Who was most influential in changing the roles of women in Australia during World War II and what did they do?
Throughout Australia, there were many influential people who evolved the change of women's role in society.
One of the many people to influence the changing of roles was Bonnie Pickup (picture on the right); one of the first women in 1941 to be posted to the first Fighter Sector (Commonwealth of Australia, 2004). This meant that she was situated in a protected location and had the important role of operating movements and other aspects of the war. Bonnie Pickup believed this was beneficial to women and had said in an interview (Fox. E, 2001), "In 1941 when Australia was threatened with Japanese invasion, the call came for women to take up the men's jobs to release them for the front line, and they were also challenged to join the armed services. As a result of this the girls left home and became independent and confident in their own ability to make decisions". With Bonnie as one of the first Australians to do this job, many more Australian women followed in her footsteps to be in the same role. |