6. Before the First World War most women stayed at home or worked in domestic service.
But as more and more men joined the army to participate in the war, women had to take over their jobs.
Suddenly women were working on the buses, in offices and in factories, all jobs that would have been frowned upon in peacetime.
The women who worked in munitions factories were nicknamed "canaries" because their skin sometimes turned yellow when they came into contact with the dangerous chemicals!
At that tie women were looked upon as fragile beings incapable of handling tedious or intellectual task. The WWI, changed that perception as women became more independent and discharged duty with responsibility. Women, post war, achieved stature of equality.
