http://www.suite101.com/article.

cfm/canadas_military/74866
These women mostly nurses or care givers, have taken care of the wounded and dyi
ng
Canadian women have also served as secretaries, clerks, truck and ambulance driv
ers, military aides, and factory workers
The North West Rebellion of 1885, The Boer War, World War I, World War II, Korea
, Desert Storm, Kosovo, Macedonia, Rwanda, and many many places the world over h
ave seen these women perform their duties with honour and pride.
Nursing was the most needed role for women in the early wars, but as time has mo
ved on the role of women in the military has evolved along with the rights of wo
men
During World War I approximately 60 women died in a nursing capacity, most died
of disease, and not a few died in the sinking of hospital ships.
World War II saw women serving as drivers, mechanics, pilots, nurses, aides, and
upwards of 100+ died in this service to their country and the world
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=history/secondwar/fact_sheets/wo
men
Canada needed women to pitch in and support the war effort from their homes, to
work at jobs that were traditionally held by men, and to serve in the military
Canadian women enthusiastically embraced their new roles and responsibilities an
d helped contribute to the success of Canada's Victory Campaign
During the war, many women took a wide variety of civilian jobs that had once be
en filled by men
They built parts for ships and aircraft and manufactured ammunition. They drove
buses, taxis, and streetcars. This level of female participation in the workplac
e was a first for Canada - thousands of Canadian women proving they had the skil
ls, strength, and ability to do the work that men did
During the war, women extended their charitable work to the war effort. They kni
t socks, scarves, and mitts and prepared parcels for Canadians overseas, gathere
d materials for scrap collection drives, and helped people displaced by the war
by providing clothes and setting up refugee centres.
Many Canadian women wanted to play an active role in the war and lobbied the gov
ernment to form military organizations for women
In 1941-42, the military was forever changed as it created its own women's force
s
More than 50,000 women served in the armed forces during the Second World War.
The Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWACS) had 21,600 members.
The Women's Division, Royal Canadian Air Force (WDs) had 17,400 members.
The Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (Wrens) had 7,100 members.
Women in the services filled many positions, including mechanics, parachute rigg
ers, wireless operators, clerks, and photographers.
4,480 Nursing Sisters (as Canadian military nurses were known) served in the war
- 3,656 in the Canadian Women's Army Corps, 481 in the Women's Division of the
Royal Canadian Air Force and 343 in the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service. Ma
ny of these women found themselves within range of enemy guns and some lost thei
r lives.
Nursing Sister Margaret Brooke was awarded the Order of the British Empire for h
er heroic efforts to save her fellow Nursing Sister Agnes Wilkie after the S.S.
Caribou, the ferry they were taking to Newfoundland, was torpedoed in the Cabot
Strait in 1942.
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/explore/military-history/dispatches/the-canadian-wom
ens-army-corps-1941-1946
the Canadian Women's Army Corps during the Second World War
in 1918 "Canadian Women's Army Auxiliary Corps" was developed to provide adminis
trative and clerical support to the forces overseas, but the war ended before an
ything could be done.
the British Columbia Women's Service Corps. Inspired and organized by Joan B. Ke
nnedy, this volunteer movement trained in auxiliary roles such as first aid, mot
or mechanics and military clerical duties. Yet, women in the Canadian military r
emained conspicuous by their absence.
In September 1939, Canada went to war. Within months, dozens of unofficial women
's corps, with thousands of members, organized across the country.
oan Kennedy, patriotic and energetic, was the driving force behind this groundsw
ell of demands by Canadian women to serve their country
The images of women as warriors' did not fit most mid-century gender stereo-types
On 13 August 1941, the government authorized the formation of the Canadian Women
's Army Corps (CWAC) to enlist several thousand women in support roles for the a
rmed forces
At first, 30 military trades were open to women, a figure which eventually reach
ed 55. Many paralleled women's gender-specific employment in civilian or domesti
c life, such as cooking, laundering, and clerical duties. However, like many war
time female industrial workers, service in the CWAC enabled uniformed women to l
earn skills and acquire training unusual for women at that time, including, ciph
ering and decoding, vehicle maintenance, and signalling
men and women, held a dim view of women who did join the armed services, general
ly believing that only "loose women" with low moral standards joined the militar
y.