Women and Work
With the impact of the Great War on the island’s tourism industry, many of the women who had owned boarding houses or worked in hotels found themselves out of work, so it was important for them to find alternative ways of earning a living. Unlike the rest of Britain, where women were needed to fill the gaps left by men, the Isle of Man had to find a way to provide employment for women whose livelihoods had been lost.
Despite the labour shortages in the Isle of Man’s agricultural industry there was no Manx Women’s Land Army. Manx traditions strongly encouraged women to work indoors, although some travelled across to work on farms in England.
To help women who were struggling to earn, the Manx Industries Association set up a textile factory in Derby Castle Theatre to make socks and shirts for the War Office.
