This travelling exhibition focuses on the experiences of Canadian women during the First and Second World Wars. Through five themes, World War Women shares the personal stories of women whose lives were transformed by conflict.

World War Women uses a combination of artifacts, photographs, documents reproductions, and audiovisual material to explore the wartime stories of Canadian women from all walks of life: Working, Volunteering, Military Service, Domestic Pressure, Worry and Loss. For many of them, the wars resulted in new employment opportunities in factories, as women replaced men serving in the military.

As volunteers, women made major contributions through fundraising, assembling care packages, and knitting woolen “comforts” such as socks and hats. Some women also served in the military, first as nurses and later as noncombatant members of the women’s branches of the army, navy, and air force.

Women everywhere encountered a barrage of propaganda pressuring them to change their daily lives to suit wartime needs. In addition, almost every woman experienced anxiety and loss, worrying about the well-being of friends and family in uniform, hoping desperately for their safe homecoming, and anxiously awaiting the return of peace.