The continuum on which women are placed regarding their power and direct contribution to society has changed throughout history. From “strong female figures - rulers and warriors” including Cleopatra and Boudicca to Medieval Europe, where women were seen as feeble and open to temptation by the Christian Church [1]. The debate about the ‘power’ of women is often oversimplified to focus solely on as women in influential positions of power. However, the power referred to in this instance is the everyday women's direct contribution to civilisation, as well as her status among the rest of society.
The 4th and 5th centuries are prime examples of the misogynistic degradation of women, where the ‘principle responsibilities’ of women were “childbearing, managing the household and weaving of fabric” [2] . However, this general observation of women can be challenged, due to having “a number of powerful female goddesses” in Ancient Greece and Rome [3] , hence the changing perceptions of women’s power throughout periods in history. Furthermore, it is well known that children have been indoctrinated from early ages about 'appropriate' roles for women in society that has led to considerable differences in human rights, career choices and pay for women. [4]
Last century, one of the defining moments in the struggle for equal representation and rights for women was during the Second World War. The First World War was the first time that women were recruited en mass to fill the vacancies of typically ‘men’s work’ [5] , hence starting the shift of views regarding women working and furthermore, their contributions to society. By the beginning of the Second World War, more service options were available for females, and although there were reservations by some people, once the realisation was made that the war would “demand much more than the government has expected” [6] , society was more open to women performing in roles in which females had not traditionally held. For example code breakers, agricultural hands, anti-aircraft gunners and auxiliary force members were roles that were often held by women, in contrast to the highly domesticated roles of previous generations. These instances highlight the shift in the power dynamic which would eventuate in significant victories in multiple facets of the war.
This period of women obtaining roles that were essential to “maintaining the bureaucratical mechanisms that are necessary in warfare” [7] further set into motion a stage of analysis and reconfiguration regarding the perception of women and the power they offer to society.
More information regarding the various roles women undertook during the Second World War can be found by clicking on the correlating button below.
Footnotes
[1] Marie McKeown, "Women Through History: Women's Experience Through the Ages," Owlcation, last modified May 4, 2011, https://owlcation.com/humanities/Women-Through-History.
[2] Hemingway, Colette. “Women in Classical Greece.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wmna/hd_wmna.htm (October 2004
[3] Loc Cit.
[4] "Face the Facts: Gender Equality 2018 | Australian Human Rights Commission," Australian Human Rights Commission |, accessed January 14, 2019, https://www.humanrights.gov.au/education/face-facts/face-facts-gender-equality-2018.
[5] "World War I: 1914-1918." Striking Women. Accessed January 28, 2019. http://www.striking-women.org/module/women-and-work/world-war-i-1914-1918.
[6] Loc Cit.
[7] "LibGuides: Women in the Military - WWII: Overview." Home - LibGuides at Minnesota Historical Society Library. Last modified 1026. https://libguides.mnhs.org/wwii_women.