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While the feminist movement had been gaining momentum prior to WWI, the war called on women to serve their countries internally while the men fought in the foreign wars. Since the men were called off to fight in war, the jobs that they performed needed to continue in order to maintain the internal functioning of the country. Consequently, the women were beckoned to join the workforce and, though they were not constantly working right next to men, the fact that women could perform the same tasks as men was hugely significant in the societal perception of women. The dependency of country’s on the women workforce during WWI fostered the growth of a new identity for women, one in which they were independent from the guidance and aid of men and were instead equally capable within society as men. However, while the growth of the female identity was great during WWI, the spectrum of the growth seemed to be confined to the period of warfare, when the male workforce was driven out of the country and the women were thus needed to replace them. Consequently, the strength of the female presence in the workforce was fleeting. Despite the fleeting nature of the female presence within the male-dominated workforce, the spirit of female independence and equality persevered and inspired further search for this spirit to be realized within society (and it slowly was with the initiation of female suffrage first in the U.S., Germany and the Soviet Union). WWI allowed women to penetrate not only the workforce but also to embrace a new empowered identity that was distinct and independent from men.