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Many women helped by making quilts, bandages, and clothing for the soldiers overseas. The Women's Institutes organization sent books, newspapers, and treats to military hospitals overseas and had a "Central War Charities Fund" that raised millions of dollars during the Second World War.

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Canadian women made important contributions on the home front during the war years. They supported our country's war efforts not only in traditional roles, but also in unprecedented new ways.

In the Home

Home life could be challenging during the war years. "Rationing" was in effect during both the First and Second World Wars, making it hard to obtain sugar, butter, eggs and other scarce food items that were needed to help feed the men fighting overseas. Goods such as rubber, gas, metal and nylon were also difficult to come by because they were needed for the war effort. Women did their part by donating old cookware and other household items to recycling scrap metal drives and encouraging others to "Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without." This spirit could even be seen in advertisements. "I'm patriotic!" says one woman on a Second World War-era poster as she rolls her hair in tissue rolls instead of curlers, thus saving metal and rubber that could be used to make guns and tires for military vehicles.

It was not easy for women to fill the new roles that arose due to the demands of wartime, while maintaining the traditional female roles of the time. Many women worked tirelessly in the home, often combining their domestic labours with war-related volunteer work with women's organizations or in military canteens.

Women also contributed to the war effort by giving blood and buying war bonds. Many also tended their own gardens (known as Victory Gardens during the Second World War) or volunteered in community gardens so more vegetables and fruits could be grown to feed the local population.

On the Farm

Canadian farms felt their own pressures to meet the growing need for food for the war effort, while also losing many of their young male workers to military service. Many farm women were faced with the reality that they had to maintain the family farm themselves, as well as raise the children, while the husbands, sons and hired labourers were off at war.

Mothers and children worked side-by-side on the farm to ensure it survived and prospered, with responsibilities like planting, harvesting, caring for livestock, milking cows and managing the finances being added to women's normal farm chores. Women adjusted well to this shift in roles and, when the men returned after the war, many women continued helping on the farm in these new ways.

Women's Organizations

The Women's Institutes (WIs) and other women's groups did their part, as well. Helping neighbours was a part of their members' daily lives and, during wartime, their "neighbourhood" expanded to include those in the military. Making quilts, bandages and clothing for the men overseas were just a few of their wartime projects. These groups sent books, newspapers and special treats to military hospitals overseas. They also held "send-off" and "welcome home" parties for servicemen from their area and, after the war, were in the forefront of efforts to create local war memorials. The WIs also had a "Central War Charities Fund" that raised millions of dollars during the Second World War.

The WIs used their agricultural connections to cooperate with the government to establish farm labour bureaus to encourage city women to volunteer to help harvest crops. They also held "canning clubs" to keep up with the high demand for preserved fruits and vegetables. Their members' experiences in adapting recipes to wartime shortages also led them to publish special cookbooks. The average homemaker, struggling to prepare meals within the restrictions of food rationing, found these books to be a great resource.

In Industry

Many men left their civilian jobs to fight for their country during the First and Second World Wars. These jobs needed to be filled and, in the Second World War in particular, women quickly stepped forward to meet the surging demand for workers in a greatly expanding Canadian wartime economy. At the beginning of the war, approximately 570,000 women worked in Canadian industry, mostly at clerical jobs. Five years later, almost a million women would be employed, with many working in traditionally male factory jobs.

Initially, there was a reluctance to allow women into new fields of employment. As the war proceeded, however, it became evident that if the country was to make the most of its resources, women's contributions would be vital. Many new factories were established to manufacture guns, ammunition, aircraft, ships and more, and women soon could be seen in almost every factory working alongside their male counterparts. This shift in gender roles took some getting used to, but by the end of the war, women had proved to themselves and to the country that they could do any job a man could-and do it well!

After the Second World War ended, incentives for women workers-such as company day care centres-ended and they were encouraged to leave the workforce. Many did stay on to work in the growing service industry, however. The war years had changed the face of Canada's workplaces forever.

Canada's Own "Rosie the Riveter"

America may have made the fictional "Rosie the Riveter" famous during the Second World War, but Canada found its own female role model in a real person. Elsie MacGill was the first woman to receive an electrical engineering degree in Canada and the first female aircraft designer in the world. The 35-year-old aeronautical engineer supervised the production of Hawker Hurricane fighter planes at the Canadian Car and Foundry Company, which employed 200 women and produced more than 1,450 aircraft during the war. MacGill became a symbol of Canada's miraculous economic wartime transformation. She was even the subject of a comic book called "Queen of the Hurricanes" that was devoted to her achievements.

An Impressive Contribution

Canada's contributions during the war years would have been very different if it were not for the vital roles women played on the home front. The war effort encompassed all Canadians, and women did their fair share and more, achieving and sacrificing a great deal in the cause of peace and freedom. The impressive achievements of these trailblazing women still echo today.

Canada Remembers Program

Women not only contributed to the war effort on the home front; they also played important roles in the military. Learn more about the achievements and sacrifices of Canadian women in uniform by exploring the Canada Remembers Women in the Canadian Military historical sheet.

The Canada Remembers Program of Veterans Affairs Canada encourages all Canadians to learn about the sacrifices and achievements made by those who have served-and continue to serve-during times of war and peace. As well, it invites Canadians to become involved in remembrance activities that will help preserve their legacy for future generations.

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Canada Remembers Women on The Home Front

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Canadian women made important contributions on the home front during the war years. They supported our country's war efforts not only in traditional roles, but also in unprecedented new ways. Home life could be challenging during the war years.

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During WW1 the majority of women that worked on farms were field workers and milkers. - Lauren

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American Women Fought for Suffrage for 70 Years. It Took WWI to Finally Achieve It.

for the longest time women never had any rights to vote but they fought for it and are finally aloud to vote.
-Zach

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Enemy aliens are people who are from any of the enemy country. Like Germany or Austria Hungary

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3,000 nurses served in the armed forces, and 2,504 were sent overseas with the Canadian Army Medical Corps during the First World War. Canadian nurses were accorded officer status to give them authority over patients.

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in Canada, especially Indigenous women, were interned in Canada during wartime. Detained and confined because their background could be traced to enemy states.

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in Canada, especially Indigenous women, were interned in Canada during wartime. Detained and confined because their background could be traced to enemy states.

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Canadian women had many roles in WW1, when the men went off to fight, they had to run the household, and do all the things the men would normally do. Women could also join the men overseas as nurses helping to save wounded soldiers. (Jacob)

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When it comes to war majority of people will reconize the men for their sacrifices for their country, but women in the war is not as noticed as they also played a big role in the war as front line nurses,doctors,translators and ambulance drivers.

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Many women took in the role of manufacturing and agricultural positions. JA

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https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/women-and-war

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Many women went into factories, and were very good at setting fuses in shells and bullets. It was dangerous work, and the chemicals they dealt with made many ill. (carys)

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Alot of the times when the men were at war they needed some of the woman to help make the bombs,fix guns and more. they made sure that they always have the things they need for war. -Mason

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Toronto Women learning how to shoot, 1915               -Austin.A 

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They took charge of the household and this includes going to work and doing housework including talking care of farms.

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Women have been involved in war for a long time, and were usually cooks, nurses, and cleaners. -Wes

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In 1918, munitions factories were the single largest employer for women. This was due to the need for workers while men were overseas. -Curran

https://www.striking-women.org/module/women-and-work/world-war-i-1914-1918

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Women risked their lives during WW1 which showed men that they were capable of more. After WW1 women gained a little more respect for their sacrifices.  (H.E)

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At the time of the First World War, most women were barred from voting or serving in military combat roles. Many saw the war as an opportunity to not only serve their countries but to gain more rights and independence. With millions of men away from home, women filled manufacturing and agricultural positions on the home front. Others provided support on the front lines as nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, translators and, in rare cases, on the battlefield.

One observer wrote that American women "do anything they were given to do; that their hours are long; that their task is hard; that for them there is small hope of medals and citations and glittering homecoming parades."

On The Homefront

The nations at war mobilized their entire populations. The side that could produce more weapons and supply more troops would prevail in the end. Women took on new roles in the work force, notably in war production and agriculture.

In 1914, the German armaments producer Krupp employed almost no women. By 1917, women made up nearly 30 percent of its 175,000 workers and a nationwide total of nearly 1.4 million German women were employed in the war labor force. Britain also stepped up its arms production by expanding the employment of women. In July 1914, 3.3 million women worked in paid employment in Britain. By July 1917, 4.7 million did. British women served in uniform as well in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. In fact, the last known surviving veteran of World War I was Florence Green of the RAF, who died in 2012.

As women took traditional male jobs in the United States, African American women were able to make their first major shift from domestic employment to work in offices and factories. Recent research also shows that a limited number of African American women served overseas as volunteers with the YMCA.

"The women worked as ammunition testers, switchboard operators, stock takers. They went into every kind of factory devoted to the production of war materials, from the most dangerous posts in munition plants to the delicate sewing in aeroplane factories."

- Alice Dunbar Nelson, American Poet and Civil Rights Activist, on African American women's efforts during the war, 1918

But even women in more traditional roles contributed to the war effort. Every housewife in the U.S. was asked to sign a pledge card stating that she would "carry out the directions and advice of the Food Administrator in the conduct of my household, in so far as my circumstances permit." This meant canning food for future use, growing vegetables in the backyard and limiting consumption of meat, wheat and fats. Most of all, women were expected to bolster the morale of their families at home and loved ones overseas.

Doctors, Nurses and Ambulance Drivers

The Salvation Army, the Red Cross and many other organizations depended on thousands of female volunteers. The American Red Cross operated hospitals to care for war casualties, staffed by nurses, hundreds of whom died in service during the war. Thousands of women also served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and the Navy Nurse Corps. While the American Expeditionary Forces were still preparing to go overseas, U.S. Army nurses were sent ahead and assigned to the British Expeditionary Force. By June 1918, there were more than 3,000 American nurses in over 750 in British-run hospitals in France.

While nurses were accepted at the Front, women physicians faced obstacles putting their hard-earned skills to work. When these women were rejected from service in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, many sought other opportunities to serve the war effort: as civilian contract surgeons, with the Red Cross or other humanitarian relief organizations and even in the French Army.

The Medical Women's National Association, for example, raised money to send their own doctors overseas to work in hospitals run by the American Red Cross. By the end of the war, nearly 80 women doctors from this organization were at work in the devastated regions of Europe, caring for civilians and soldiers and treating diseases such as influenza and typhoid.

During the last Allied offensive in the summer and fall of 1918, many woman doctors, nurses and aides operated near the front lines, providing medical care for soldiers wounded in combat.

"I had just given this poor boy anesthesia when a bomb hit. We were supposed to hit the floor, but he was out and didn't know what was going on. I took a tray and put it over our heads. It wasn't because I was brave. I was just scared."

- Medical Corps anesthetist Sophie Gran. Gran was one of the first woman anesthetists with the A.E.F. in France and the only woman anesthetist with Mobile Hospital Unit #1. She went on to become the first president of California Association of Nurse Anesthetists in 1931.

The automobile age was just getting underway in WWI, and motorized ambulances became key to medical treatment on the battlefield. Many women who knew how to drive volunteered to go overseas to serve as ambulance and truck drivers or mechanics. They delivered medical supplies, transported patients to hospitals and drove through artillery fire to retrieve the wounded.

Many of the women drivers of the Red Cross Motor Service and other ambulance groups used their own cars, including Marie Curie. Curie invented a mobile X-ray unit, radiological cars nicknamed "little Curies," and ultimately trained 150 women to be X-ray operators on the battlefront, of which Curie herself was one - an act that she believed contributed to her later death from radiation exposure.

Edith Cavell

Learn about the life and death of the British nurse who helped soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium.

Female Yeoman

Despite thousands of new recruits, the U.S. Navy was short-handed at the beginning of World War I. Vague wording in a section of the Naval Act of 1916 outlining who could serve created a loophole: women were able to join the ranks as Yeomen, non-commissioned officers. Around 12,000 women enlisted in the Navy under the title, "Yeoman (F)."

Most women Yeomen served stateside on naval bases, replacing men who had deployed to Europe. While many female recruits performed clerical duties, some worked as truck drivers, mechanics, radio operators, telephone operators, translators, camouflage artists and munition workers. They had the same responsibilities as their male counterparts and received the same pay of $28.75 per month.

The "Hello Girls"

Aiming to improve communications on the Western front between the Allied Forces, General John J. Pershing called for the creation of the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit. The unit recruited women who were bilingual in French and English to serve as telephone switchboard operators on the Western front. The women received physical training, observed strict military protocol, wore identity discs and worked very close to the front lines. These female recruits were nicknamed the "Hello Girls" (a term which some of them felt disparaged their efforts) and became known for their bravery and focus under pressure. However, upon their return to the United States after the end of the war, the "Hello Girls" did not receive veteran status or benefits. It wasn't until 1977, when President Jimmy Carter signed legislation, that the few surviving women telephone operators received recognition of their veteran status.

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With millions of men away from home, women filled manufacturing and agricultural positions on the home front.

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Wounded Canadians present a nurse with a dog brought out of the trenches with them, October 1916 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/women-and-war

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Nurse with wounded soldiers at a casualty clearing station

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Nurse with wounded soldiers at a casualty clearing station

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Clara

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With so many men away at war, many women took on "male" roles in manufacturing, agriculture, and more.

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What were the roles they had to take on? Logan k

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What were the roles they had to take on? Logan k

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They served as stenographers, clerks, radio operators, messengers, truck drivers, ordnance workers, mechanics cryptographers and all other non-combat shore duty roles, free thousands of sailors to join the fleet. In all 11,272 Women joined the US Navy for the duration of the war.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/women-in-world-war-i.htm

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Joy Bright Hancock was among the first women to enlist in the US Navy in WWI. After the war she was a civilian employee of the Navy Department. In 1942 Hancock joined the Navy again, rising to the rank of captain. It was through Hancock's efforts that women were integrated into the regular Navy.
U.S. Navy / National Archives, 1943

Many thousands of sailors were involved in shore-duty positions as clerks, truck-drivers, armorers, instructors, medical technicians, radio operators, and other positions - none of those men were available for the fleet; something had to be done. Enter Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy.

Daniels, desperate for sailors to participate in combat operations, found a loophole in the Naval Act of 1916 that law that determined who could be enlisted into the Navy. It nowhere in the regulations was it stipulated that only men could be enlisted into the Navy, Daniels seized upon this opportunity to start actively recruiting women into the ranks. The response was overwhelming. Patriotic young women, many if not most of them suffragists, flocked to the recruiting offices.

Daniels saw the eventually of American involvement month before Woodrow Wilson determined to send troops overseas. By March of 1917 Daniels was in action recruiting those eager and patriotic women to serve in the rating of Yeoman (F). They served as stenographers, clerks, radio operators, messengers, truck drivers, ordnance workers, mechanics cryptographers and all other non-combat shore duty roles, free thousands of sailors to join the fleet. In all 11,272 Women joined the US Navy for the duration of the war. When they left the service Daniels made sure that all of them received veteran's status and were first in line for civil service jobs.

The Army and Navy Nurse Corps contributed 22,804 nurses to the war effort, serving at home, abroad, and on hospital and troop ships. Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee, chief of the Navy Nurse Corps, was the first woman to be awarded the Navy Cross, which is second only to the Medal of Honor. Army nurses served at home as well as overseas; in France, Belgium, England, and even Siberia. Of the Army nurses, many were wounded and more than two-hundred died in service; among the ranks of the Navy Nurse Corps thirty-six women lost their lives, the service of these women was not merely an inconvenience, it often involved the supreme sacrifice.

The Battle for Suffrage

The service of American women at war cost them more than just the burden of putting their lives on hold, deferring marriage and children, or pursuing higher education. The sacrifice of these women went far beyond that; in all more than six-hundred of these patriotic women lost their lives in service to their nation. The question was, how would the nation return that debt?

Suffragists were at war, many suffragists were cooperating with Wilson in hopes of securing his support for suffrage while other suffragists were being imprisoned and brutally treated for protesting Wilson's reluctance to extend women the vote. Both the moderate suffragists and the militant suffragists were exerting pressure upon Wilson, and millions of American women were demonstrating, through service and sacrifice, their claim to full citizenship.

Finally Wilson, at best a reluctant supporter of suffrage, threw his support behind the issue. On September 30, 1918 with war's end weeks away Wilson addressed Congress:

"We have made partners of the women in this war...Shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership of privilege?"

With the support of the president the die was cast. Although the Susan B. Anthony bill - to give women the right to vote - was be debated by Congress for many months, and the issue would be contentiously battled out among the states for ratification. Finally on August 18, 1920, the Susan B. Anthony amendment became the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States. With that, twenty-million women won the right to vote. They were not given the right to vote; they were not given anything. This was a battle involving service, sacrifice, protest, imprisonment, unflinching commitment to the war even including loss of life, and they won. They won victory in war, and a victory that remains with us.

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Women in World War I (U.S. National Park Service)

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Many thousands of sailors were involved in shore-duty positions as clerks, truck-drivers, armorers, instructors, medical technicians, radio operators, and other positions - none of those men were available for the fleet; something had to be done. Enter Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy.

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As the war wore on, women began working in factories to help fill in for the men serving overseas and to help the war effort.