The Role of Women in the First World War Report

    Throughout the Great War (World War I), women played a very large role.  Women were mainly responsible for prompting men to war, and they also kept the soldiers there to continue serving for their country.  They provided the men with the materials necessary for them to keep fighting physically and mentally.  Lastly, the women did the majority of the background work, which would have left troops struggling if it had not been done.  Women were the core to the war, and war would not have been as successful for any country without them regardless of how trained the troops are.

    Firstly, women were one of the main sources that the soldiers got the motivation to join the army from, and they were also how the soldiers remained at war.  Women were pressured by numerous posters and leaflets that the government made to send their husbands off to war and were left feeling guilty if they did not (Exhibit 6).  Once the men arrived at their destination, they had a very good chance of being injured and were cared for by the nurses, an area that the most women went to (Exhibit 10).  Women also offered the men goods such as cigarettes to make their stay more liveable (Exhibit 8).  Without women, fewer men would have went to war, and even fewer would have had the chance to come back home.

    Furthermore, women provided men with many things that would have improved their living conditions.  Women from back home sacrificed their food for their men to ensure they were eating, which the nurses then presented the food they had to the soldiers to take (Exhibits 5 and 8).  Nurses and other working women at war also gave the men various forms of entertainment and allowed the men to share their thoughts, helping the soldiers keep some of their sanity and made the stay slightly more comfortable and enjoyable (Exhibits 8 and 10).  Women back in the home country formed numerous organizations and groups to provide the country with funding and donations towards the war (Exhibit 5).  If these duties had not been done, the men would have been very weak, even more insane, and have had poor or no weapons allowing them to be easy targets for slaughtering.

    In addition, women did many jobs that are easily overlooked because of the soldiers’ heroism, when really women were equally as important.  Back at home, women took up many of the jobs that the men had to leave at half the wage to keep the country in a good financial standing (Exhibit 2).  They risked their health and life by working in munition factories without any means of protection against the very harsh chemicals, providing the soldiers with their ammunition (Exhibit 3).  Something that few people hear of is that some women actually served in the war and gave their lives on the battlefield just like any other soldier was prepared to do (Exhibit 7).  If men were forced to serve and do these jobs, Canada would not have been able to afford war, the weapons would not have been as good quality, and there would have been fewer soldiers.

    In conclusion, war would not have happened if women had not done their part and we would not have been nearly as successful.  Women motivated the men to go to war and saved their lives even in the poorest of conditions.  They provided the soldiers with whatever they needed, whether it was food or just a shoulder to cry on.  Likewise, they gave up and risked just as much as the men at war without nearly as much recognition. All in all, war would be a suicide mission without women supporting the men as much as they did.