Soldier and two women

An artillery soldier is seated at a railway station flanked by two women in conversation. The woman on the left of the soldier is wearing the uniform of the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) which was established to release men from certain military duties for employment in fighting units. While it was initially envisaged that women would take on roles including typists, cooks and drivers, in reality there were soon a broad number of jobs open to them during the Second World War. The woman on the right is wearing a casual pant suit and symbolically represents the liberation that economic independence brought about.