Women During WW1

Todays Lesson• You will learn about the changing role of

women from 1914 and• What part women played during the War• And what impact the war had on our society

in Scotland

Do you remember

• Discuss• What was life like for most women in Britain

and Scotland before the War?

Major shortage of Labour

• From 1914 why was there a Major shortage a Labour in Scotland?

• Women were needed to fill the jobs that men had left.

• Many middle class women went out to work for the first time --in factories, farms, shops and offices, delivering coal, driving buses and trams. They also took jobs in the police and fire brigade.

• Any other reasons why women had to work?– These women needed to go out to work to provide for

themselves and their children.

New Industries

• New jobs were created due to the war such as:– making shells in munitions factories. – Some women trained as engineers to build tanks

and guns. -Others served as nurses and ambulance drivers in France through the new uniformed services, the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) and the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD).

Sources: What do the following sources tell us about working life?

• Compare source E, source F, Source G• Do they show similar conditions?• What was life like in a factory?

Source E: Munitions workers, WWI

Source F: A woman shell maker, 1916

• Many of the women did extremely dangerous work, as for example when working with TNT or in the shell filling shops. When women first began to flock into munitions work, there were no canteens. Many of the workers just ate their dinners in the factories, just wiping their greasy hands with a rag and eating their food under the most undesirable conditions

Source G: Video clip

• http://www.britishpathe.com/video/women-munition-workers-1

Joining the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry

Munitions Factory 1917

• 1911 census – over half of women working did so as servants in houses or making cloth and clothing

• >10% worked as nurses, or professionals in offices

Year Women employed in heavy industry in Scotland

1911 3,758

1916 18,500

1918 31,500

Industry # of Women Working in 1917

Munitions 819,000

Engineering 800,000

Gov’t work 650,000

Nursing 100,000

TaskDiscuss and write down your ideas

• How do you think this new war work employment improved opportunities for women?

• Do you think there was improved equality between men and women?

Impact of WW1• Vote in 1918 and a political voice.• Women could also become MP’s and attend university• Vote was extended to all women over 21 in 1928• New social freedom• Women broke away from the traditional fashions of the 1800’s

and wore clothes that were more comfortable and fashionable to the times.

• Women now had the freedom to stay on at school and university, this helped their employment prospects

• While many men were fighting in France, women replaced them in the major industries such as munitions, coal, shipbuilding, police and education

A Positive Impact?

• Do you think the impact of WW1 was revolutionary? Do you think that all areas of life and work had changed for women?

• What do you think happened to;– The pay gap?– Equal rights? – The vote?– Protection in employment?– Education?

Task

• Complete activities 1 and 2 on the Women during WW1 worksheets

Source A is by Margaret Morrison who went to work in a shell factory in the west of Scotland. Until then I had worked as a laundry maid on a big estate. Most of us had never worked on machines before. We were given a week’s instruction by one of the foreman. After a while they said we could do as well as any of the skilled workmen. Of course we didn’t get the same pay. Working in the explosives section could be dangerous. We worked a 12 hour shift, but the pay was good.

Explain in your own words what Source A tells us about the impact of the First World War.

Include at least 2 pieces of info explaining the impact, and at least 1 point about the author, timing, purpose of the source.