Society's Attitudes
Before the War
Women were by far inferior to men in the late 1800’s. This attitude was portrayed through their working conditions. The work of most women involved attending to household duties and looking after their young children. There were a few women, usually the working-class, who entered the workforce. Whatever their job, women were usually taken advantage of by their male employers, receiving a wage 50 percent lower than males. Women weren’t even entitled to a federal vote until 1902. Just before the start of the war, women began to break away from these traditional roles.
During the War
At the beginning of the war, women were regarded more or less the same as before. As the war went on, there became a need for women to take over the jobs of men who left to serve their country. Although there was a rise in the employment of women, trade unions fought hard against hiring women for hands-on work, especially in factories. Society slowly started to get used to women doing the jobs men had previously done and having more freedom than before. Women also changed the way they thought about themselves, and gained more confidence. They were seen as able to help Australia’s war effort from the home front, and their assistance was welcomed.
After the War
The movement that many made from house to workforce gave women an opportunity to live their lives in the manner men had enjoyed for decades. By the end of the war, women began to wear short skirts, short hairstyles, and smoke, swear and ride motorcycles.
Once the war was over and the soldiers returned home, women were not forced to depart from their jobs, because employers had come to realise that they worked just as efficiently as men and were paid much less. They soon had no reasons to hire men for the job, instead of women.
Despite Australia’s growth during the First World War, education was still largely limited to men at this stage. There was still a while to go before complete gender equality could be achieved.
Once the war was over and the soldiers returned home, women were not forced to depart from their jobs, because employers had come to realise that they worked just as efficiently as men and were paid much less. They soon had no reasons to hire men for the job, instead of women.
Despite Australia’s growth during the First World War, education was still largely limited to men at this stage. There was still a while to go before complete gender equality could be achieved.
Social Statuses
It wasn't long after the start of the war that conflict arose on the home front. These conflicts emphasised the already existing social statuses within Australian women.
The Working-Class
The effects of World War 1 did not bring much happiness to
the working-class women of Australia. The middle-class women were the main ones
to organise and run the charity and fundraising events that took place. As a
result, they believed that the working-class women were not helping enough, and
this was seen as disloyalty to the country. What the middle-class did not see
was that the working-class did not have the same financial freedom as them
after their husbands had gone to war. They spent long, tedious hours working to
earn money to support themselves and their children. They often could not find
time or money on top of all of their duties to participate in charity groups.
Many working-class men viewed the war as a chance to earn a decent wage, and enlisted, leaving their families behind to deal with the consequences. Unfortunately, war being the tragedy that it is, many of these men died. Consequently, their widows were forced to find ways to feed, clothe and look after the children as single parents. Life wasn’t much easier for those women whose husbands were lucky enough to return from the war. They often returned with severe injuries causing them to not be able to look after themselves, making it their wife’s responsibility. Many had dramatically changed after experiencing traumatic things while at war, causing them to suffer nightmares and depression or become violent and aggressive. This made it extremely difficult for them to integrate into society as they had done prior to the war. These hardships resulted in breakdown of marriages and families causing tough lives to be just as tough, if not tougher, than it had been before the war.
Many working-class men viewed the war as a chance to earn a decent wage, and enlisted, leaving their families behind to deal with the consequences. Unfortunately, war being the tragedy that it is, many of these men died. Consequently, their widows were forced to find ways to feed, clothe and look after the children as single parents. Life wasn’t much easier for those women whose husbands were lucky enough to return from the war. They often returned with severe injuries causing them to not be able to look after themselves, making it their wife’s responsibility. Many had dramatically changed after experiencing traumatic things while at war, causing them to suffer nightmares and depression or become violent and aggressive. This made it extremely difficult for them to integrate into society as they had done prior to the war. These hardships resulted in breakdown of marriages and families causing tough lives to be just as tough, if not tougher, than it had been before the war.
The Middle and Upper-Class
The majority of upper and middle-class men had chosen not to enlist in the war, and to instead stay at home and continue to work and receive decent income to support his family. So upper and middle-class women still had the same financial support of their husbands’ and were therefore, not greatly affected by Australia’s involvement in the war.