In 1914 women and working-class families had little power. The First World War (1914-18) shook up both groups. This lesson asks how far attitudes and opportunities changed for women and for the working classes. Other lessons in this option cover ethnic minorities, disabled people and the vote.
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Unlock This CourseWhen war broke out in August 1914, hundreds of thousands of men volunteered. From 1916 the government used conscription, which meant men had to join the armed forces by law. Factories, farms and offices lost millions of workers, but the war needed more goods than ever. Women filled the gap.
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In 1915 a shortage of shells on the Western Front, known as the Shell Crisis, led to a new Ministry of Munitions under David Lloyd George. Hundreds of thousands of women went to work in munitions factories, filling shells and making parts. The work was long and dangerous. The chemical TNT could turn the skin yellow, so these women were nicknamed "canaries". Women were usually paid less than men.
Women became bus and tram conductors, railway porters, postal workers, bank clerks and farm workers. The Women's Land Army, formed in 1917, sent women to work on farms. Many had never done paid work outside the home or had been servants before the war.
Nurses, including the Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs, trained volunteer nurses), worked close to the fighting. In 1917 the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was formed, and women served as clerks, cooks and drivers so that more men could fight. The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) was formed in 1917 and the Women's Royal Air Force in 1918.
Trade unions were nervous about women taking skilled jobs. In March 1915 the government agreed with the unions to allow dilution for the length of the war, on the promise that the old rules would return afterwards.
Before the war many people said women were too weak or too emotional for "men's work". The war made that argument look foolish. Women proved they could build shells, drive vehicles and run offices. In August 1914 the suffragette leaders stopped their campaign of violence, the government released suffragettes from prison, and the movement backed the war effort. Many politicians later said that women's war work had changed their minds about giving them the vote. The vote itself is covered in the lesson on Votes for Women and the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act.
What did not change: women still earned less than men, and when the war ended many were dismissed or left to make room for returning soldiers. The Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act (1919) made employers give skilled jobs back to men. Many people still believed that a woman's place was in the home. So the war gave women new chances and a new respect, but it did not bring equality.
With so many men in uniform and the factories busy, unemployment almost vanished. Working-class families had steady work and wages rose, although prices rose too. The government also took action to protect families. After rent strikes in Glasgow in 1915, it limited rent rises.
The government needed workers to cooperate, so it listened to the trade unions, which grew stronger. Membership grew from over 4 million in 1914 to over 8 million by 1920. In 1915 the Labour Party's Arthur Henderson joined the government, the first Labour member of a British cabinet.
Shared sacrifice. Men from every class served. Over two million volunteered in the first sixteen months, many in "Pals" battalions of friends from the same town or workplace, and more than 700,000 British men died. On the home front, food rationing in 1918 meant everyone got a fair share of basic foods such as sugar, meat and butter. Many working-class people felt that if they had given so much, they deserved a fair say and a better life. This pushed forward the question of the vote for working men, which is also covered in the lesson on Votes for Women and the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act.
What did not change: the class system survived, and full employment did not last. Unemployment rose sharply once the post-war boom ended in 1921.
Explain TWO causes of the increase in women's employment in Britain during the First World War. [8 marks]
Remember: this is a "two causes" question. Each cause needs precise facts and an explanation of how it led to the outcome. One cause alone can score no more than half marks.
One cause was the loss of male workers to the armed forces. Hundreds of thousands of men volunteered in 1914, and conscription began in January 1916 for single men and in May 1916 for married men. This took millions of men out of factories, farms and offices. Employers could not run their businesses without workers, so they hired women as bus conductors, farm labourers and clerks, and the number of working women grew.
A second cause was the shortage of shells in 1915. The Shell Crisis led to the creation of the Ministry of Munitions under David Lloyd George, which needed huge numbers of new workers. Earlier, in March 1915, the government had agreed with the trade unions to allow dilution, so unskilled workers could do skilled jobs. The Shell Crisis made the need for workers far bigger, and the factories opened to hundreds of thousands of women, who then made much of the army's ammunition.
This reaches the top level because it explains two causes, each with precise detail and a clear link to the rise in women's employment.
For each cause, give a date, name or law, then use "so" or "because" to show how it led to the outcome. Aim for two short paragraphs of 70-100 words, and do not just describe the jobs women did.