Women in wartime

  Australian population 1914-1918: four million

There were 416, 809 Australians enlisted for service in the First World War, representing 38.7% of the total male population aged between 18 to 44.

Since so many men weren’t available, women had to take the burden of caring for families physically and financially. The economy was affected as the government took power during wartime by raising taxes, creating war loans and compulsorily buying goods and contributing all the money and goods towards the war effort. Scarce goods were sold for high prices and people’s standard of living went down.

The government only hired women on the battlefront if they were nurses; although women sought to find professions in more war-related jobs e.g. cooks, stretcher bearers, motor car drivers but were rejected.  

In all, 2139 women served with the Australian Army Nursing Service, and 130 worked

with the Queen Alexandra Imperial Military Nursing Service. A further 423 nurses

served in hospitals in Australia. Twenty-three of these women died in service during

the war.

But what was considered an upside of the war by some women was the large number of jobs left behind by the men. The employment rate of women went up substantially; it raised from 24 per cent of the total population in 1914 to 37 per cent in 1918. However, the unions were reluctant to allow females to work in traditionally male areas as they feared that it would lower wages.

In contrast to Australia, in Britain, women were allowed to take over more men's roles such as civil service to law enforcement and farm labouring. Australia didn't follow until WWII.


Image: Showing a man being rejected for work as the boss is able to pay women less. Source -http://www.warandidentity.com.au/fldocument_themes_indx219.htm

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