Final answer:
After contributing to World War I, nurses faced low salaries and difficult working conditions upon returning home, despite having served valiantly during the war. These conditions were common for many women who worked during the war, who also gained political influence and suffrage post-war. The war expanded opportunities for women, but also highlighted the disparities between their wartime roles and peacetime recognition and compensation.
Step-by-step explanation:
After nursing’s glorious contributions to World War I, nurses returned home to find low salaries, long hours, too few staff, and too many patients. This was a common scenario faced by women who served in various capacities during the war, including as nurses. These women experienced a stark contrast between their critical wartime roles and the undervaluation of their peacetime work. Despite the promises made by many governments, equal pay did not materialize for most, although women did gain political influence and the right to vote in the U.S. and many European countries soon after the war's end.
During World War I, nurses who returned to Canada either on furlough or accompanying wounded soldiers were in high demand as speakers. The work they had done, ranging from serving close to the front lines to risking their lives on hospital ships, was critical to the war effort. Nonetheless, post-war, many of these women found that the roles available to them did not reflect the significant contributions they had made. However, opportunities did expand for women in nursing and medicine, and female doctors gained wide praise for their work. This period saw not only an increased trend for women working in professional roles but also a challenging of old standards with new societal roles for women.