Women's Welding During World War I Essay

Did you know that women started welding in the United States back in 1915? Women are the same as men. They can do everything a man can do and sometimes can do so called mens jobs better than the man can. Women started working during World War 1 because the men had gone off to war and someone had to keep life at home running smoothly. But at first society did not take it “so well.” World War One started in 1914 but a school technical that allowed women didn't open until 1915. Women had a big role in World War One not only did they make weapons for the war they kept factories up and running and kept the U.S. from going bankrupt. Women welders started working again during World War Two as well. World War Two was a longer war so the shipyards

and factories needed them more than during World War One.
During every other war before World War 1 women followed armies around and washed clothes, tended to wounds, and cooked but during World War One women started to do a lot more. During world war 1 women did the same jobs as men such as railway guards, ticket collectors, bus and train conductors postal workers,police, firefighters, bank tellers and clerks. Some women even worked heavy machinery and welded. If it wasn't for women during WW1 the armies would not have functioned as well and the factories, railroads and almost everything would have shut down. Women are the same as men just because women have different body parts does not mean that women aren't the same as men.
In 1915 the Loughborough Technical school opened up for women.

They offered gauge making , draughtsmanship , welding , pattern making , and aero-engine testing. And other short classes as well. Women came into the workforce in January of 1916 a year after the United States went onto the war. At the beginning of the war women's main occupation was nursing not engineering. During World War One the royal aircraft factory in Farnborough, Hampshire hired women welders to weld on aircraft. Employers said women were more careful and more aptitude for details and were better at delicate work such as welding. But after the war the few women that were in the workforce went back to the home and went back to being

housewifes.
During World War Two again the women came out of the house and started working again and completely changed the “women’s roles”. Due to the major shortage of men in the workplace caused women to take over men's roles in the workplace. Twenty women started training at welding school no.2. Within the next week fifty women were being trained in tack welding. Upon completing the course women were assigned to the pipe fitters department. Where some continued the full welding training. Women were assigned to the shops and skids because the work on ships were considered to be too strenuous for women. Some women were considered to be better welders because of their steady hands.
Zaddie Johnson was one of a 15 women welding crew but she didn't start that way.

At 17 Zaddie ran away from her family of eight other children and got married she got married to Roosevelt Johnson, by the age of 20 she had 2 children. The Johnson family struggled to make ends meet so they moved to Mobile, Alabama where there was a major shortage of men because of the war. There her husband Roosevelt got a job in the shipyards welding and Zaddie got a job in the paper mill. But she only worked there a short while. Soon after starting at the paper mill Zaddie found out she could make more money at the shipyard with her husband. Zaddie started out only helping the welders by tack welding for the welders. But every chance she got she was practicing and it wasn't long before she got the hang of welding. Then she got accepted on the the women's welding crew and she liked it.Zaddie and the other girls on the crew car pooled so when the bell rang it was a hurry to get out of there and catch a ride. Zaddie would weld on the tankers for the war and after they were done some bigwig came and poured wine on them before moving them to another area so the inside could be finished. But after the war the johnson family moved to Pascagoula and Zaddie quit welding for money and just did it for fun. Instead she worked in restaurants but her husband went on welding. But Zaddie and her crew welded until the war was over. That little bit of extra money Zaddie made really helped her family out.

Zaddie and her husband were married 61 years. Roosevelt died in 1996. Zaddie is now 95.
Most women wore a handkerchief over their hair, welding goggles, long pants, long sleeved shirts, and gloves to weld in. What they welded in back then was nowhere near as safe as what welders wear to protect themselves now in days. Now in days welders have jackets specifically designed to not catch fire while welding but back then all they had was a long sleeve shirt. Welders now also have hoods instead of goggles to protect their whole face from getting burnt not just their eyes and caps that don't catch fire to protect their hair from catching fire. The technology we have today would have probably saved a lot of lives. They also didn't have steel toed boots to wear so when they dropped something like a piece of metal on their foot or toes it easily broke their foot or toes. Or if the metal was hot it would burn right through their shoe and burn their foot and or toes.
Women replaced millions of men doing “men's” jobs during both World War One and World War Two. They did it all form police work to engineering and welding. They also took care of their children on top of working. They had to keep food on the table while their husbands fathers, brothers, and grandpas were off at war. It definitely wasn't easy for them to do both but they did it and were pretty good at it to today women weld everyday all day right beside the men thanks to those women who took the leap and went out into the workforce and got jobs. Sometimes the women even out weld the men because of their steady hands and attention to details. We are all equal and no one can say different. This country is belt on rebellion and thinks to the rebellious women during world war one and two women can pursue welding as a career and it it accepted by most people. But there will always be those select few people that still believe that women should be in the home and not in the workforce.
Women have welded since 1914 and to this day still weld. Women started welding because of world war one and then world war one ended and they went back into the home but then world war two came along and the women came back out of the homes and started working again they took over the mens jobs because they were off to war and someone had to keep home life running smoothly. And the women did the mens jobs just as good if not better than the men. Men and women are the same and can fulfill the same jobs it just took two wars for society to figure that one out. Because of these women that worked mens jobs while they were off at war women today can take whatever job they want whether or not it is considered a man's job or not. Because of these women, women today are paid equally to men doing men's jobs.