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The Evolution of Men’s and Women’s Employment (1914-1918)

The wartime economy changed the basic composition and dynamics of labor in Germany. Able-bodied men were recruited into military service during the war, while more and more women stepped in to take up the slack in industrial production. Although there was resistance to women abandoning their roles as wives and mothers, the growing prominence of women in the workforce was driven by material hardship.

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I. Employment of Adult Workers according to Branch of Industry, 1914-1918

(March 1914 = 100)

Branch of Industry

Sept.
1914

March
1915

Sept.
1915

March
1916

Sept.
1916

March
1917

Sept.
1917

March
1918

Sept.
1918

Natural Stone, Gravel, Sand and Concrete

67.2

67.4

67.0

74.6

83.6

82.8

89.7

87.0

77.3

Metal Industry

58.3

117.4

289.5

492.4

596.7

745.5

783.5

846.7

777.0

Machine Building

83.2

309.8

572.7

1414.8

2316.8

3381.7

3308.7

3520.4

3637.9

Electrical Industry

57.1

102.3

245.4

299.7

665.5

856.4

972.2

813.8

691.4

Chemicals

84.9

92.7

112.3

171.8

209.6

31.4

392.2

436.2

467.7

Textiles

89.0

108.1

85.1

66.9

55.8

66.9

68.5

62.6

59.9

Paper

53.8

78.9

90.6

101.3

132.5

136.7

131.1

149.8

159.4

Leather and Rubber

67.7

57.3

61.8

57.8

55.8

89.1

112.3

96.8

96.6

Wood and Woodcarving

24.6

89.9

110.8

148.5

123.9

109.5

112.2

115.7

124.9

Gastronomy/ Groceries

139.7

133.2

166.9

155.7

162.5

159.0

153.5

146.5

161.0

Clothing

66.3

74.7

95.2

83.4

72.5

58.1

51.6

55.5

54.3

Printing

62.7

82.5

83.2

84.9

86.1

82.1

87.1

90.1

96.5



II. Index of Employment in Germany, 1916-1918

Health insurance members subject to obligatory insurance minus those who are disabled or unfit for work
(June 1, 1914 = 100)

Date

Women

Men

Combined

June 1, 1914

100.0

100.0

100.0

December 1, 1916

108.1

60.5

77.3

January 1, 1917

107.5

60.1

76.9

April 1, 1917

109.9

60.1

77.7

July 1, 1917

115.1

61.1

80.2

October 1, 1917

116.6

60.9

80.7

December 1, 1917

118.5

61.3

81.7

January 1, 1918

116.5

60.4

80.4

April 1, 1918

115.2

60.3

79.8

July 1, 1918

116.7

60.8

80.8

October 1, 1918

116.0

60.2

80.1

December 1, 1918

108.7

59.3

76.8




Source: Stefan Bajohr, Die Hälfte der Fabrik. Geschichte der Frauenarbeit in Deutschland 1914-1945 [Half of the Factory: The History of Women’s Employment in Germany, 1914-1945]. Marburg: Verlag Arbeiterbewegung und Gesellschaftswissenschaft, 1979, pp. 119, 125.

Reprinted in Rüdiger vom Bruch and Björn Hofmeister, eds., Kaiserreich und Erster Weltkrieg 1871-1918 [Wilhelmine Germany and the First World War, 1871-1918]. Deutsche Geschichte in Quellen und Darstellung, edited by Rainer A. Müller, vol. 8. Stuttgart: P. Reclam, 2000, pp. 419-22.

Translation: Jeffrey Verhey

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