Women During World War II
The roles of women changed drastically when World War II started. When WWII started,Instead of staying home to take care of the children, clean, and cook, they took on the the roles and jobs of the men. They worked in factories and about 350,000 women even went to war alongside men to serve and to work as nurses.
The Women's Land Army
The Women's Land Army, or WLA, was a British organization created in WWI and WWII. It was reformed in July, 1949 when the government realized that a war was coming soon wanted to increase the food supply as most of the male farmers going to be away at war and would be unable to grow the food that was needed.The women who worked for the WLA worked in agricultural areas and did all the jobs that needed to be done to make sure that farms without enough workers would function properly. That includes driving a tractor, plowing, and more. There was a maximum of hours they were able to work a week- fifty in the summer and forty-eight in the winter. The salary for a woman over eighteen years of was was 1.12 pence a week.
Memorials in Honor of Women
While there are several memorials that were made to honor women in WWII, one of the most famous is the Monument to the Women of WWII war memorial located in Whitehall in London, England. It was sculpted by John W. Mills and was introduced to the world in 2005 by the queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II.
Changes in the Homefront
Many changes took place on the home-front due to men being away. Over six million joined the workforce and between 1940-1945, the number of females in the workforce grew by nearly 10%, going from 27% to nearly 37%. Half of those women took on jobs in the defense industry.
Women's Fashion
What women wore underwent a big change during WWII. Before the war, women were known to long skirts and the fabric was made out of wool and silk with beautiful designs. But during the war, clothes became plain and things like skirts became shorter to save fabric. Though they already had, more women had began wearing pants as they were easier to work in. One fashion statement after the war was military day-wear. This look included tailored pants and skirts with fitted military jacket and was sold most in navy and white. The fashion the 40's has made an impact on today's fashion we still are wearing some of these thing, such as the military-styled jacket.