How Did World War 2 Change Life For American Women

Helena Wood

November 2017

Mrs.Costello

UP Honors US History A

How World War 2 Changed Life for American Women:

In 1939 World War 2 started. World War 2 was a power struggle between the Axis powers and the Allies. The Axis was made up of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The Allies were made up of Great Britain, France, the United States of America, Australia,

Canada, New Zealand, India, and many more. The Soviet Union started with the

Axis powers and eventually switched to the Allies. The war itself involved over 30

countries. World War 2 led to the collapse of Nazi Germany, the fall of both the

Japanese and the Italian Empires, the Disbandment of the League of Nations (LON),

the creation of the UN (United Nation), changing of home life, Woman

got jobs,
children became disobedient the beginning of the Cold War, and much more. On
September 1st, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting World War 2. Adolf Hitler was
looking to regain land that he had lost during World War 1. A few days later on
September 3rd, after an ignored ultimatum to Germany to cease fire, France and
England declared war on Germany. England responded to the attack on Poland with
bombing raids three days later. On September 17th, 1939 the Soviets invaded Poland
from the eastern side.

WW2 took place on September 1st, 1939 and ended on

September 2nd, 1945. It lasted 6 years and one day. World War 2 had many long

lasting effects.

Before the war, women were stay at home moms, and caretakers of the home, whereas the men were the ‘breadwinners’. During the course of the war, home life changed for U.S woman. Many women started working in factories, and taking over predominantly male jobs, because the men were all at war. The war strongly affected home life for everyone in the world. American men were drafted to go to war, and American woman had to step in where the men would have otherwise been working. It gave American woman a chance to finally prove themselves.

World War 2 relinquished a lot of control to woman, specifically woman in America. World War 2 was a game changer for American women, it gave women a chance to get jobs, forever changing the American workforce, gave them the opportunity to serve in the military, and it raised morale for woman.

With the men gone to war, the woman had to step up and take jobs in the office, and the factories. “Before the great World Wars, the role of women in western countries was usually to be kept at home. All of the jobs that were available to men were

not
necessarily open to women.

Some women tried to start traditional career paths like

those of men; taking this route in the workforce was rarely seen.” (“A Change in Gender

Roles”). It was the first time in US history that this occurred, up until this point most

women stayed at home as house wifes. “Patriotism did influence women to go

work because they did not want to see the Allied powers fall. Half of the jobs that

needed to be filled were taken over by minorities and lower-class women who had

already been in different workforce areas. These women usually were just given pay

raises at different companies that wanted them more. Married mothers eventually had

to help out even if they had children.” (“A Change in Gender Roles”). Woman joining

the workforce changed the

economy.
Woman were a crucial part of keeping the American economy, and the country
as a whole working while the men were gone. Part of their taking over meant that
employment rates raised drastically. “Government figures show that women’s employment increased during the Second World War from about 5.1 million in 1939 (26%) to just over 7.25 million in 1943 (36% of all women of working age). Forty six percent of all women aged between 14 and 59, and 90% of all able-bodied single women between the ages of 18 and 40 were engaged in some form of work or National Service by September 1943”. (H M Government). Employment rates spiked during this time period. “The war brought full employment and a fairer distribution of income. Blacks and women entered the workforce for the first time. Wages increased; so to savings…” (Goodwin). Every American had a job during WW2, whether it be at home taking care of the children as many upper class woman did, working the fields, or even working in the military.
Before WW2 women were never allowed to occupy any sort of military position.
Thanks to Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and General George Marshall, woman
were finally given the right to enter a woman's service branch. “General George
Marshall supported the idea of introducing a women’s service branch into the Army. In
May 1942, Congress instituted the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, later upgraded to
the Women’s Army Corps, which had full military status. Its members, known as WACs,
worked in more than 200 non-combatant jobs stateside and in every theater of
the war. By 1945, there were more than 100,000 WACs and 6,000 female officers.”
(“Rosie the Riveter”). World War 2 changed everything for woman.
A less well known fact is that woman flew planes stateside during WW2. The woman were known as WASPS, and they transported goods which in turn freed up thousands of men to be active duty. “WASPs, otherwise known as Women Airforce Service Pilots, was first organized as a squadron in the summer of 1943. The squadron was actually the result of a merging of two separate women pilot programs within the U.S. that were already in place as a response to the U.S. entering the war.” (“Women’s History Month and WWII WASPs”). WASPs were considered ‘civilians’, and not actually considered veterans until 1977. The woman that flew as WASPs were a crucial part of the war. “The women of WASP logged more than 60 million miles (100 million km) in the air and flew every type of aircraft in the army air forces.” (Ray). This was the first time in history that a woman had flown the American Military aircrafts.
Propaganda was very popular during WW2. As a symbol of good moral and hope
‘Rosie the Riveter’ was born on May 29, 1943. History.com says “In movies,
newspapers, posters, photographs, and articles, the Rosie the Riveter campaign
stressed the patriotic need for women to enter the workforce. On May 29, 1943, The
Saturday Evening Post published a cover image by the artist Norman Rockwell,
portraying Rosie with a flag in the background and a copy of Adolf Hitler’s racist tract
“Mein Kampf” under her feet.” (“Rosie the Riveter”). For a change, woman were the
faces of propaganda, and as a power source at that. They were beginning to be seen
as human beings, not just “moms” or “so and so’s wife”. Life didn’t just change for the
wives, or husbands, it changed for the whole family.
With mothers working all day, many American children had to figure out how to
function without their mothers holding their hands for the first time in their lives. “There were five million "war widows" trying to care for their children alone. Women employed outside the Home left tens of thousands of "latchkey" children who were unsupervised much of the day. The rates of juvenile delinquency, venereal disease and truancy rose dramatically. The impact on the family was evident, attended by much anxiety about the breakdown of social values.” (“The American Family in WW2”). Family life was turned upside down. With many mothers working full time, they didn’t have time to coddle their children. Children had to learn how to make their own lunches, entertain themselves, and in some cases care for younger siblings. With the mothers gone, the responsibility of caring for the younger siblings fell to the teengers. Tasks like cleaning the house and making dinner were being deflected to tennagers for the first time. This left the family dynamic open to defiance and impudence. “ families faced a severe shortage of housing, lack of schools, hospitals and child-care facilities.” (“The American Family in WW2”).

Works Cited:
“A Change in Gender Roles.” Google Sites, 2012, sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/historpedia/home/personal-group-identities/a-change-in-gender-roles-women-s-impact-during-wwii-in-the-workforce-and-military-fall-2012.
"Allies of World War II." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Nov. 2017. Web. 01 Dec. 2017. (-- removed HTML --) .
"Axis Powers." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 Dec. 2017. Web. 01 Dec. 2017. (-- removed HTML --) .
"The Blitz." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Nov. 2017. Web. 01 Dec. 2017. (-- removed HTML --) .
“History At a Glance: Women in World War II.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/women-wwii.
History.com Staff. “Rosie the Riveter.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/rosie-the-riveter.
"Germany Invades Poland." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2017. (-- removed HTML --) .
Goodwin, Doris. "The Way We Won: America's Economic Breakthrough During World War II."The American Prospect. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2018.
Ray, Michael. "Women Airforce Service Pilots." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 31 May 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2018.
"Striking Women." World War II: 1939-1945 | Striking Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2018.
"United States History." The American Family in World War II. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2018.
"Women's History Month and WWII WASPs." The National WWII Museum Blog. N.p., 10 Apr. 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2018.
"World War II." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 Dec. 2017. Web. 01 Dec. 2017. (-- removed HTML --) .