Skip to main content
Digital Archive Ontario Homepage

WWII: Canadian Women

Close
Refine Results
Format
Date
to
Names
Subject
Collection
Language
Collection Info
Woman in medical uniform writing on table 

Our librarians curated these 20 posters, pamphlets and photos that relate to women's role in the Second World War.

"During the Second World War, the role of women in Canadian society changed dramatically. 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." Veterans Affairs Canada

Sort:
/ 1
Filters
20
She serves - that men may fly
She serves - that men may fly
Between 1939 and 1945
Specialists typists cooks stenographers clerks etc urgently needed
Specialists typists cooks stenographers clerks etc urgently needed
Between 1939 and 1945
Housewives! Wage war on Hitler
Housewives! Wage war on Hitler
Approximately 1941
Keep these hands off!
Keep these hands off!
Approximately 1942
We're in the army now
We're in the army now
Approximately 1940
They also serve
They also serve
Between 1939 and 1945
Shoulder to Shoulder
Shoulder to Shoulder
1942
Sixty per cent. of the workers at the factory where signal cartridges and flares are made are women, forty per cent. are men. Here are two of the wome(...)
Sixty per cent. of the workers at the factory where signal cartridges and flares are made are women, forty per cent. are men. Here are two of the wome(...)
6/14/1941
At right she is shown at her delicate and important job
At right she is shown at her delicate and important job
8/1/1942
Heavier work than ever before is now being allotted women, besides many highly technical jobs
Heavier work than ever before is now being allotted women, besides many highly technical jobs
6/3/1942
Woman in medical uniform writing on table 
Fumi Shoyama, graduate nurse, who ministers to the Japanese women and children in Hastings Park, Vancouver
7/11/1942
Handle With Care is the motto of the girls as they pack cordite is silk bags in a munitions plant
Handle With Care is the motto of the girls as they pack cordite is silk bags in a munitions plant
2/28/1942
Women learn to fill the shells for their soldiers, Wives, mothers and grandmothers of active service men are wartime schoolgirls at classes in shell-f(...)
Women learn to fill the shells for their soldiers, Wives, mothers and grandmothers of active service men are wartime schoolgirls at classes in shell-f(...)
4/7/1943
A girl crane operator, Mrs. Blanche Millette, lifts a ten-ton load as easily as she would operate a sewing machine. She is one of thousands praying women have a definite place in ward plants
A girl crane operator, Mrs. Blanche Millette, lifts a ten-ton load as easily as she would operate a sewing machine. She is one of thousands praying women have a definite place in ward plants
1/1/1943
A sight for the sun-blistered eyes of the Canadian fighting men on the Italian front is Pte
A sight for the sun-blistered eyes of the Canadian fighting men on the Italian front is Pte
9/11/1944
Big 3.7-Inch anti-aircraft guns, built at Peterboro, are dependent on fuses from the General Engineering Co
Big 3.7-Inch anti-aircraft guns, built at Peterboro, are dependent on fuses from the General Engineering Co
6/30/1944
Toronto men, women, boys and girls who pass aptitude tests find themselves building planes
Toronto men, women, boys and girls who pass aptitude tests find themselves building planes
n.d.
Operating an electric Donkiey Engine in Canada's Ram tank factor, this girl is doing a man-sized job of hauling heavy equipment. She steers her way do(...)
Operating an electric Donkiey Engine in Canada's Ram tank factor, this girl is doing a man-sized job of hauling heavy equipment. She steers her way do(...)
8/1/1942
Ten pretty girls, all workers at the John Inglis Co
Ten pretty girls, all workers at the John Inglis Co
4/2/1944
Large group of smiling women coming off train 
Crews of Canadian girls commute each day by special trian to one of Canada's great war plants
11/9/1940
/ 1