The Women’s War: New Zealand Women 1939-45

This work argues that in spite of the dramatic wartime changes in women’s lives World War II did not mark a radical shift in gender roles and after its end old patterns were soon restored. Wartime workers and their soldier sweethearts soon reappeared as home-making mums and bread-winning dads. This is an examination of the impact of war on the private and public lives of New Zealand women. It considers paid and unpaid work and the domestic roles of women as mothers, wives and lovers using examples from real lives. Deborah Montgomerie’s main argument is that despite the changes, the war was essentially a conservative period, pointing out that understanding the continuities in gender relations is as important as cataloguing female firsts . Her book aims to challenge accepted wisdom and offer a fresh view of a period often viewed through the blurry lens of nostalgia and anecdote.