Women During World War 2

On September 3rd 1939 World War II started in Europe. During World War II, more than 16 million American men served in the military. While this large portion of the population was overseas fighting for the United States, women had to do many of the jobs in America normally held by men. Women were considered vital assets to the war effort, and the American government made sure to use their skills and labor in many different areas to win the war. Women contributed to the successful war effort by working society, documenting the war effort, and supporting the soldiers.

Women in the armed forces and social welfare programs both brought advantages to non working civilians. World war 2 was the time that women were given new opportunities to help in the war. The Canadian Women Army corps was one of the women divisions, and had more than 50% of the 50000 women who had enlisted in the program were involved in this section. The women helped on foot with basic essential tasks, for instance, cooking and preparing meals as well as washing the laundry. Having the women take on these jobs gave the men more time to spend the majority of their time fighting at battle and less or the time spent having to take care of their minor needs. Eventually women started to take on more severe male jobs, they worked as mechanics and also had the task of driving around the ambulance cars and other important vehicles around the fields. Next to these women who both stayed in Canada and travelled overseas, there were also those who took part in the Canadian Women Airforce. The women in this sector had been trained for administrative and support roles, although on top of this women proceeded to work in other positions as the war continued. They were working as parachute riggers, lab assistants, and in all the mechanical and electrical areas. The wage for women increased due to their joining of the higher male jobs and aircraft business. The third area

Important to realize, that during WWII, Women were very excited to joined the military for the very first time in Canadian history. Women in Canada wanted to play an active role in the war and influenced the government to form military organizations for women. In 1941-1942, the military was changed as it created its own women’s forces. The Women 's Army was set up in September 1939, when women joined the military for the very first time (women in military).Beginning in December 1914, 350,000 women served in armed forces during World

In World War II, women contributed in many ways by entering the battle. Some of the jobs the women held were Army nurses, Red Cross members, factory work, etc. The United States were one of the few countries that put their women to work and was ridiculed for it. In 1948, President Truman signed the Women 's Armed Services Integration Act which authorized regular and reserve status for women in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. These women showed true leadership by becoming leaders in battle and left a lasting legacy for all women to come.

Many wanted to play an active role in the war on the Battlegrounds and not just on the home front. The military changed forever as women were allowed to serve in the armed forces. The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service was created in 1942 and consisted of approximately 7,100 members and the Women’s Division, Royal Canadian Air Force consisted of approximately 17,400 members. There were many female pilots in Canada at the time who were frustrated with the RCAF’s refusal to let them fly. Only later in the war were women allowed to fly bomber planes to deliver them to Britain.

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.

Many women took over the mens jobs once the war started, and the war gave women good motivation to fight for their suffrage. President Wilson believed that the women were a vital part of the war effort. For the womens effort to help the war in 1920 the 19th amendment was ratified. The developments for women during the war, foreshadowed the future acomplishments women would gain.

When World War II started, everyone agreed that workers were needed and that having women work in the industries would only be temporary. The government decided to launch a campaign to show the importance of the war effort and to lure women into working. It was soon realized that, no matter how “untraditional” or “unfeminine” it was for a woman to work outside the home seemed to be, it had to be done. When most men went abroad, women were left to pick up the work the men left behind and force single women and eventually mothers to keep the country running smoothly. Women excelled in these historically male-dominated roles. These jobs became essential during the war when munitions supplies became vital to the war effort all over the world. In June 1941, the Canadian Women’s Army Corps was established. This allowed women to be drivers of light transportation vehicles, cooks in hospitals, clerks, typists and stenographers at training centers, telephone operators, and canteen helpers. In July 1942, women were allowed to enlist in what would be known as the Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service. Mothers who eventually joined the workforce needed access to childcare. The government provided daycare facilities for the children of working mothers in war industries; however, it placed strict limitations similar services for women with young children in other work sectors. Those women who worked at home could work as cafeteria workers, loggers, shipbuilders, or scientists. At the beginning of the war 600,000 women in Canada held permanent jobs in the private sector, by the peak in 1943, 1.2 million women had jobs. Over the years, women quickly gained a good reputation and respect from men and also impacted Canada in multiple

Society on both sides varied in terms of race, social class, and gender. This included both for African Americans and the general women population. Though women played an important role in the war as spies or nurses women were mostly discouraged in medical administration and military service. They had to prove whether they were worthy for the job by being able to withstand grisly conditions especially full of male strangers. Some women craved fighting which led to some incidences where women disguised as men to fight in the war; these were the “woman in battle”. Women did many other things other than medical work which included serving meals, sending letters to soldiers, and laundry. Nevertheless, women were mostly restricted from military service. They had to be highly skilled otherwise would be of no

Rose the Riveter is an icon that came out in the world war time. Back then women were entering the workforce in abundance of numbers during World War II. Women became the people to work when a wide spread of enlistments left holes in the industrial labor force. “Rosie the Riveter,” became the star in the 1940 and 1945 when the female percentage increased ten percent from twenty seven percent to nearly thirty seven percent. Also in 1945 almost every four women worked outside their homes. Rosie became the governments campaign aimed for the recruitment of women in the work place. Women worked in positions that use to be a male dominate work place. The women increased in female workers each year as needed. In 1943 women nearly more than

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.

The roles women were allowed and expected to fill were greatly altered with the occurrence of the first and second world wars. It was out of necessity that women entered the workforce in droves both here in Canada and abroad, with men being dispatched in record numbers to the battlefields of Europe to bring victory home, women were expected to contribute to the war effort through filling the positions left behind. This meant that the female work force which had been primarily segregated to sewing clothing and scrubbing floors now had the responsibility of building bombs and making bullets.

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.

Throughout American history, women have contributed greatly to the war effort and military support of our troops. It began as early as the Revolutionary War when women followed their husbands to war out of necessity. Many served in military camps as laundresses, cooks, and nurses but only with permission from the commanding officers and only if they proved they were helpful (“Timeline: Women in the U.S. Military”).

Women served an important role in WWII. They not only took the challenge and stepped up to take the places of the men off fighting in the war to work in factories, but they also fought side by side with those risking their lives and fighting for their country. They were needed everywhere during the war. There were an unbelievable amount of job opportunities for women during the war and many supported the brave acts of voluntary enlistment. “‘A woman’s place is in the home’ was an old adage, but it still held true at the start of World War II. Even though millions of women worked, home and family we considered the focus of their lives” says Brenda Ralf Lewis. Without the help of those women who were brave enough to