Surplus women

The 19th century saw improvements to agricultural productivity that stimulated population growth while reducing the demand for farm labour.

The surplus was roughly equal between the sexes, however disproportionate opportunities existed for men over women in employment domestically and abroad, and in armed service.

By 1850 more than a quarter of the female population of the UK between 20 and 45 was unmarried, and finding increasing difficulty in accessing economic means.

[2] The 1851 United Kingdom census put numbers to this disparity – between five hundred thousand and one million more women than men.

However, these jobs tended toward low wages and poor advancement opportunities, generally factory work; one of the largest female sectors was the textile trade.

[5] Even before the war, six out of seven children in Britain were compelled by financial necessity to leave school at the age of 14 to go into the workforce to earn a wage.

[6] Regardless of their marital status, females were able to find job opportunities, especially during the First World War due to absence of males in the workforce.

The war increased female employment; however, the return of demobilised men displaced many from the workforce, as did the closure of many of the wartime factories.

There were fears that the factory work undertaken by female workers could exert a damaging influence on their health, mind and morals.

[11] The closure of these nurseries expressed the government's support of women staying at home and leading a domestic life.

The British government viewed emigration as a solution to several social issues caused by the war and preceding century.

[12] The SOSBW had panels devoted regions (Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and career sectors (such as nursing, training and agriculture).