World War Women

The World War Women special exhibition at the Canadian War Museum is well worth a visit.  Multiple perspectives are addressed: women from different backgrounds, who participated in the war effort, protested the war, and were affected by war in different ways are profiled. It provides some excellent ideas for educators looking for entry points into Canadian women's experiences of war: types of womens' service in the Canadian Forces, Canada's labour history, technological advancements on the home front, continuity and change in gender roles, among many others. I was particularly struck by the oral testimony of a woman who worked at the airfields cleaning out cockpits after crashes. How many of the women war workers would have benefitted from mental health support that was not available to them?

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