Women's Role in the First World War.
At a glance.
Women played a significant role in supporting the first world war in the industrial sphere. At the start of the war, Serbian wives traveled with their husbands in captured moments of traditional marital devotion.1
Because of the losses on the war front, women were hired in factories and agriculture. Five million women began working in Britain. Russian percentage of women in the workforce rose from about 25% to 43%. In Austria one million joined the workforce. France’s women workforce rose by 20%.2 In the US, over thirty thousand women worked in the nursing corp and signal corp. There was some women soldiers who fought in the first world war. In Britain, journalist Dorothy Lawrence disguised herself as Denis Smith to join the British Expeditionary Force.3 And in Russia, Мари́я Бочкарёва (English: Maria Bochkareva) served and formed an all-woman battalion that fought on the Austrian front.4
Considering the role of women in the first word war, comparisons between their role in the second world war is apparent. Facing the same shortage of male laborers, women found themselves back to factory like in the first world war. Women roles in the military had also been integrated and scaled efficiently. American women served in the Women’s Army Corp (WAC) in medical and communication roles, non-combat roles. Women suffrage became more established after the world wars. After the second world war, female placement in society gained momentum and accumulated to the equality that is accepted today.
In the face of war, it becomes apparent that any gender of human can equally be utilized by the state. In the spirit of industrialization, women and men in the labor force is societal efficiency.
Strachan, Hew. The First World War. London: Penguin Books, 2003. 17.
The Great War. "Sustaining Total War - Women in World War One I THE GREAT WAR." YouTube, March 9, 2015.
.
Newby, Jen. "Dorothy Lawrence: the Woman who Fought at the Front." Writing Women's History, July 28, 2012. Archived at Internet Archive, January 12, 2014. https://archive.org//web/20140112184548/http://writingwomenshistory.blogspot.co.uk/ 2012/07/dorothy-lawrence-woman-who-fought-at.html.
"Мария Леонтьевна Бочкарева." Знаменитые женщины. 2008. Archived at Internet Archive, November 2, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171102075351/http://www.greatwomen.com.ua/2008/05/07/ mariya-leontevna-bochkareva/.
Bibliography
The Great War. "Sustaining Total War - Women in World War One I THE GREAT WAR." YouTube, March 9, 2015.
.
Newby, Jen. "Dorothy Lawrence: the Woman who Fought at the Front." Writing Women's History, July 28, 2012. Archived at Internet Archive, January 12, 2014. https://archive.org//web/20140112184548/http://writingwomenshistory.blogspot.co.uk/ 2012/07/dorothy-lawrence-woman-who-fought-at.html.
"Мария Леонтьевна Бочкарева." Знаменитые женщины. 2008. Archived at Internet Archive, November 2, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171102075351/http://www.greatwomen.com.ua/2008/05/07/ mariya-leontevna-bochkareva/.
Strachan, Hew. The First World War. London: Penguin Books, 2003. 17.