American Women in World War II Essay

“During the war about half of American women worked outside of their homes,”( Hughes 2). The number of working women rose from fourteen point six million in nineteen forty one to nineteen point four million in nineteen forty four. “Women were not just motivated by wages or patriotism; but buy the feeling of independence that they gained from the work,” (Hughes 2). Without women laborers the US economy would have never been able to produce military hardware to be successful in the war. Even though women played a huge role in the work force during the World War II, they also played an even bigger role in the war itself. Women played several different roles in the actual war. “A few of women’s roles in the actual war of World War II would be army nurses, spies, pilots and entertainers,” (Scott3). Women served as army nurses during World War 11, there were than seven thousand active nurses on duty when the United States entered the war. “Women also served as pilots, on September tenth nineteen forty two, Nancy Harkness Love, with the support of th U.S. Air Transport Command, organized twenty five women pilots into the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (W.A.F.S),” (Scott3). Women pilots were used to serve non- combat flights, to free the men for combat flights. “Women spies of the World WarII , they were often successful and unsuspected since people suspected women that women’s properly roles were solely domestic,” (Scott3). Lastly

‘Rosie the Riveter’ is the name of a fictional character which was created to represent and symbolize the millions of real women who were encouraged by the North American government to join the work force in factories, munition plants and shipyards during World War II, while most men were called to duty to serve in the army during the war.

During World War II, approximately 350,000 women served in the United States Armed Forces. There are many women that people still think of today that is inspiring to them, but many of them know the main person that was popular on the poster board and films which is Rosie The Riveter.

Even though Rosie the Riveter is an image frequently synonymous with the contemporary women’s movement, she was not designed to promote social change or improve the role of women in the workplace during World War II. In reality, she was promoted as the ideal female worker and was patriotic, confident, capable, and beautiful in a large propaganda campaign by the United States government. Since the war caused many men to answer the call to serve in the military, both at home and abroad, the United States was faced with the urgent challenge of recruiting women into the workforce. Rosie the Riveter was their solution to this problem.

The film titled, “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter”, looks at the roles of women during and after World War II within the U.S. The film interviews five women who had experienced the World War II effects in the U.S, two who were Caucasian and three who were African American. These five women, who were among the millions of women recruited into skilled male-oriented jobs during World War II, shared insight into how women were treated, viewed and mainly controlled. Along with the interviews are clips from U.S. government propaganda films, news reports from the media, March of Time films, and newspaper stories, all depicting how women are to take "the men’s" places to keep up with industrial production, while reassured that their

The morning of December 7, 1942 is when the role of Rosie the Riveter all began. The surprise attack caused a devastating loss of lives and the destruction of several U.S. warships and airplanes. That is when President Roosevelt made the courageous decision and called the United States to war. With American men enlisting in the war effort, the work force instantaneously diminished. Then, the question was brought up, “Who would “man” the assembly lines in the factories to produce the necessities for war?” With a shortage of manpower, through the factory doors flooded an army of womanpower. Women from all around the area were ready to take the responsibilities of the factory duties that the men had left behind.

It was the year 1940, during World War II, where Hitler is his allies controlled most of Europe and threaten to control the world. Since Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the United States congress finally agreed to enter the war against Germany and its allies after having remained neutral during the war. On October 16, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Selective Service and Training Act, which required all male citizens between the ages of 26 and 35 to register for the military draft, and American women to volunteer for wartime service in factories and shipyards to produced munitions and war supplies for the American military. These women took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who were in the military (Franklin).

Before the war, women in America had typical lives, and many were wives and mothers. America was brought into the war unexpectedly when Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941. Hundreds of thousands of men were drafted into the war, leaving the women behind. America lost a lot of valuable, hard-working men to fight, and they needed people to fill their positions. According to history.com’s article, “American Women in World War II”, it was then when Rosie the Riveter was created to recruit women to become part of the “work force” (“American Women in World War II”). Rosie the Riveter was a fictional character who motivated women across the U.S. to take jobs in different industries, many of which were previously all-male positions.

Rosie the Riveter was a lady that brought the female numbers up in rank inside the workplace. She was showing people that not only men can be in the workforce. So she got a job and she wanted to show people that women can be in the workforce too. According to History.com “Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945 nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home. “Rosie the Riveter,” star of a government campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for the munitions industry, became perhaps the most iconic image of working women during the war”(Riveter).

World War II was the catalyst that changed the opportunities available to women and eventually the way they were regarded as a viable workforce. Suddenly women throughout the United States were pushing themselves to their limits to support the war effort. Women were fulfilling jobs and responsibilities that many previously believed to be impossible for their gender. Opportunities were opened in steel plants, ammunition factories, and even the United States military. As the war progressed the number of male workers declined dramatically. Society had no choice but to turn to the mothers, sisters, and daughters of our nation for help. The results for each woman varied

The war changed the lives of all Americans, especially women. They had to be self-reliant because fifteen million men were obligated to serve the country. During this time, the nation witnessed a number of women take over the industrial jobs usually occupied by men. When Hollywood generated new films they worshipped the independent woman and OWI publications urged them to work. Rosie the Riveter is recognized for being on Norman Rockwell’s magazine cover as an autonomous and powerful industrial laborer. Many of the ads seen at this time had pictures of females working on industrial machinery. In some of the pictures they still had perfect hair and makeup in place. In 1944, 350,000 women helped in military units and made up more than one-third

Women in the early 1960s were content with the social pressure to aspire to marriage and be the ideal wife for their husbands, but, in the 1960s, when the second wave of feminism around the world approached, women believed that they could and should contribute to society in more ways than solely babymaking. Naturally, as men and boys were shipped off overseas to fight the Viet Cong, women stepped out of their usual roles of teachers and assistants in order to help on the Home Front. Many women took jobs in factories to contribute to the war effort in every way they could, from working on production lines to rationing food. Historically, women’s roles in the workplace lead to inspiring images such as Rosie the Riveter, which continues to inspire women and girls to this day. Furthermore, women believed that

More than six million women took employment outside of the home, and many of the women had never been paid for working. Rosie the Riveter was an iconic figure during the war she showed women a sense of independence by taking them from the household into the workforce. Adult women in Oklahoma frequently went to work in oil fields, gas wells and built airplanes or even worked at-large ship yards. During the war-time, the women were able to prove to America that ladies were just as physically strong as the men were and would do anything to support their country. Mothers would generally barter with family members or neighbors on whose turn it was to watch the children while at work. "Mothers being taken out of the home to work is where child delinquency began, children were not getting the love and the discipline they needed from their parents," said Sharla

The Effect of World War II on American Women America entered the 2nd World War in December 1940 after the Japanese Air force attacked American war ships at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. They fought alongside Britain and France against Nazi Germany and her allies. Although many American soldiers were injured and killed in the war, the impact on Americans back home was generally positive, as the US was too far away from Europe to suffer from bombing etc. America was far better off than it had been before.

Before the majority of women who worked young and unmarried and now the amount of married women in the workforce has doubled and surpassed the amount of unmarried women. These women are working industrial jobs in factories and serving in the U.S. military, which were positions formerly filled by males. Women are being encouraged to these jobs through publications, films, and advertising tactics such as Rosie the Riveter and these same platforms are falsely glorified. Although it is great that the mount of women in the workplace has increased, females continue to be regarded lower than men. There is also the issue that many of these women would like to continue to be employed after the war, but federal agencies are insisting that these jobs are only temporary. One the war is over, these women will be left unemployed and in search for other