Essay on Women’s Role in Society: Throughout the Years

Even though Rosie the Riveter is an image frequently synonymous with the contemporary women’s movement, she was not designed to promote social change or improve the role of women in the workplace during World War II. In reality, she was promoted as the ideal female worker and was patriotic, confident, capable, and beautiful in a large propaganda campaign by the United States government. Since the war caused many men to answer the call to serve in the military, both at home and abroad, the United States was faced with the urgent challenge of recruiting women into the workforce. Rosie the Riveter was their solution to this problem.

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.

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,

Women fought for their rights for hundreds of years before the 21st century. Countless women of different backgrounds and races come together to fight against inequalities of different magnitudes to achieve a similar goal. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution granted United States women the right to vote in 1920 but women achieved much more by then.

Prior to WWII, American women would typically stay home. They cooked and cleaned, but all this soon changed. Once the U.S. officially entered World War II on December 7, 1941, following Pearl Harbor, many men were sent to fight. Since men were the main workforce, there was a lack of employees to complete the jobs left behind. Soon, however, these vacant spots would be replenished by a female workforce. Companies sent out propaganda in an attempt to convince women to work in previously “male” jobs. One such propaganda was “Rosie the Riveter”. Eventually, the amount of women working increased from 27% to 37%, and sixty-five percent of the aircraft industry was made up of women, by 1943. (History.com, American Women in World War II).Now, women not only worked at home, but on the battlefield as well. Approximately 350,000 women enrolled in the Armed Forces, and 100,00 became WACS(Women’s Army Corps). Nevertheless, these women at work, on the battlefield or at home, were not paid the same amount of money as the men who previously worked in these jobs. (History.com, American Women in World War II).

Rosie Wasn’t Always A Riveter: How The Second World War Altered Gender Structure in the American Workplace, 1941-1945

The words “We Can Do It!” over Rosie the Riveter flexing is well known from the World War II era, but who exactly is that meant for? The men of the nations were fighting in trenches, but women had a large role in Homefront management and war goods production. Women had to maintain many of their pre-war responsibilities while also stepping into the shoes the soldiers left behind. A better look at the lives of WWII women can be seen in the work of Richard Cardinali, as well as that of Martha L. Hall, Belinda T. Orzada, and Dilia Lopez-Gydosh. Cardinali wrote "Women in the Workplace: Revisiting the Production Soldiers, 1939-1945" about the employment struggles of women during WWII across the globe. The main focus was on American and British workforces. Hall, Orzada, and Lopez-Gydosh worked together to write "American Women's Wartime

Originally the 19th Amendment was introduced by Senator Aaron Sargent, in 1878. After 41 years later, the 19th Amendment was approved by legislators. Women got the right to vote on August 18, 1920. The 19th Amendment granted American women the right to vote. Therefore, the 19th amendment also prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex.

In this article, PBS explores the role of women post World War II and their assimilation into the workforce. When World War II began, the men overseas left the women to take over their jobs in the workforce. But as success on the war front proved to be significant, the men returned home and expected the women to return to their housework, leaving the business to the men. It was this development that made World War II a turning point as women fought for their equality to work and prove their ability it to the same capacity. Overall, the return of the male figure of superiority and strength sparked a revolutionary change in the cultural acceptance of rigid gender roles.

At the beginning and during WWII, the U.S. needed an immediate workforce for jobs that were vacated by men who had gone into the armed forces. The Government through public advertising urged women to partake in the workforce. The nation celebrated Rosie the Riveter, the female laborer who showed off her biceps and exuded self-reliance in Rockwell’s magazine coveWith 15 million men in the armed forces, women in 1944 made up more than one-third of the civilian labor force. Even though most women workers still labored in clerical jobs, and that of the service industry, new opportunities suddenly opened in industrial, professional, and government positions that were usually only occupied by males. In the west’s shipyards one third of the workers

In today’s society, there is often a misconception among women and men and the roles they are expected to follow through with. Although there has been advances in the way women are treated, it is unfortunately still an unbalanced dynamic in our society. From an early age, women are often persuaded, even if subconsciously, to follow a certain pathway in life. They are most often associated with staying home, keeping the house clean, cooking, baking, and raising children. Certain mediums that girls are exposed to tend to sway them towards these specific wants and aspirations. The way in which certain products are presented to little girls create an image they feel like they need to master. Men, on the other hand, are taught something completely different. They are regularly habituated with more masculine and self-reliant tasks. From an early age, they are automatically seen as people that deserve to be educated and use their smart, resourceful assets to contribute to society. They are without a doubt going to get a job and become a father and husband that provides for his family. In most situations, even if the woman has a job, men are the main “bread-winner.” Going along with this belief, the products boys are often marketed portray the idea of strength and independence. Whether it is a toy or a book, men are more often than not characterized as the heroic, more capable gender. There are many cases in which different mediums exhibit the ideas of men being the superior

Throughout the twentieth century, both World War I and World War II significantly impacted American society in several ways. From 1917 to 1918, the United States’ involvement in World War I began an increase in the number of women in the workplace that would steadily continue throughout much of the twentieth century. The United States once again played a major role in World War II from 1941 to 1945, and this war is actually seen as a turning point for women in the workplace. During the two world wars, women workers were impacted by discrimination, the danger of the work they completed, and the portrayal of women in propaganda during both world wars, and yet the different time periods of the two world wars led to differences in how women

After the attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States entered World War II and rapidly experienced a profound transformation. Men were sent overseas daily to fight on the front lines. The absence of men left industry short-handed. The United States was in possible economic danger. To solve this, the “Rosie the Riveter” was launched in 1941 to recruit women to join the labor force for the defense industry. Judy Lovelace, in “Rosie the Riveter Revisited,” describes her personal experiences and conflicting thoughts while working for the war effort. Lovelace’s interview allows us to better understand changes in women’s personal and professional lives during the war. It also shows the profound importance of women’s work toward the war effort.

Throughout the early 1800s, British women often played a subordinate role in society, flexed by many obligations, laws, and the superior males. A young woman’s struggle for independence and free will can often be compared to a life of servitude and slavery. Women were often controlled by the various men in their lives; whether it be father, brother or the eventual husband. In 19th century Britain, laws were enacted to further suppress women that eventually bore the idea that women were supposed to do two things: marry and have children. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen demonstrates a women’s struggle within a society that stresses the importance of marriage and strict behavioral customs. As evidenced by the Bennett daughters: Elizabeth,

The role of women in society has been constantly changing to meet the times, especially in family settings. In patriarchal societies, women took subordination and secondary roles in heterosexual marriages (day 35 family.) The man of the household was the breadwinner and in charge of everything. Women, who in ancient societies and historically were, and are still considered in some countries, the property of the man, on the other hand, were to do all the labor in the home and take care of the children if there was any. This has been in many ways the standard for a family in western culture for a very long time. In recent years, this idea has begun to change. The “standard” nuclear family of heterosexual married with children under 18 now only account for 5% of U.S. households (day 35 family.)