NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
When the war across seas broke out in 1939 Canada was called to the front as a part of the British Empire. Canadas work force was now severely depleted. Everyone remembers the prestigious men and women of Canada for their effort in the war helping the Allied side defeat the German enemy. We must remember though that the soldiers were not a self sufficient army, navy, and air force but rather part of the larger war machine that was Canada. When Canadians think of the war they must remember the country that stood behind our soldiers in Europe. As Canadians we must especially remember the women who stayed home and were major contributors to holding together the labour force.
As well their volunteering in society helped push Canada through the War. By temporarily assuming non-traditional roles in the labour force and in society, Canadian women became an important part of the war effort from 1939 - 1945. In 1939 the war broke out in Europe. Canada was still fighting the struggle to rebuild their economy from the depression of the 1930 's. A great number of Canadian Women were affected both directly and indirectly. As more then a million of our full time service men and Militia went across seas to fight the war many women were left home alone with no husbands, sons, brothers or any other male relatives.
The Depression sported more the 900, 000 Canadians out of work, and 20 per cent of these were women. The Military Recruitment and the new war industry put an end to the Depression, and the widespread unemployment that accompanied it. By 1941 the population of women in the labour force had already jumped by 100, 000. The employment of women was now highly evident in almost all of Canada.
It is obvious now in retrospect that for the most part the Second World War divided Canadas men and women. But to fully understand this we have to first know why men and women, in most aspects of the war, were given this sexual division. We must also get a good scope of what was accepted and expected of men and women before the war broke out. From the first natives in Canada to the industrializing society of today men and women have had different gender roles in society.
These have reflected the norms, values, and beliefs of our culture that have been in Canada as long as the white man has. Although these are rapidly changing now, at the time of World War II, they were set in traditional ways. Based on the biological differences between men and women, separate spheres were formed within society. Traditionally there was such beliefs as a womens brain had inferior capabilities, women were fraught with problems, women were incapable to comprehend university education, and women were genetically made to bear and rear children. These are only a few of the labels that were put on women to keep them in a separate sphere of a society. Through history women were given these labels to keep them at home while the men were to support the family.
The care of the children appeared to be mothers sole work and the work of the mothers alone. As for those young women that were not yet mothers, they were to stay at home and help tend to the house chores and child care. Canada was a society that believed competition, between men and women, to bring the money home would break down the traditional ways that nature set about. Because of the roles and beliefs that tied women down at home, mobility into other work was both difficult and frowned upon. With the onset of the twenty first century we see more female mobility out of the home to womens occupations.
Most of the industries women were employed in were teaching, office work, telephone operation, sales, textile and canning factory work, and nursing. For example, in 1941 the top male jobs were farmers and labourers. The top female positions were baby sitters and maids. Considering that there was widespread unemployment in all of these industries before the war women were still playing their traditional role at home, the keeper of house and children. On the other hand the men did just about everything in society and the work force, from farm work to medical work. Usually men were the ones who brought home the money to support the family.
Men were the ones that did the majority of the labour and military work that had to be done in the country. When the war broke out it was seen (as had been in the past) that war is considered a male enterprise, while peace is considered a female preoccupation. War beliefs seemed no different from the beliefs about society already mentioned. This gendered division seems to be reflective of the norm, men will go across the seas to do the hard work, while the fragile women stay back to take care of home (in this case the homeland). Although there were some women who went overseas, and some men that stayed home, for the most part we see a huge gender division with the war. In retrospect I tend to think that this actually benefited Canada in the war.
Now that we see the gender role that was in place, it can be better understood why the role women played in the war was both important and necessary. These women experienced, for at least the wars duration, a broadening of opportunities for employment, mobility, and education. In viewing the war we must look at some aspects of women on the home front. The three major contributing roles of women in the Second World War were 1) Volunteer and unpaid work. 2) The paid labour force that was the backbone for the war. 3) The importance of domestic activities and consumer reduction during the war.
Although it is probably the paid labour force that was most important for finished products sent overseas, the volunteer aspect on the home front kept Canada afoot. It should be mentioned that although women had normally filled volunteer positions, I used them as non- traditional roles because of the great extent of their use. The main purpose of the volunteer labour force war to take some of the pressure off the huge number of women that were working in the essential industries. It must be noted that the majority of women in Canada contributed immensely to the war without even getting paid.
The largest percentage of women at home were not in the paid labour force. The declaration of war placed even greater demands on womens volunteer time. When viewing volunteer work women did during the war we must look at some sub-aspects. The first of these is the role of the women in salvage contribution and collecting. In response to the push from the Womens Voluntary Services Division (WVS) and National War Services women collected fats, paper, glass, metals, rubber, rags and bones to contribute for recycling in the effort to make war supplies.
The government even got women to save old toothpaste tubes, shaving cream tubes, old socks and other seemingly useless things, the turned out to be priceless for the war effort. Women were unimaginably important in this effort. Women were told to Dig In and Dig Out the Scrap. Women were encouraged to save all that was useful, such as some of the items listed previously, for use in the war effort.
Women and children would often search the junk yards for metal and batteries, and take all elastics out of old stockings. Women at home learned that old clothes could be remade, old oil could be used in munition, and much more. It even got to the point that women would take the rubber seals out of their jars, and kids were asked to turn in their lead toy soldiers to be melted. There was certain days that everyone could bring anything that they gathered in to the local scholars.
The scrap that women turned out was used by the paid women in factories to turn out a finished product. The material that was recycled was priceless. These items took the pressure off the industries that would normally have to make these materials, and it gave the government more money to concentrate on the war effort (they no longer had to pay to factory produce most of these things). Not only were these materials voluntarily contributed by women, women in the Womens Voluntary Services Division (WVS) also collected them and brought them where they were needed.
A second aspect that we must look at is the contribution of items from home to the war effort. During the evening most women would knit sweaters, socks, mittens, under-clothing, Balaclava helmets, scarves and much more. Women did all that they could to pack little ditty's at home. In them they sent tiny things that would be useful to them men overseas. They would pack some hygiene items, maybe some shaving blades, soap, or maybe even a nice little letter of support. The items that women packaged at home, out of their own time and will, not only provided the soldiers with essential little items.
In the worst of times, where the men were in the trenches losing hope, these seemingly meaningless little items seemed to spread cheer and let the soldiers know that they were not alone and Canada stood behind them at home. The last sub-aspect that to be analysed should be an overview of other volunteer activities on the home front. I have listed these last, and in shorter context because although they are important, I tended to see a lot of emphasis in the first two aspects of volunteer work at home. In addition to womens volunteer work already mentioned, other fields remain important. Women involved them selves in organizing, fundraising, producing, packing, and shipping. Women also distributed salvage cards, staffed blood donor booths, arranged hospitality for service men on leave, collected clothing bundles and raised milk money for Britain.
Between 1943 and...
Free research essays on topics related to: support the family, labour force, men and women, second world war, war effort
Research essay sample on Women In World War Ii Far From Dormant
