Women After Ww2 Essay

Women’s roles during World War II impacted the war, and greatly changed how women were perceived from then on. Before the war, women were only seen as stay at home mothers whose job was taking care of their children. During that time period, women did have other jobs that they worked at outside of the house, but they weren’t recognized as much for it. (“A Change in Gender Roles”). In the past, women’s rights weren’t nearly as fair as they are now. Most women were only known as caretakers and could not pursue the same careers as men. According to “A Change in Gender Roles”, “During WWII all of this changed and a revolution in the work force was eventually seen. Numbers of women working outside the home rose exponentially and they thought they were there to stay. Women also played a large role in the military, which had never been seen before. Gender roles had changed in the modern world; women throughout the nation made a huge impact on the Second World War efforts.” Eventually, women’s rights started to advance as more women started working outside of their homes. The number of women in the military increased, which helped out the soldiers and gave women more rights. A considerable amount of women also played a big role in the Red Cross. “They distributed 29 million food parcels for prisoners of war and refugees 13 million units of blood, and packaged kit bags for soldiers. (“Women in World War II,” 1410) Women who did not directly serve in the war still contributed by gathering supplies for the people

A few roles of women prior to the World War I consisted of cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children. These were the basic fundamental jobs that women were expected of women to do,” (Campbell 1) .During this time men were the sole base of the household income, and the head

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.

Women only worked in their homes caring for their family’s, they never had the opportunity to work outside of their homes in places such as factories or in the government and they had no benefits within the house until the war began. The war

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.

The U.S industry, as well as the government expanded during wartime needs. Women made all of this possible (Partners in Winning the War). Women were needed to fill in the traditional male jobs during the war. These jobs provided unprecedented opportunities for women to move into occupations, previously thought of as exclusively for men. However, with these new opportunities, American women began to change the stereotypes of gender roles. They took over the majority of factory and office jobs, previously occupied by men. Five million women entered the workplace during 1940-1945, the gap in the labor force created by departing soldiers. It is seen that a huge percentage of American women have begun to take over these positions, slowly changing the industrial world in the United States (Khan Academy).

At the start of World War II the American people had a sense of unity. Men chose to leave their jobs and families to join the front line, while women, for the first time, were leaving the home and taking over those jobs that their husbands left behind. In 1943, many magazines chose to paint a picture of women hard at work. These articles focused their stories on working women, and glamorized the untraditional jobs they held. They thought perhaps, that if they made these smaller, hard working jobs exciting, and noble, that more women would begin to join the work force. For this reason, the media created a fake working woman named Rosie the Riveter, and she was illustrated as a hero for American women. These efforts to pull

World War II is an event that has marked history like no other. Originating from a European struggle, war broke out in 1939 and continued for six years. From the years 1939 through 1945 more than half the earth's surface was battling in war. American society was greatly affected. People of every age, race and class were deeply affected. Women's place in society took a leap forward like it never had before. As an effect of the second world war women's traditional roles in society were drastically altered.

Through the war effort, women solidified their place in society as capable and responsible citizens by working jobs they had never worked before, managing finances and other aspects of home life, and entering the war as soldiers who helped wage against the Axis powers. Women proved for the first time that they were more than just housewives who could sometimes work in factories when the nation was in trouble. General Eisenhower said that “The contribution of the women of America, whether on the farm or in the factory or in uniform, to D-Day was a sine qua non (essential part) of the invasion effort”.1 Some of these women even served as nurses on the front lines and lost their lives defending our soldiers.

Before the war women had to fit into a stereotype of “the perfect family” (“A Change in”). Prior to 1941 only 30% of women worked for 10 years and only 50% worked for 5 years (Discovery Education). Women were encouraged not to work, because it broke “the perfect family” stereotype (“The Women of”) (“A Change in”). Even husbands did not want their

Undeniably, the outlook of women in the workforce changed following the advent of World War II. Traditionally, the role of caretaker of the house and home was assigned to the woman. Society and institutions facilitated, accepted and supported this way of thinking and way of life. Working outside the home was considered "a man's job". A woman expressing an interest in being anything other than a homemaker and wife was frowned upon. Accepted was the notion that men are better laborers and a woman could not perform at the same level as a man and therefore are undesirable candidates for work in the office or in factories. When America entered in the Second World War, the role of women as primarily stewards of the home was forever changed. As men answered the call of duty, they left behind a void not only in the hearts of their loved ones but also in the workplace. During this time not only were vacancies found in the work that once employees turned soldiers left behind but also we witnessed an increase of labor need for specific industries, such as those that supported the wartime efforts. Women entered the workforce in droves, filling the much needed void in the offices and the factories. Women become the soldiers on the home front and once the war was over, there was no erasing the progress women made in proving capable and ready to hold gainful employment outside the home. This paper addresses women in the workforce,

Before World War II, women were the ones customarily responsible for taking care of their houses and children. Typically, they were not allowed to pursue their dreams of having a career in the field of their choosing. It wasn’t until the start of World War II that women were allowed to venture outside of their homes and housekeeping tasks to explore a whole new world of opportunities created by wartime efforts. Women were needed to fill the voids left by the departure of the 690,000,000 men from 61 countries that were headed to war. With American men enlisting in the war effort, the work force quickly diminished allowing women to fill positions . The factory gates welcomed a flood of women willing to work and serve their country. Mothers, daughters, wives and even schoolgirls picked up the duties the men had left behind. Government sources continued to recruit women throughout the war, with articles and advertisements placed in magazines to get women 's attention. Slogans such as, “Women, you would hasten victory by working and save your man,". The Magazine War Guide recommended that all published magazines participate in the”Women at Work” cover promotion to emphasize not only defense and factory work, but all kinds of employment opportunities for women. One of the many slogans shouted, "The more women at work, the sooner we win." (American Women and the U.S. Armed Forces). The

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

During WW2 the presence of men at home was to a bare minimum. The impact this had on women was felt throughout the nation. How women would be looked at would be changed forever. They had to uphold various positions that were usually held by men and reevaluate their roles as homemakers. Their lives at home had changed; they were no longer the primary care giver. They also joined different parts of the military. Due to men being away at war during WW2 women were forced to participate in the workforce, which would change their view of their position in society.

As more men entered the armed forces, women needed to replace them. By the war's end, hundreds of thousands of women had entered the workforce, many of them in traditionally masculine occupations such as engineering, munitions, transport, business, and eventually even the military. The war produced a leap in women's employment from twenty-six percent in the workforce in 1914 to thirty-six percent by 1918. One million women worked in munition industries, forty-thousand served as nurses, and twenty-thousand joined the Women's Land Army as agricultural workers (Marwick, 1977). For the young and the middle-class, work outside their homes was indeed a new experience. On the other hand, working-class women were used to paid work, but the type of work was new. Many left low-skill, low-wage jobs, especially in domestic service, for better paying skilled labor in factories and workshops (Kent, 1993).