The government decided to start a propaganda campaign to get women working to help with the war. They promoted “Rosie the Riveter” as the ideal woman worker: loyal, efficient, patriotic, and pretty. (Sorensen 3) The campaign was a success because the women stepped in to take the factory jobs that the men left behind when they went off to war. The women took jobs such as making ammunition, uniforms, and air planes. They were also doing jobs such as welding, riveting and engine repair.
Women of all color, during World War II, were able to have tons of freedom expansion and were able to create a new place in society for themselves. When the males of the families had to leave overseas to fight in the military, women were expected to take over the male jobs in factories and perform work other than household duties. These duties in the factories consisted of making munitions and war supplies. Women not only did jobs meant for men in factories, they also performed jobs outside of the factories. According to Sarah Killngsworth, “The war started and jobs kinda opened up for women that men had.
We Can Do It Statistics show that during World War II the number of working American women jumped from nearly 9 million to 20 million merely because of a simple poster encouraging women (Wiki). This poster of a now well know woman, Rosie the Riveter, refer to a period in American history that can be considered the beginning of a major shift in the role of women. During World War II, when millions of men were conscripted or voluntarily joined the armed forces, defense plants in the United States had to continue producing needed artillery, weapons, and other goods for the war effort. At the time, reasonably few women worked outside the home, and even fewer would have worked in factories like those producing airplanes and other military goods. Enlisted to see to it that production did not decrease in this time of emergency, the female
Coming from all walks of life, there were those already working who switched to higher-paying defense jobs, those who had lost their jobs due to the Depression, and then there were the women who worked at home. Rosie the Riveter was the idol for these working women also she was known as the cover girl for the recruiting campaign. By 1944, 16 percent of all working women held jobs in war industries. While an estimated 18 million women worked during the war, there was growing concern among them that when the war was over, it would never be the same again. That new venture for American women would soon come to an end.
Some women “felt they were needed at home to raise families, crops for food and to fill the jobs that the men had vacated in order to serve their country.”(Suite101) Women’s lives on the home front during World War II were a significant part of the war effort for all participants and had a major impact on the outcome of the war. Once the men went off to war and left their jobs, the women that were single had a great advantage because job opportunities were everywhere. In the other hand married women had a tough time, especially if they had children. Hundreds of women worked in machine shops, welding shops, manufacturing plants, and also worked in war industries to make equipment for the war. New industries, naval, and army bases were being built during the home front.
Women during WWII 1950s/60s Factory Work: Many women decided that they would work in a factory. They worked in all manner of production ranging from making ammunition to uniforms to aeroplanes. The hours they worked were long and some women had to move to where the factories were. Those who moved away were paid more. Skilled women could earn £2.15 a week.
The changes were apparent as a result of evacuation, rationing, women workers and the Beveridge Report. In the 1930’s, before the Second World War, most women were expected to stay at home while their husbands worked to look after the children. However, when war broke out and the men had to go and fight, the women had to do the men’s previous jobs. During the Second World War the number of women workers increased by 50% to almost 7 million. Some joined the Land Army and others worked in the factories producing weapons.
The women of the early 20th century helped by filling in the jobs that men used, volunteering as nurses, and giving hope to the soldiers to fight back with. Women completely stabilized all the jobs that were left by the men. Around 1 to 2 million women joined the workforce during the war, such as in governmental jobs, in public transport, in the post office, in business clerks and
* During the war, women started to be employed in different types of jobs eg factory work, replacing the men who had gone to fight in the war in Europe. * Organisations such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) had been fighting for decades to get the vote for women. As women had contributed so much to the war effort, it was difficult to refuse their demands for
1941 – 1969 1945 - 5 million more women working than in 1940 – many were married. 350,000 women joined the armed forces. After the war 75% of women wanted to stay in paid