American women and World War II (article) | Khan Academy (2024)
During World War II American women took news jobs in the military and defense industry.
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Jeff Kelman
8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to Jeff Kelman's post “Were it not for World War...”
Were it not for World War II and all of the involvement of women in the military industrial complex, could it be argued, that women around the western world would have perhaps been relegated to certain allegedly "female" job types and occupations? I hate to think that a war has any good that can come of it, but is this perhaps one thing that was "good"?
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(11 votes)
Samantha Moone #Writer's Alliance
7 years agoPosted 7 years ago. Direct link to Samantha Moone #Writer's Alliance's post “I agree with hs4j, war is...”
I agree with hs4j, war is not good, but the War did get the U.S. out of the Great Depression, and it proved to many that women were capable of doing more than keeping the house clean and the family fed.
(22 votes)
raygunner
6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to raygunner's post “did women ever get a chan...”
6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to sarah mazur's post “Well, because of their wo...”
Well, because of their work in WWll women started standing up more for equality, but "getting a chance" at working men's jobs whilst they were away at war didn't really happen as much as, maybe Vietnam. It's also argued that (though women should be drafted to receive full equality as men) they will be needed again to be the backbone of the economy if we do decide to go into a major war again and start drafting.
(7 votes)
._.
a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to ._.'s post “Why did they no let the w...”
Why did they no let the women keep their jobs?
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(2 votes)
David Alexander
a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “A white middle-class assu...”
A white middle-class assumption 80 years ago was that a man should support his family, and that when a married woman took a job, it diminished a man's status. So, men returning from the war assumed that the jobs were theirs, and the culture told married women that they should not have jobs outside of the home. Beyond that, with the war production jobs not needed any more, and soldiers, sailors & marines no longer in uniform, there were not enough jobs to go around. When push came to shove, women got shoved out.
(9 votes)
edie
8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to edie's post “If america was at war , w...”
If america was at war , why couldn,t they ration cosmetics and melt the cases of makeup to make war weapons ? I think winning a war means more than keeping women pretty.
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(0 votes)
Preston Tucker
6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to Preston Tucker's post “You're all missing the po...”
You're all missing the point, the point was they had to keep the soldiers morale up it wasn't about rations, if the US Army had no morale. . .There would be no army, well not a well motivated one that is.
(21 votes)
24tirottaaj
a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to 24tirottaaj's post “Why did many women and mi...”
Why did many women and minority Americans contribute to the war effort despite at times facing discrimination?
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(2 votes)
chhuon.menglin
a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to chhuon.menglin's post “WW2 had a positive and pr...”
WW2 had a positive and prosperous impact on women's job availability. As can be known, a large number of men went to war and left many jobs for women to do. Moreover, the war seemed to expose women's abilities and talents in which they had not been given opportunities to do so. In corresponding to the article, Rosie and Riveter brought the strength of women to inform the world that they were also rigorous and able to work as men. Plus, women had a propensity to be masculine, all of working women were demanded to apply makeup and cosmetics in order to retain their beauty standards. Rosie was a symbol of that one. During wartime, it is such a hard time when people only want to survive. If there were numerous jobs available for women, clerical work would be more appropriate for women. Evidently, men came to the war to combat enemies, and a lot of jobs were clerical ones.
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(3 votes)
MadLlama
2 years agoPosted 2 years ago. Direct link to MadLlama's post “Why were men so mean abou...”
Why were men so mean about not letting women work out of their home?
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(2 votes)
David Alexander
2 years agoPosted 2 years ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “Nobody, NOBODY, wants to ...”
Nobody, NOBODY, wants to give up an advantage that they believe is based on "nature". Men had the upper hand for centuries. They gave up only a little bit, and very slowly, then wanted it all back when the war ended.
(3 votes)
1108412
a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to 1108412's post “When was this written and...”
When was this written and who is the author
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(3 votes)
David Alexander
a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “Portions of this article ...”
Portions of this article were adapted from "The Home Front," OpenStax College, US History. OpenStax CNX. 2016. This article is licensed under a CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
You can learn about the OpenStax US History book at openstax.org/details/books/us-history
(0 votes)
Emily Tavares
a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to Emily Tavares's post “Who was this written by a...”
Who was this written by and when. Please respond as soon as you can. Thank you.
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(3 votes)
Shellina J. Casey✌🏼
9 months agoPosted 9 months ago. Direct link to Shellina J. Casey✌🏼's post “Emily Tavares-Under the ...”
Emily Tavares- Under the article there is something that says “notes and attributions”. If you click on that it will tell you who wrote it. Hope this helps!
(1 vote)
Jazmin Alvarez
5 years agoPosted 5 years ago. Direct link to Jazmin Alvarez's post “How did employment change...”
How did employment change for African-Americans during the war?
Women's auxiliary branches were created for every branch of the military, including the Women's Army Corps (WAC), Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Women were restricted from combat zones; however, many became nurses to help the men injured in combat.
Women also drove trucks, cleaned houses, flew planes, organized fundraisers, treated patients, grew crops, broke codes, and took care of children. Hundreds of thousands of them joined the armed forces.
Women faced challenges in overcoming cultural stereotypes against working women, as well as finding adequate childcare during working hours. Minority women also endured discrimination and dislocation during the war years. 350,000 women served in the armed forces during World War II.
When men left, women “became proficient cooks and housekeepers, managed the finances, learned to fix the car, worked in a defense plant, and wrote letters to their soldier husbands that were consistently upbeat.” (Stephen Ambrose, D-Day, 488) Rosie the Riveter helped assure that the Allies would have the war materials ...
Women in uniform performed more than 200 different jobs during their service. They were clerks, mechanics, pilots, drivers, gunnery instructors, air traffic controllers, weather forecasters, postal workers, and translators. They served at home and abroad. Many of them risked their lives and safety.
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (later the Women's Army Corps or WAC), the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), and. the Women Accepted for Volunteer Military Services (WAVES).
With millions of men away from home, women filled manufacturing and agricultural positions on the home front. Others provided support on the front lines as nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, translators and, in rare cases, on the battlefield.
With men off to fight a worldwide war across the Atlantic and the Pacific, women were called to take their place on the production line. The War Manpower Commission, a Federal Agency established to increase the manufacture of war materials, had the task of recruiting women into employment vital to the war effort.
Without the efforts of women, tens of thousands of men, needed at the front, would have been tied to jobs in agriculture, industry, and homefront military, and not available for wartime service, and the success of America's military effort may have been in the balance.
Most women labored in the clerical and service sectors where women had worked for decades, but the wartime economy created job opportunities for women in heavy industry and wartime production plants that had traditionally belonged to men.
"Rosie the Riveter" was an iconic poster of a female factory worker flexing her muscle, exhorting other women to join the World War II effort with the declaration that "We Can Do It!"
Women's wardrobes were adapted to include slacks, warm coats, and washable frocks to suit their wartime activities. Washable cottons and separates saved dry cleaning chemicals, time, and money. These American pinafore dresses could be worn with different cotton blouses or sweaters for different looks.
While women's contributions during the war were essential—they weren't always treated fairly. Women workers often faced discrimination and harassment in the workplace, and they rarely took home more than half of what their male counterparts earned. The call for working women was intended to only apply during the war.
Women are more effective in some circ*mstances than men. Allowing women to serve doubles the talent pool for delicate and sensitive jobs that require interpersonal skills not every soldier has. Having a wider personnel base allows militaries to have the best and most diplomatic soldiers working to end conflict quickly.
World War II provided various employment opportunities for women. They were able to work in different fields including administrative, clerical, industrial, and nursing. On the other hand, minority groups were benefited in terms of recognition to serve in the US military.
They worked in mostly support roles as clerical, mechanics, cooks, and secretaries. Women accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service - Women's branch of the US Navy created in July 1942.
During the Civil War, women stepped into many nontraditional roles for the time. Many women supported the war effort as nurses and aides, while others took a more upfront approach and secretly enlisted in the Army or served as spies and smugglers.
The American Red Cross operated hospitals to care for war casualties, staffed by nurses, hundreds of whom died in service during the war. Thousands of women also served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and the Navy Nurse Corps.
With men away to serve in the military and demands for war material increasing, manufacturing jobs opened up to women and upped their earning power. Yet women's employment was only encouraged as long as the war was on. Once the war was over, federal and civilian policies replaced women workers with men.
Introduction: My name is Lakeisha Bayer VM, I am a brainy, kind, enchanting, healthy, lovely, clean, witty person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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