The Majority of women upheld these expectations during the Second World War. In 1942, there were 28 million homemakers married women. Form the start women of this era were taught this, taught that marriage and having a well-kept home was the most important things in life. The one and only real role for the women of the 40s was to fill the role of glamorous mum, cook, laundress, cleaner, dishwasher, nurse, and finally hostess but this way of life would slowly become rare itself do to the
They were also doing jobs such as welding, riveting and engine repair. During World War II, over 6 million women took wartime jobs in factories or farms ("Women in World War II”). They were helping meet the wartime production for planes, tanks, ships, and weapons. Without the women working, the United States would not have been able to keep up with the wartime production of weapons. Some women worked so long in the factories that they had to move closer to the factory.
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.
With the majority of the men gone that usually worked the factories and welding plants the United States needed to keep producing arms, ammunition, and other various equipment for the troops to continue they efforts. Thus women were encouraged by posters such as these showing that they too could help the country in this time of need. Needless to say, a great deal of women stepped up, were trained, and filled jobs that had, until this time, only been filled by men. Rosie the Riveter has made a mark on the American people and most of all the way in which the American woman is seen. Women were once only seen in homes cleaning and cooking and the era of Rosie was the first step in women’s rights.
When the war broke out in August 1914, thousands of women lost their jobs in dressmaking, millenary and jewellery making. Many were in the search for work and wanted to help in the war effort. The introduction of conscription in 1916 led to an increase in the number of women employed in all sectors of the economy. Women gained access to a whole range of jobs that had been previously preserved for men and many questioned whether women were fit to do the work. Although women proved themselves to be hard working and just as capable of doing work as the opposite gender, many also struggled due to the work being dangerous and the poor safety regulations at the time, as source A8 shows.
In addition to factory work and other front jobs about 350,000 women joined the Armed services, serving at home and abroad. “Rosie the Riveter,” later became a popular propaganda for women. While women worked in a variety of positions closed to them the industry saw the greatest increase in female’s workers. More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry in 1943, representing 65 percent of the industry total workforce. The industry recruited women workers, represented by the U.S. government.
The move industry also benefited from the war by producing and selling over 2,500 motion pictures during and after the war. The Advertising Council was also formed during the war and conducted hundreds of campaigns in the interest of selling war bonds, gathering blood, conserving food, and to inspire people to enlist. Many of the unemployed that were mobilized were women. Many men were pulled away from their jobs as a result of the war effort, and women had to fill their spots in the work place to keep their families up and running. During this time child labor also increased, and the average family income rose 25% from 1941-1945.
Close to the end of the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese potentially ending the Great Depression because war industry was booming because of the need for planes, tanks, bombers, bullets, and other miscellaneous supplies. A lot of people previously without jobs now had a range of jobs to choose from. Throughout the Great Depression, John Steinbeck was supported by one of the organizations formed by FDR made especially for writers, artists, and musicians. After this America declared war on Japan and proposed a draft later on, which took most able bodied men to go and fight overseas, therefore leaving mostly women at home. Most of these women were encouraged by propaganda to help the war effort and get a job in a factory.
Do you agree with the view that, in terms of employment opportunities, women did not gain ‘any significant advantage from their wartime experience’? Many women, especially shorthand typists and munitions workers, earned for more than before the war and gained greater economic independence. Many women worked away from home were they experienced a sense of liberation from their restricted home lives. Trade unions initially opposed the dilution of labour but eventually recruited many more women. 350,000 women were in unions in 1914, but 600,000 by 1918.
Women During the Civil war: As I was doing my project over the past two weeks i have gained a plethora of knowledge. I came to realize that women played a pretty large role in the Civil War. If the women were not there when men went to war then most households would've fallen apart. The women did many jobs while the men were at war. They did practically everything a man was supposed to be doing, besides fighting in the war of course.