Assessing the Consequences of the War for Women

One area of intense debate among historians of women has been the war’s effect on gender roles. After all, the war brought about tangible evidence of a changed world where women could wear khaki uniforms, drive trains, trams and ambulances, and take on industrial tasks defined as beyond their capabilities. Furthermore, many women found themselves enfranchised after the war. The outbreak of war in August 1914 disrupted the suffrage movement in its entirety at a moment when women seemed very close to receiving the vote. Women were among the most vocal anti-conscriptionists, although since votes did not distinguish between men and women, there is no way of knowing how women’s voting affected the outcome. Wartime and the immediate postwar months provide the context for the granting of women’s suffrage in other participant nations. Britain provides a stark case study of what happened to women’s paid employment.

Gender, Security, and Conflict · History · Psychology