<P> Variously throughout the war, serious shortage of able - bodied men ("manpower") occurred in the country, and women were required to take on many of the traditional male roles, particularly in the area of arms manufacture; though this was only significant in the later years of the war, since unemployed men were often prioritised by employers . Women both found work in the munitions factories (as "munitionettes") despite initial trade union opposition, which directly helped the war effort, but also in the Civil Service, where they took men's jobs, releasing them for the front . The number of women employed by the service increased from 33,000 in 1911 to over 102,000 by 1921 . The overall increase in female employment is estimated at 1.4 million, from 5.9 to 7.3 million, and female trade union membership increased from 357,000 in 1914 to over a million by 1918--an increase of 160 percent . Beckett suggests that most of these were working class women going into work at a younger age than they would otherwise have done, or married women returning to work . This taken together with the fact that only 23 percent of women in the munitions industry were actually doing men's jobs, would limit substantially the overall impact of the war on the long - term prospects of the working woman . </P> <P> When the government targeted women early in the war focussed on extending their existing roles--helping with Belgian refugees, for example--but also on improving recruitment rates amongst men . They did this both through the so - called "Order of the White Feather" and through the promise of home comforts for the men while they were at the front . In February 1916, groups were set up and a campaign started to get women to help in agriculture and in March 1917, the Women's Land Army was set up . One goal was to attract middle - class women who would act as models for patriotic engagement in nontraditional duties . However the uniform of the Women's Land Army included male overalls and trousers, which sparked debate on the propriety of such cross-dressing . The government responded with rhetoric that explicitly feminized the new roles . In 1918, the Board of Trade estimated that there were 148,000 women in agricultural employment, though a figure of nearly 260,000 has also been suggested . </P> <P> The war also caused a split in the British suffragette movement, with the mainstream, represented by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel's Women's Social and Political Union, calling a' ceasefire' in their campaign for the duration of the war . In contrast, more radical suffragettes, like the Women's Suffrage Federation run by Emmeline's other daughter, Sylvia, continued their (at times violent) struggle . Women were also allowed to join the armed forces in a non-combatant role and by the end of the War 80,000 women had joined the armed forces in auxiliary roles such as nursing and cooking . </P> <P> Following the war, millions of returning soldiers were still not entitled to vote . This posed another dilemma for politicians since they could be seen to be withholding the vote from the very men who had just fought to preserve the British democratic political system . The Representation of the People Act 1918 attempted to solve the problem, enfranchising all adult males as long as they were over 21 years old and were resident householders . It also gave the vote to women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications . The enfranchisement of this latter group was accepted as recognition of the contribution made by women defence workers, though the actual feelings of members of parliament (MPs) at the time is questioned . In the same year the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 allowed women over 21 to stand as MPs . </P>

Who became the british prime minister in the course of the war