WW2 women's pay

[bykerlads]

During WW2 when the men went off to fight and women often took their places, doing their work, in factories, were the  women paid the same wages as the men had been paid or were they paid less ie normal women's wages?
(Not a feminist point I'm making, by the way.)
But I'd like to know how the factory owners were prevented from making extra profit out of the war by using cheaper labour.

[medpat]

https://www.striking-women.org/module/women-and-work/world-war-ii-1939-1945


This will help you.

[bykerlads]

Thanks, Medpat.
That's a really interesting link.
I do wonder though if factory owners did make extra profits from having lower paid female workers doing men's jobs.
Is there any evidence of this or was it all glossed over just to keep the owners onside during the war?
The link mentions women working as drivers in the fire brigades. It reminds me that on the lovely memorial to London's firefighters who died during WW2, several women are mentioned, presumably they served as drivers. The memorial is situated just opposite St Paul's. Rather fine and of course so poignant. There are figures of firefighters, though, as far as I recall, none are female.

[andrewalston]

I remember a documentary which interviewed women who had worked on Spitfire production at the Castle Bromwich plant.

They worked 12-hour shifts, but took home more pay than anyone else in their families - including the men - despite being paid less than the men working alongside them.

Of course this was high-value (and high-profile) work. Those in less-noticeable jobs would not benefit anywhere near as much.