer available for work. This became a huge problem for employers, because their work rate had decreased rapidly. It soon became a problem for the army, because they didnt have enough shells and bullets. This meant that women were recruited in factories, and other jobs, to take the mens places. However, many men were worried that they would lose their jobs to these women, so the government promised to make the positions temporary, so that they would only last for the duration of the war.
Another key feature was that many women now worked in industry and agriculture. During the First World War, around sixty percent of workers in munition factories were women. The women had to pack explosives and cordite into the bullets and shells. There were some positive improvements for the women working in the munition factories, such as getting the same wages as the male workers, and they got nutritional meals. However, there were also many downsides to this type of factory work, such as medical issues like breathing difficulty, digestion problems and even brain damage. This employment was extremely dangerous, because it involved explosives which could accidentally set off and blow up the whole factory. The shifts also increased in duration as the war went on, and in 1917 the shifts were 12 hours long, seven days a week. Women were also recruited in the Land Army, and they did all the work that would have been done by men, and got paid the same wages. Others were sent off to the front line, and worked as nurses and drove ambulances. Many also worked in military hospitals, but this work was not paid.
A third key feature was that women gained many more rights and freedoms from the First World War. They got many more