Women During World War II and Beyond

Women played a crucial role during World War II, both with the production of war materials, and keeping our country from sliding back into a depression. Since the 1940s, women have continued to struggle to prove that they can do the same jobs that a male worker can do, and should get paid the same amount for it. Equal pay for women has continued to be an intensely debated subject since World War II, when women stepped up to fill the void in the workforce that men left behind when they courageously fought to defend our country.

As scores of men left the country, they left behind massive gaps in the United States workforce. The government noticed this problem, and drafted their infamous Rosie the Riveter posters (A&E Television Networks). Rosie the Riveter immediately became famous. The poster depicted a muscular, independent woman. The United States Government’s posters showed the necessity for female workers in the absence of men (A&E Television Networks). That being said, Rosie the Riveter became the most important advertisement for the production of materials for the war materials (A&E Television Networks). As more women joined the working class, the press strived to persuade them that they could do the work typically regarded as a man’s job and still be considered feminine(A&E Television Networks). It may seem like a silly idea, but women were still overall regarded as the weaker sex. Until World War II, they had not yet had the chance to prove themselves to society.

Not only did the United States Government draft a Rosie the Riveter poster, though. Famous artist, Norman Rockwell also introduced a painting of her (A&E Television Networks). In his painting, Rockwell portrayed a robust, independent woman. In his version, Rosie i...

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...stop to thank the women who worked during World War II, because they set the cornerstone for fair working environments, and as a whole, our country has made so much progress since the 1940s.

Works Cited

A&E Television Networks, LLC. “American Women in World War II”. History. 2014. Web. 5 May 2014.

Chafe, William H. The American Woman Her Changing Social, Economic, and Political Roles, 1920-1970. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1972. Print.

Hawkes, Sarah. “Who was Rosie the Riveter?: The American Factory Women of World War II”. 2014. Web. 8 May 2014.

National Women’s History Museum. “A History of Women in Industry”. nwhm. 2007. Web. 5 May 2014.

Rodek, Kimberly M. “Women in Literature: Women in the Twentieth Century and Beyond”. ivcc. 30 May 2006. Web. 5 May 2014.

Smuts, Robert W. Women and Work in America. New York: Columbia University Press, 1959. Print.