Women Work for Victory
American industry quickly converted to war production to meet the nation’s needs during World War II. Once industry exhausted the available men, women found more jobs for the taking.
Government and industry launched an all-out publicity campaign urging women to do their part to meet wartime production quotas. In time, women made up one third of the wartime workforce.
A woman working outside the home was nothing new, but wartime pressures created two sharp breaks from the past. Many women found jobs, especially in heavy industry, which fell outside the traditional realm of women’s work. The need for labor also weakened the common practice that a woman quit her job once she married. Three fourths of women working in war industries were married and 60 percent were older than 35 years.
The image of Rosie the Riveter’s rolled up sleeves, red kerchief and rivet gun gave Americans an enduring image of women during wartime production. Still women labored in both blue collar and white collar jobs.
Most factory owners expected women to step aside once men returned home at war’s end. In white collar settings, however, the war accelerated long term trends towards increased employment. During the 1940’s the number of women employed in secretarial and clerical work increased five-fold.
The benefits that women gained from wartime work cannot be underestimated. They earned paychecks, formed new and different relationships helped them gain organizational experience.
The confidence and knowledge women developed enriched their postwar experiences and helped create opportunities for their daughter’s years ahead.
With fathers in the military and mothers in the workplace, children’s lives began to change. The federal government spent 50 million building day-care centers for children with working mothers. Still only about 130,000 kids ended up in day care centers. Many mothers preferred to leave their children in the care of neighbors or relatives.
American industry quickly converted to war production to meet the nation’s needs during World War II. Once industry exhausted the available men, women found more jobs for the taking.
Government and industry launched an all-out publicity campaign urging women to do their part to meet wartime production quotas. In time, women made up one third of the wartime workforce.
A woman working outside the home was nothing new, but wartime pressures created two sharp breaks from the past. Many women found jobs, especially in heavy industry, which fell outside the traditional realm of women’s work. The need for labor also weakened the common practice that a woman quit her job once she married. Three fourths of women working in war industries were married and 60 percent were older than 35 years.
The image of Rosie the Riveter’s rolled up sleeves, red kerchief and rivet gun gave Americans an enduring image of women during wartime production. Still women labored in both blue collar and white collar jobs.
Most factory owners expected women to step aside once men returned home at war’s end. In white collar settings, however, the war accelerated long term trends towards increased employment. During the 1940’s the number of women employed in secretarial and clerical work increased five-fold.
The benefits that women gained from wartime work cannot be underestimated. They earned paychecks, formed new and different relationships helped them gain organizational experience.
The confidence and knowledge women developed enriched their postwar experiences and helped create opportunities for their daughter’s years ahead.
With fathers in the military and mothers in the workplace, children’s lives began to change. The federal government spent 50 million building day-care centers for children with working mothers. Still only about 130,000 kids ended up in day care centers. Many mothers preferred to leave their children in the care of neighbors or relatives.