Women During WW2

There weren’t many women working outside the household. The ones who were weren’t accepted by men very often at all. Women’s place was in the home, taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning and servicing her husband. Once the war got into full affect many men were drafted off overseas to help with the war efforts. This caused a shortage in the home front. Many factories had a shortage of workers and military operates. This gave women the opportunity to become great patriots and support their war and the men risking their lives overseas. Women had to step it up by doing more physically demanding and dangerous work. These jobs could range from building massive ships and aircrafts to the smallest bullets and hand grenades. Towards the end of the war women wanted to keep their jobs and the newly found independence that came with it. Once the many men came back from overseas, the majority of women had to let go of their jobs and settle back into the home. Some women even found “pink collar” jobs as waitresses or secretaries just so they can continue to work. Even though these women still had to deal with lower wages and gender discrimination, the war couldn’t have been won without the help of the women from the allied forces. These women paved the way for future generations of females to see themselves as more than a domestic

Prior to World War II, many women were unemployed, due to the Great Depression which had started a decade before. With men always getting preference for jobs, there were very few jobs left for women. Consequently, not only were many occupations were reserved for men, but men were also paid wages up to five times higher for the same task as women. Some states also barred married women from holding jobs. However during World War II, America produced at an efficiency which was higher than ever. This meant that the women had an increasing number of jobs. Jobs in the public sector opened up. Since 1939, women progressively changed the idea of patriarchy and the cliché thinking of an average woman in the United States to be a wife and mother.

With over 6 million men enlisted into the war, their jobs had to be filled, so women stepped up to fill those positions. With roles as nurses, badge sewing, working in factories & shipyards, to selling war bonds, and even spying. Women were also working on airplanes in the Air Force, as mechanics. Women were the driving force of the United States labor and job industry. (The Role of Women in WW1) Prior to the war, women were expected to remain in the home tending to domestic duties such as keeping the house clean, cooking meals for the family and raising children. Women were not allowed to work outside the home, especially in factories, as it was deemed, unladylike to work in such an

Initially, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) refused to recruit women because it was considered “expensive”. They estimated that housing women per capita would cost about $430 compared to men which was $235. The difference in cost estimations was due to “necessity of special provisions. After much heated discussions, the RCAF women’s division (RCF-WD) was created on July 2nd, 1941. Here, women were given clerical, administrative and support roles to allow as they were not allowed it be trained as flying instructors or combatants. They were employed to allow men in those positions to obtain pilot training. Similar to the CWAC slogan, the RCAF-WD’s slogan was “We serve that men may fly”. Although their roles were very restricting, there were many bright women that broke the boundaries put in their paths. Take Elsie MacGill for instance. She was the first female aircraft designer in the world and was nicknamed the “Queen of the Hurricanes” for her work in aircraft designing. She was a major component in the team that designed the Hawker Hurricane during World War 2, which is considered the most historic British aircraft until the present day. She also designed many aircraft accessories during World War 2 such as the de-icing and skies to assist planes in cold weather while flying. She and many others like her paved the path for women and the future of women in the Air Force. Over the course of the war and because of achievement from people like Elsie MacGill, women were slowly but surely being taken more seriously and given roles such as parachute riggers, laboratory assistants and electrical and mechanical trades roles. Women’s fantastic contributions to the Air Force helped greatly towards Canada’s already successful war efforts and helped in the

Women operated machinery, streetcars, buses, cranes, and tractors. They unloaded freight, built dirigibles, gliders, worked in lumber mills and steel mills, and made munitions” (Rosie the Riveter). In short, women dominated the workforce as female labor force grew by 6.5 million. In 1944, women composed of 35.4% of the civilian labor force and rose .7% in 1945. At the height of the war, there were 19,170,000 women in the workforce. (Hartmann 53-70)

Prior to World War II, most people believed that the women’s place was in the home. While some women did work outside of the home, it was work that was seen as being suitable for ladies. However, during World War II, all of this changed. With the encouragement of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, women began to take on new jobs doing whatever they could to help with the war efforts.

During World War II, the roles of women have forever been changed. Young men and women decided to marry just before their sweethearts went overseas to fight for their country. As the men fought abroad, we began to see women on the Home Front encouraged to be more independent and finding jobs of their own. These females in the United States stepped up to the plate and began working jobs that many men had before. Women stepped up and began working in factories, participating in organizations in regards to the war, all while still running things smoothly at home. While the men were away for battle, women became proficient cooks and housekeepers, managed the finances, learned to fix the car, worked in a defense plant, and wrote letters to their soldier husbands.

After the Pearl Harbor bombing, and the start of WWII, most men in the U.S. recruited to war, leaving behind many important factory and hard labor jobs. That lead to a desperate need to fill the vacant positions that men left. The only people left to fill them were woman. Many woman took on the challenge and went to work in the factories.

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 most massive and murderous equipped combat in the history of humankind. Working women, within and outside of the military, quickly became a crucial part of the US’ armed forces during WWII. Women’s involvement evolved over this time and eventually led to women’s rights movements throughout the United States. From promoting war bonds to recording locations of aircraft, women played a major role in the war effort. Without women, the turnout of WWII may have looked very different.

World War II was a moment nobody wants to live in, it has caused physical and mental destruction to many people throughout the world. Women were a big help for World War II, they served in many roles in the war, such as the Nurse corps, armed corps and mostly took many jobs that were previously reserved for the men in the war, including creating more jobs to help contribute to the war, such as munition factories, building ships, aeroplanes and spitfires. Rosie the Riveter was a culinary icon of the United States and they represented American Women who worked in factories to produce war materials and supplies. Rosie the Riveter was used to boost moral or women to keep doing what they’re doing. Without women’s contributions to the war on the

Gender roles of labor opportunity for women were changed as the outcome of World War II. Before the hardship war, women were seen as “stay at home” mothers according to Historpedia in the article of “A Change in Gender Roles: Women’s Impact during WWII in the Workforce and Military”. A stereotypical perfect American family would be that the men were obligated to bring home money from work and the women in the family were obligated to raise their children and do house chores. As the United States joins in the war, women were brought into factories to help produce war production as the men were sent off to serve the military, states Historpedia. In the factories, women were producing airplanes, warships, munitions, tanks, and even working started in technical and scientific fields as well.

Once World War II began, America was in desperate need of workers, so this gave women a food chance to find high-paying jobs. For example, about 350,000 women were able to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. There was an increase of job offers for women ranging from service pilots, military doctors, politicians, factory workers, and participation in the Armed Forces (Yellin 112, 299). “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” (“History” 1). If there is one person to thank for the new job opportunities, it is none other than the famous Rosie the Riveter. This well-known fictional woman served not only to promote the changes of fashion during the war, but was also used as a tool for recruiting women to work, especially in the Armed Forces, and it was a success. “In movies, newspapers, posters, photographs, articles, and even a Norman Rockwell-pained Saturday Evening Post cover, the Rosie the Riveter campaign stressed the patriotic need for women to enter the work force—and they did, in huge numbers” (“History” 1). Women began to get involved in organizations women in the earlier years were never imagined to work as such as the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and Women’s Air force Service Pilots (WASP). “More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry in 1943, representing 65 percent of the industry’s total workforce (compared to just 1 percent in the pre-war years)” (“History” 1). World War II offered women a chance to be more involved in the military and any high-paying occupation that was considered “too manly” before then, because of the wider range of job offers (“History”

Before 1920 Most women particularly white women did not work outside the home. They performed traditional domestic responsibilities of conserving food and fuel resources in the early part of the war.

July 28, 1914 marked the start of the evolution of women´s roles in the work place. Before the beginning of the 1900’s, it was quite known that women were to stay at home only. All of women’s work was around the house, while men were the ones who went out of the house. However, women moved on to working beyond their homes, as a consequence to World War One. While some had believed that men were ultimately superior to women, the many important roles women played during the war, such as working dangerous jobs and volunteering to fight, positively impacted women’s rights in the work place forever.