Abstract
During the Second World War more women were brought into the workforce than ever before and into a wider range of occupations and industries. The role women played in some of these industries, such as munitions and aircraft production, has been well documented; while in others like the iron and steel industry there has been very little recognition. But many accounts, especially media reports at the time, often embellished the facts and romanticised the situation. They also exaggerated the social changes as a result of women’s entry into the workforce, stressing the achievements for women. There is also a tendency for some historians to generalise about the extent of social change affecting women in the post-war reconstruction (Marwick, 1968).
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© 1987 British Sociological Association
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Price, K. (1987). What did you do in the War, Mam? Women Steelworkers at the Consett Iron Company during the Second World War. In: Creighton, C., Shaw, M. (eds) The Sociology of War and Peace. Explorations in Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18640-2_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18640-2_10
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