This thesis examines the entry of women, during World War I, into industrial employment that men had previously dominated. It attempts to determine if women's wartime activities significantly changed the roles women played in industry and society. Major sources consulted include microfilm of the British Cabinet Minutes and British Cabinet Papers; Parliamentary Debates; memoirs of contemporaries like David Lloyd George, Beatrice Webb, Sylvia Pankhurst, and Monica Cosens; and contemporary newspapers. The examination begins with the early debates concerning the pressing need for labor in war industries, women's recruitment into industry, women's work and plans, the government's arrangements for demobilization, and women's roles in postwar industry. The thesis concludes that women were treated as a transient commodity by the government and the trade unions.