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During the twentieth century, women in the World Wars became indispensable for the total mobilization of society's resources. ==Background== Before the First World War, the traditional paid female roles in western countries were mostly restricted to the domestic sphere, as servants and housewives, plus factory jobs in textiles, nursing and clothing. In Great Britain for example, just before World War I, of the approximately 24 million adult women, around 1.7 million worked in domestic service, 800,000 worked in the textile manufacturing industry, 600,000 worked in the clothing trades, 500,000 worked in commerce, and 260,000 worked in local and national government, including teaching.〔Adams, R.J.Q. (1978). ''Arms and the Wizard. Lloyd Georgebut the Ministry of Munitions 1915 - 1916'', London: Cassell & Co Ltd. ISBN 0-304-29916-2. Particularly, Chapter 8: ''The Women's Part''.〕 The British textile and clothing trades, in particular, employed far more women than men and were regarded as 'women's work'.〔 While some women managed to enter the traditionally male career paths, women, for the most part, were expected to be primarily involved in "duties at home" and "women's work". Before 1914, only a few countries, including New Zealand, Australia, and several Scandinavian nations, had given women the right to vote (see Women's suffrage), but otherwise, women were minimally involved in the political process. The two world wars hinged as much on industrial production as they did on battlefield clashes. With millions of men away fighting and with the inevitable casualties, there was a severe shortage of labour in a range of industries, from rural and farm work to urban office jobs. During both world wars women were needed by the national war effort to undertake new roles.〔 In Great Britain, this was known as a process of "Dilution" and was strongly contested by the trade unions, particularly in the engineering and ship building industries.〔 For the duration of both World Wars, women did take on skilled "men's work".〔 However, in accordance with the agreement negotiated with the trade unions, women undertaking jobs covered by the Dilution agreement lost their jobs at the end of the First World War.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Women in the World Wars」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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