Women and Environment

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.

Jobs are currently available to women of any race, background, or ethnicity, and the age to go into an area of work has gradually decreased; for instance, some careers allow students to begin a job starting at the young age of fourteen. But working was not always an option for women. World War I was the stepping stone that pushed women into the workforce. As men were being drafted into the military, women stepped up into factory jobs, creating the necessary technology for America’s victory and emergence as a world power. In today’s government, women are joining the workforce because the economy calls for it. With high costs of raising children, college debt shooting through the roof, and gas prices going up, women are taking on similar roles to their husbands and providing two set incomes as opposed to

With half a million men away at war, leaving their day to day jobs, who replaced the the workers? The women did. Women replaced the men's jobs such as munitions factory workers, sewing bandages, and selling war bonds, shipyards and spies. This is good because before the war women were unimportant and were only aloud in the kitchen The only negative about the women working in the men’s jobs was they didn’t get paid as much as the men. The number of women in the workforce rose from 24% to 37%. This is close to 500,000 women to close to one million women. This says that in the workforce, women rose in a total of 500,000.

During the 1940's wartime production required more factory workers. With the majority of males being enlisted into the military and the work force depleted, minorities and women found many opportunities during the war. "For most, involvement became an adventure, a way that every citizen could feel he or she was making an important contribution to the war effort"(Duis, 20). While most women were married, they worked to keep themselves busy while the males were off at war. "Prior to the war only about one fourth of women worked outside of the home" (Bard, 173). "By 1945, women made up 36% of the nation's total workforce" (Schultz). After the war, women were advised to leave work and continue their more traditional role of wife and mother. African Americans improved their economical standing by accepting war industry positions and through their migration from the south; some became professionals and skilled workers, yet still facing harsh discrimination. There was a high commitment of immigrant workers to the war effort that participated heavily in war bond and scrap metal collection drives. Like African Americans, these immigrants were also subjected to racial prejudice. But overall, "America enjoyed full employment and a higher standard of living"

Women's participation during World War II has had significant results throughout history. It has lead to economic advancement for them specifically after the post war Baby Boom period. The research is filling practical information about the advanced affects woman had on their family income during this time. To get my results I analyzed ten sources and read through each one and found important quotes and details in each. As a result of this I learned that after World War II this was the beginning where woman had a large impact on the economics in their households. One major causes of the U.S. postwar baby boom was the increased demand for female labor during World War II. The effect of the war on female employment was not only large, but also

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).

After World War II, soldiers and sailors returning from the war, and the women who were waiting for them, formed alliances that resulted in the largest population spike in United States history. Although this is a trend that happens after every war (including those of short duration such as Desert Storm in 1991), the number of people involved in producing offspring was much greater after the Second World War so the spike was much greater. This generation has a timeline of 1946-1964 since these were the fertile years, in general, of the women involved (US History, 2010). Looking at this time duration it is easy to understand why the aging curve is increasing in the United States at present.

Throughout the early twentieth century, women of all ages worked together to fight for equality amongst men and women. From the time of flappers, to the ratification of the nineteenth amendment, to new opportunities during World War II, women have shown strength, bravery, and determination to receive equality for all. Women saw their greatest achievements and advancements economically, followed by the socially and politically. In politics, it was predicted that women would begin to gain opportunities and high paying jobs.

Women, particularly married women joined the workforce in numbers never before seen “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” (Staff). These people who stayed at home and helped the war production most certainly did their best. By the end of the war they had more than doubled the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is a modern measurement of the health of an economy ("U.S. GDP by Year"). Their hard work had truly made us “the arsenal of democracy” ("Franklin D. Roosevelt: Fireside Chat.").

Subsequently after the war female employment dropped, but during the 1950’s when Birth Control was introduced to the market female employment reached an all-time high (“people”). This was due to the views that employers held on women, they were seen as less reliable because of motherhood and their possible absence due to child birth. Furthermore, during the Baby Boom era “young women who had reared one to four children had the fear of another ten to twenty years of fertility” (“people”). Often times these young couples lived in cramped apartments due to the rising house prices (Byrant). In the long term, WWII began a long string of events that all contributed to the social advancement of

Women’s main role was seen to be in the home. The withdrawal of about half a million men most of whom had been in the workforce did not, however, results in their direct replacement by women. Women’s contribution to the workforce rose from 24 per cent of the total in 1914 to 37 per cent in 1918, but the increase tended to be in what were already traditional areas of women’s work -- in the clothing and footwear, food and printing sectors. There was some increase also in the clerical, shop assistant and teaching areas. Unions were unwilling to let women join the workforce in greater numbers in traditional male areas as they feared that this would lower

The increase in marriages during World War II resulted in a tremendous rise in the birth rate leading to what has been termed the "baby boom." In fact, by 1957 the American birthrate had peaked at 118 births per 1000 women. (Faragher, 2009, p. 744) Also, in response to the post-war economic boom, there was a simultaneous increase in consumer spending among Americans. By the mid 1950's, "two-thirds of all American households claimed at least one television set." (Faragher, 2009, p. 744) But if the American economy was progressing, American women were not. During the war many women were allowed to take high paying manufacturing jobs, but as the men returned after the fighting, women were replaced. But many women still wanted to work, so there was a major increase in the numbers of women working after the war. Unfortunately, the jobs they were offered were low paying

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

In the past 30 years, one of the most dynamic social changes in the history of the United States has taken place in the area of employment, specifically of women with children. Although, to some degree there have always been employed mothers, today a greater proportion of mothers are employed than ever before. Statistics show that in 1976, 48% of the population of women categorized as “married women with children” were employed and it increased to 62% in 1986 just 10 years later. What are the causes for this and how does it affect the children?

The changes occurring in the workplace present several sub-trends. One of the most significant is that women are returning to it in large numbers. I use the term returning rather than entering because women comprised a major factor in the workforce during World War II, but was forced out by men returning from the war. Jamieson and O'Mara (1991) project that approximately 50% of the workforce will be comprised of women by the year 2000. Wives came to the rescue of the family in the 1970s and 1980s. Even though male earnings dropped substantially for all but the top 20% of male workers, real household incomes fell only marginally for the bottom 60%, and increased for the top 40%. One third of this increase was a result of a rise in female real annual earnings; however, two-thirds was due to women working more hours per year. Unfortunately, most income earners in the family are now working as many hours as they can. The reentrance of women into the workforce occurred during the transition from the industrial to the information age.