Introduction
During World War II, America and Canada had many of their men overseas. They had to find new ways to support their troops and fill the gaps of the men who were not home to work. As a result of the shortage of men, women began working and faced many difficulties as they forged the way for many changes in their world. Women faced ridicule, harassment, degradation, wage gaps, and opportunity gaps. From a young age girls are taught that they are to be quiet and shy, and to not take one ‘masculine’ hobbies and skills. A girl who steps over the metaphorical line can be outcasted, or ridiculed mercilessly. Many of my sources have a showing of the inequalities of availability for women to be hired and work up to higher level positions are lower than a white man’s. The television series Bomb Girls sets a wonderful example of the women of the time making their world exactly what they want it to be, they are hardworking and determined to show that they are worthy of the same respect the men receive.
Women truly changed the world for themselves, though they still have to fight for their equality today. Adding to the conversation, women started as just the homemakers and children raisers.
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Obvious inequalities could be a wage gap, the likelihood of a male getting a promotion over a female, and the treatment of the women in forms of work-related help, or gender based discrimination. A largely undetected form of inequality in the workplace and in society is the language usage. Examples of this being things like ‘you throw like a girl’; ‘don’t be such a girl’ and other phrases that just generally call anyone who is emotional or weak a female or female like. This use of language very subtly makes women and the gender a joke, it makes them actually be considered lesser, and it affects the way that women look at themselves and how women limit themselves without even realizing
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
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.
World War II was a war that changed the world. It affected many lives across the globe, including those in America. The lives of women and minorities in America were greatly changed. Women became a key part in aiding the war effort, and minorities took the opportunity to push for civil rights. However, for Japanese Americans, the war had a very negative effect as they were seen as a threat to our country. World War II truly impacted these groups of people and transformed their of ways of life.
This investigation will attempt to answer the question: “To what extent did the two major woman’s contributions in World War II, the WAACS and nurses, undergird the women fighting for equal rights achieve their goals of economic and social independence in the job force, during the years following WWII?” This research question will allow for exploration on women involvement in the war and how involvement affected woman’s independence in the United States. This investigation will analyze women rights and war involvement from 1939 to 1964 when title VII was passed.
In the past, WWII and WWI, women were very dominant; they had to take care of their children, do all the chores and also had to cook the food. During WWII, women had to take place for the men (First world war.com). The war changed the life for all Canadian women. When men went to fight, women were called upon to fill their jobs, and this included many jobs that were previously thought of unsuitable for women. Women were called up for war work from March 1941(Women during World War II). The roles of the women were positively impacted by World War II, because they had the potential to re-enter the workforce, control the farms and join the military for the first time. Taking control of the military was tough, but women had shown that they could work together and handle the situation.
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.
It is safe to say that the Canadian war efforts in World War 2 are something Canada should take much pride in. We united as one strong nation and showed the world how useful and powerful we could be on the world stage. These efforts were also a first step for women working for the Armed Forces in Canada. It allowed women to break many boundaries for themselves as before the war, they lived in a world in which they were expected to stay at home and manage the household. Women worked hard and courageously for Canada and to show the world how strong women can be. Although very successful, Women in the Armed Forces and on the Front Line contributed immensely to the already successful Canadian efforts during World War 2 through the success of oversea
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.
During the year 1942, most of the world was occupied with World War II; for the US, it was a period of hardship, unity, sacrifice, and pain. Men were selected to go fight while women were encouraged with the “Rosie the Riveter” poster to work in areas they were not familiar with. About six million women were motivated from it and worked the jobs men usually took and jobs that contributed to helping the men who were fighting; however, women were still responsible for their daily house work.
How did WWII change the role and status of women in the long term in Australia?
Women equality has come a long way in a short period of time since the outbreak of World War1. Throughout World War1, Australia, New Zealand and other European countries were the only nations that gave women the right to vote. However, Women in Australia received a 54 percent less wage than what men did. Women’s roles focused mainly in the home, performing domestic duties and raising the children.
World War II was a very important event in American history, but as bad as war is or seems to be there always seems to have better outcomes in the end. By the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and bringing America into the war it opened the eyes of all Americans to the problems not only domestically but internationally and the biggest problem that was discovered after the completion of World War II was the level of social equality around the world. It had been a problem that had plagued the world for many years but the atrocities that brought about by the war coupled with the ever growing eye of the media caused for greater concern in the light of social equality in the world.
After getting an education as well as knowing there worth in society women knew there were more than just a wife and mother. During WWII women demonstrated their power to think in a world without men as they were off fighting the war. Women began to understand that they had more to offer the world other than housekeeping and raising children. In addition, many women wanted to continue working after the war as they had held jobs with responsibilities as well as earning wages. Furthermore, women were the ones making financial decisions as well as working in positions with higher responsibilities. Many women as well as minorities were simply casted a side to make room for the returning solders. This created a silent discontent among women
Between 1900 and 1920, women started taking jobs outside the home. It started with teaching, nursing, and social work but soon women began taking clerical jobs if they were native born white women with an education. Thus leading to “Rosie the Riveter”, which we will discuss later. “American Feminists, in the early 20th century included a segment of working-class women, participating alongside better-known middle-class and elite adherents of feminist ideas”, (Greenwald, 1989).