Jobs for women in shops during the Second World War
Some women had worked in shops since the First World War. Usually they worked as shop assistants or as cashiers, but they often had to leave when they got married. During the Second World War young, single women were called up to do war work such as working on farms, which meant that shops had to employ married women. Many of these women had children so shops allowed them to work part-time. After the war most shops continued to employ married women.
This picture shows a woman working as a butcher in a Sainsbury’s shop during the war. Butchers had almost always been male in the past. Sainsbury’s realised that married women often had families to look after. Female staff were given one hour off every two weeks to do their own shopping. When schools were closed because of bombing raids they were allowed to bring their children to work.