Gender Roles During World War II Essay

One of the most important roles that women played, were the increasing large amount of female soldiers fighting in the war. These roles gave women the right to work and serve in armed forces. The jobs that women took part in during this time period made a huge difference in the war, and in turn, WW2 helped expand women’s

“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

During World War II, thousands of women in various nations were deeply involved in volunteer work alongside men. Before World War II, the women’s role was simply to be a wife to her husband, a mother to her children, and a caretaker to the house (Barrow). As World War II raged on, women made enormous sacrifices for their family, and also learnt new jobs and new skills. Women were needed to fill many “male jobs”, while men went off to fight in the war. Women served with distinction in The Soviet Union, Britain, Japan, United States, and Germany and were urged to join armed forces, work in factories, hospitals, and also farms to support the soldiers fighting the war. During this time, women took on the dual

The role of woman in World War Two was an essential behind the scenes effort. Just as a cameraman is essential to the making of a movie the roles women played in the war was essential to our allied victory. In the war women provided food, clothing, funds, medical work, safety, knowledge and a safe and secure country to return to at the end of the war effort. All the help provided by women gave helped prove gender equality can work in society and helped lead to women's rights in our county.

Before the World War II, many women only held jobs in the house providing for their children, husband, and the needs that came with taking care of the household, but during the war, this completely changed. Many women were given new opportunities consisting of new jobs, new skills, new challenges, and greater chances to do things that were once only of imagination to them. Women made the war especially possible with taking over the jobs that men would usually do, but could not do because of the war. One of the first things that encouraged women to take on jobs of the men who went off to war was the propaganda. Propaganda consisted of films, radio, and print. These advertisements used showed women fighting in the army and many working in

All agencies working together to maintain peace and provide the government with the knowledge to make informed decisions. In hindsight, the nation realized what a huge impact espionage had on war and attempted to use it to their full advantage. Spies now have countless new technologies and scientific breakthroughs to allow them to succeed in many more ways than the women during the Civil War. The Cold War was one event where new espionage techniques were crucial and immigration was limited to try to block Soviet spies from entering the United States. During World War II, Japanese internment camps were set up to try to prevent espionage within the Asian community along the West Coast. The fear of enemy spies tended to consume the American public because of the enormous damage they can inflict. The brave women who served as soldiers during the Civil War had to live in constant fear of superiors learning their true gender. Their courage allowed for women to eventually become integrated into the American Army. Now women are being recognized as war heroes and continue to fight for their

December 7, 1941 was the day when America declared war, but it was also the years following that women had the chance to show their patriotism in a way they never had before; working outside of their homes. World War II was a chance to contribute to what was needed most, the war efforts. In a dire situation that is War, women moved from their homes help the America for the better of society and their husbands off at war.

With over a half million deaths the most gruesome war in American history drove citizens to action. The suffering during this era was so great many were inspired by nationalism to act. For those who were unable to join the fight upon the battlefield, espionage represented a chance for personal involvement. Although it is believed that many agents never sought recognition for their service, especially Confederate scouts, documentation depicts the espionage present during the American Civil War to be surprisingly sophisticated. By examining the recorded history involving active female intelligence agents in the American Civil War, we can see the roles of female scouts were severely underestimated, frequently encouraged, and generally

During the Second World War, both married and unmarried women worked in wartime industries and factories to take the place of men who joined the service. Although women didn’t play a significant role on the battlefields in Europe compared to males, it would be logical to conclude that women played an integral role in the participation and victory in WWII both at home and abroad. Yet when one considers their contribution, it is hard to imagine how much more they could have done given the conservative views of gender role at that time. In the context of traditional gender roles and boundaries, women conceivably maximized their wartime efforts by working in a variety of jobs including industry, volunteering, and serving as support staff for

about 350,000 women worked in newly formed female army positions, such as women pilots, or WASPs, and women marine corps. Men were hesitant to let the women help out, but as stated by womensmemorial.org, “Commanders who had once stated that they would except women ‘over my dead body’ soon welcomed them and asked for more” (World War II:Women and the War). What this shows is that men were not accepting of the women, but once they realized what great workers they were, they were happy to hire them for uniformed positions. Women took jobs as cooks, nurses, factory workers, and mechanics, all of which were necessary for America to win the war. They didn’t need to draft as many men due to the increase in

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

Ever since then women proved that they can work in a man’s workplace and do just as well. Any job that was a man’s, was a women’s as well. Women were soon “the most needed workers of all” according to Brenda Ralf Lewis. Factory workers became known as “the soldiers without guns”. If women hadn’t stepped up to the line, winning the war wouldn’t have been as easy as it was for us. Not only did the women in factories and shipyards have a big part in doing their part in the war contributions, but so did the women who were out on the field fighting alongside with their men risking their very life.

If you were born right now, this instant, at you’re present age without any knowledge about how women used to be treated, the assumption could be made that men and women are basically equal. Yes, men are a little stronger physically, but overall the two sexes are both equal. Things weren’t always so picturesque, though. Since people first settled here, on what is now the United States of America, women were thought of as inferior. Ever so slowly though, the men’s view on women began to change. The change started in the 1920’s but it was going slowly and needed a catalyst. World War II was that catalyst. So much so that women ended up participating in the rise of the United States to a global power.

In 1942 the Women’s Army Corps was introduced. These women worked in more than 200 non- combatant jobs stateside and also every part of the war. They served not only as common nurses but also “within the ranks of the United States Army.” There was also the Women’s Army Corps introduced in 1942. This group of 1,100 women was asked to join and fly military aircraft, due to the shortage of pilots. Their job was to fly from factories to military bases and also different take off points around the country. Even though during their enlistment the WASP were supposed to become part of the military, after a couple years the program was cancelled. The last group the, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, was already established. After being absent for twenty-three years, they had to be reactivated because of WW2. While a large portion of these women did the job of secretarial and clerical they had other jobs they did. Thousands of WAVES performed duties in aviation, medical professions, communication, intelligence, science and technology. These military jobs and the other non-traditional jobs the women participated in made them almost like a ghost in their home front.

When the First World War began in 1914, there was much discussion regarding the proper gender roles for British men and women. For men, the course of action seemed clear that they should enlist and fight. Yet, many men struggled under the pressure of warfare. For women, it was unclear how they should be involved in the war effort. Many men wanted the women to keep their traditional gender roles of taking care of the household. However, the lack of male workers on the home front required women to take on different work roles. The women received a great deal of praise and positive attention for their work as nurses, munitions workers, and military auxiliaries. However, men were critical