The Second World War, which took place from September 1, 1939, to September 2, 1945, showed that women are capable of doing what was previously considered “men’s work” and making a significant contribution to the war effort.
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However, ideas about the gender distribution of responsibilities and the use of physical force differed greatly between the opposing sides in the war; the Allies actively promoted women’s contribution to the outcome of the war, while the Axis powers discouraged women from working on the military front.
In Britain during the war years, women took an active part in the development of industry, agriculture and administration. With the introduction of industrial conscription, the number of British women involved increased in comparison with the First World War. Moreover, this article by Sirota and Bucher, found in Gale In Context: World History, argues that Britain made the most effective use of female power through the call to the auxiliary service.
Indeed, Britain was one of the first countries of the Allied powers to forget about the traditional distribution of sex-based jobs and gender stereotypes. Later on, due to the shortage of men available to do particular jobs, women of the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) were recruited as radar operators, as well as anti-aircraft gun crew members. According to Sirota and Bucher, by 1941, 125,000 British women were involved in military activities, and another 43,000 joined over the next three years.
In the USSR, women participated in the war effort by the millions. They made up an important part of the civilian workforce and volunteered to participate in the armed forces as well. The Soviet government made the most comprehensive use of female soldiers. The Red Army and the Red Air Force were extremely popular among them. According to this viewpoint by Kelly Sirota, women fought on the front lines as snipers or tankers, and there were three whole regiments with only female fighters. Furthermore, every military speciality including infantry, armour, and field artillery, allowed adult females to serve. Soviet women also actively participated in the Red Cross organisation, fire-watching operations, and civil defence.1