Though they didn't have such a large part in the development of the war on the front lines, they had a large hole to fill back in the home front. With all the men away at war, there was now no one to work at the factories to supply the soldiers with adequate supplies. Women had to step up and fill the empty spaces at the factories. Unfortunately, this explosion in the employment of women soon ended as the men came back from the war. Now with the men back, women were expected to go back to their original roles, with them staying in the house and the men going out to earn money. Most women reluctantly went back to the traditional roles, but this was just the beginning to what would eventually lead to women eventually being able to leave the house and find work and be able to work for wages equivalent or almost equivalent to that of a man's. This slump in the employment of women and the variety of jobs they could get continued on through the Great Depression on until World War II started. Once again, with the men gone, women were needed to fill the spaces left by the men. During World War II there were many hardships throughout the countries. The tolls of the war were hitting hard and many more soldiers were needed in battle. As the men went off to fight in the war, problems arose due to lack of people in the work force at home. Times were very hard and money was tight. The women were not able to perform the typical household duties there was to much out side to home to do in order to survive. Many women participated in war efforts by working as nurses, in the WAC (women's auxiliary corp), and many went into factories. .
The factory jobs held the greatest number of women. These women worked under very poor conditions for very little pay. The factories ranged from all sorts of parts for war vehicles and weapons, to radio parts and candles for light. Even things as simple as candles were of dire importance during these trying times.
