World War I as a watershed in the achievement of female equality in England. Women’s activities in the war effort, both as civilians and military auxiliaries, brought about a significant improvement in their political status as well as their overall position in British society. Prior to 1914, the women who worked, mostly from the lower classes, were employed in the sweated trades, as shop assistants, or in domestic service. There they faced long hours and low wages. Meanwhile few middle- or upper-class women worked, and those who did found jobs as governesses, nurses, or teachers. Also, a number joined in philanthropic enterprises.
This is not say that important changes were not taking place. Educational opportunities had increased, and universities had become available. Even Oxford and Cambridge had women’s colleges, although they refused to grant the students university degrees. In addition, women were voting in local elections, and some were serving in office. By far the most significant development before World War I was the emergence of the movement for women’s suffrage. Two important groups had emerged: the Suffragists (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies—NUWSS), led by Mrs. Henry Faw-cett, who followed a gradualist approach, and the Suffragettes (Women’s Social and Political Union—WSPU), led primarily by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel, who stood for a much more militant approach that often resulted in violence, injury, and vandalism. Such actions increased dramatically until the beginning of the war, as the government of Herbert Asquith took no action to deal with the suffrage question and reacted with growing severity against those advocating the vote for women.
At the outset of hostilities, the WSPU announced an important shift in its policy, declaring a moratorium on its agitation for the vote and giving complete support to the war effort.
This caused a rift among the Pankhurst family as daughter Sylvia embraced pacifism and put her energies into fighting poverty in the east end of London. Moreover the NUWSS, although also committing itself to the military, continued to advocate women’s suffrage. While many women were ready to volunteer, the government at first showed little interest. Asquith tried to maintain the status quo. For example, when the Scottish doctor Elsie Inglis suggested initiating an ambulance service, she was told to "go home and be quiet."
Some women, however, did organize nursing or charitable groups. Among the factors that led to women’s involvement in the national war effort was the crisis in the munitions industry, which occurred in 1915 with the revelation that the men in the front were facing a shortage of shells. This led to the establishment of the ministry of munitions and the call for women to take up work in the factories. Great numbers of women, called munitionettes, were employed in a variety of jobs manufacturing arms. They demonstrated their abilities and capacities for the job and earned better wages than had been available to women before the war. The work was tough and frequently unhealthy, and their male counterparts often responded with anger at the apparent threat to men’s jobs. At the beginning of 1916, conscription was introduced, creating many more opportunities for women in the workforce. Consequently, they moved into areas such as transportation, taking up positions as drivers of cars, buses, and trucks. In addition, they were employed as gas fitters, postal workers, and police. Women also entered the world of commerce and became a larger presence in education. Other women joined the so-called Land Army, taking the places of men who had been called up from the agricultural sector. These diverse occupations attracted women from a wide range of social classes, giving many their first work experience.
Women also performed military or paramilitary functions. The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS), and the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) were organized to serve in support capacities such as driving, communications, and clerical duties. In addition, there were the women who served as doctors or nurses, both at home and on the continent. The VADs (Voluntary Aid Detachments) also helped out in hospitals, catering and housekeeping. The service of these women and the women war workers as well as the continued support of British women for the war effort convinced many of those who had earlier opposed granting women the franchise to commit themselves to granting it after the war. Indeed, women were allowed to vote in the December 1918 parliamentary election.
In social terms, the war raised significant issues concerning women. In the first place there were the large number of war babies, which were the cause of comment and anxiety. Reflecting the nature of the conflict and the frequent venues where men and women were brought together, this increase of births promoted responses from welfare agencies, but, at the same time, others praised this development as providing replacements for the men dying at the front. The question of war babies is directly related to the changes that had taken place in women’s living conditions and sexual attitudes. In the new situation, girls often left their parents’ home and lived in close proximity to the factories where they worked. The result was a greater sense of confidence as well as permissiveness, especially because the men they met might be killed shortly afterward. The "new woman" was therefore a blend of independence and sexual freedom. Manifestations of this can be seen in the short skirts worn for factory work or the trousers and boots they wore for agricultural work.
The end of the war meant the end of employment for many women. There was a strong feeling that the returning soldiers should have priority in employment and that women did not need to work and should be mothers, supported by their husbands. Women who were dismissed were provided with a donation to cushion their loss of work, but it was only a temporary relief.
It was argued that many women were using these donations to live off the public purse and were not looking for new jobs as was expected. Part of the problem was that these jobs were often in the sweated trades and domestic service, which women had left to enter war employment. Many women refused to go back into service, even though there was an effort to make these jobs more attractive. It is instructive that following the war, there were fewer women in domestic service than before. Women continued their presence in office employment, however.
The sum of women’s experience in World War I had many positive aspects. The fact that women obtained the franchise is evidence of a change in their image and status in British society. No longer could it be argued that women were incapable of holding their own and contributing in demonstrable ways to the national effort. At the same time, the mind-set of women underwent a substantial transformation. They became aware of their own skills and potential. Despite the disappointment of the postwar period, they retained confidence, pride, and a sense of accomplishment. The new woman, like the genie, could not be put back in the bottle.
