Women's Support Roles in the World Wars Right up to the outbreak of World War I, feminists on both sides pledged themselves to peace, in transnational women's solidarity. Within months of the war's outbreak, however, "all the major feminist groups of the belligerents had given a new pledge - to support their respective governments." Suddenly, campaigners for women's suffrage became avid patriots and organizers of women in support of the war effort. Many of these …showed first 75 words of 1272 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1272 total…harder for homemakers to compensate. Most importantly, in terms of gender roles, women in the military in the first war were "largely confined to very mundane work like cleaning, cooking, clerical work, waitressing, and some driving ... But in 1939-45 in addition ... women handled anti-aircraft guns, ran the communications network, mended aeroplanes and even flew them from base to base." Nonetheless, gender relations quickly reverted to tradition after World War II as after World War I.