Women In World War 1 Essay

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Before World War I, women had few rights. But their experience in the Great War changed that forever. Their views towards life changed or improved, and by the middle of the 19th century, women were demanding equality with men. They wanted the right to vote in elections and an equal chance to work and get educated. They also wanted the right to have their own possessions, to divorce their husbands, and to keep their children after divorce. Women were great supporters of World War I. Many women became nurses. Nursing wasn't for everyone, but the job had to be done. Women entertained troops with songs and dancing, and also with lectures, dramatic reading, and poetry. Nineteen year old twin sisters Genevieve and Lucille Baker became the…show more content…
Since most of the men were off fighting, the women were needed to stay home and run things so that the economy would not completely fall apart. Before the war, women mostly depended on men for financial support. But with so many men gone to battle and then dying, plenty of women had to go work to support themselves. They helped provide food and other supplies to the military, served as telephone operators, and worked as journalists. Some women went to work in factories while others worked as trolley car drivers. Some women even went to work in the fields. In 1918 British women over thirty got voting rights. Two years later, in 1920 the United States granted vote for women over thirty as well. By 1950 they could vote in sixty-nine countries and by 1975 in one hundred twenty-nine countries. Today women have the right to vote almost everywhere. New horizons and new roles opened up for women, thanks to the effect of World War I. However, many women lost men in their lives, too. Husbands, brothers, and fathers had died in pretty much every family and household. There were many things that women were expected to do during the war, such as working, volunteering, and having kids to keep the population up. However, the role of women did not remain this way after the war. Once the war was over and the men began to return home, women were expected to return to the kitchens and hearths as before, and women in the army lost their

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