WOMEN AT WORK IN WORLD WAR TWO ACTIVITY

You can find the answers to all these questions in the Women at Work display panels in the online exhibition John Curtin's Legacy: Leading Australia from war to peace.

Print out this page and use it to record your answers. When you have completed the activity, you can check your answers online using the Answer Key.

Joining Up

In 1941 the Federal Government gave permission for women to join the armed services. Women had not been allowed to join up in World War One.

1. Match the intitials of the four women's armed services on the left with the full names on the right.

a. AWLA
b. WAAAF
c. AWAS
d. WRANS

i. Women's Australian Auxillary Air Force
ii. Women's Royal Australian Navy Service
iii. Australian Women's Land Army
iv. Australian Women's Army Service

2. List four of the main tasks performed by women in the armed services:

• ___________________________
  
• ___________________________
  
• ___________________________
  
• ___________________________

3. These duties were seen as mainly 'traditional feminine roles'. What does this mean?

• _____________________________________________________

4. How many women had enlisted in the armed services by the middle of 1943?

• _____________

A voice for Women

5. The four women listed in the table below were able to be 'a voice for women' at a time when women were not well represented in politics or on government committees. Write any interesting facts you can find about each one in the space provided.

Check how you went by comparing your answers with our Answer Key. l Online Activities Home Page