Women During WWII Essay

Women played a key role in the war, many women risk their lives and serve in the military, “Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs became the first women to fly American military aircraft. They ferried planes from factories to bases, transporting cargo and participating in simulation strafing and target missions” (History.com). For the time in American history women was doing other thing in the military. Many women enjoy their jobs during World War 2 because it was new opportunity and many were excited because they helping with the war effort. By allowing women in the workforce more will create more available manpower to fight overseas.

Not only were the women recruited into the old jobs vacated by the men, who had gone to fight in the war, but new jobs were also created as part of the war effort. The government’s attitude towards female employment at first was negative as they were reluctant to allow the women to do any jobs left by the men. This later changed, as the government began pushing forward the idea of employment of women through campaigns and recruitment drives. Working as railway guards and ticket collectors, buses and tram conductors, postal workers, police, firefighters and as bank tellers and clerks, women began to change the concept of what was before deemed as ‘men’s

With most of the men at war women had to fill their shoes at home. They took factory and industrial jobs. Women took a giant leap and tackled the work force. Society called these jobs war jobs. This let women know that when the men returned home from war that the men would return to their jobs and the women would have to go back to being the homemaker.

At the start of the war, several work positions became available, as men had to enlist, which meant women were able to fill them. Women could take on “war essential jobs” that contributed to the “all in effort.” The jobs they could take on were, tram conductors, taxi and truck drivers, and, they were able to manufacture munitions and military equipment. During the duration of WW2, 200,000 women joined the war essential jobs to contribute to the all in effort. Secondly, women were able to join the Australian Women's Land Army (AWLA).

Shortly after the men started leaving to go into war women began to break away from their traditional house roles. Due to the men leaving for the war, the work force started to decrease. Women began to fill mens shoes in jobs such as bank clerks, ticket sellers, chauffeurs, elevator operators, etc. as a result. Labor Unions were adamant that women not work in the factories.

World War II was the first time when the Army included women in the war and they started working in occupations

Socially, women were given more opportunities and roles in society as they took over jobs that were unoccupied due to men heading overseas to fight in the war. For women, there was an increased participation in the workforce, especially in industries previously dominated. This was due to the labour gap created from men leaving the workforce to fight on the front lines. People were initially hesitant to assign these jobs to women, but as the war progressed and

However, with the outbreak of war and men being drafted into the military, women were called upon to fill the void in the workforce. Women took up jobs that were traditionally seen as "male" jobs, such as factory work and construction. This newfound sense of independence and self-sufficiency fundamentally changed the social landscape in America. Women felt empowered and capable of contributing to society in a meaningful way. As a result, after the war, women continued to work and contribute to the workforce, paving the way for advances in women's rights and the feminist movement.

Many women were pilots and flew aircraft while men were being released for combat duty. Many became nurses, which was not as surprising as working on the battlefield. Throughout the war, they needed more armed soldiers to fight, but there weren't enough men to go fight, so many of those nurses took the role of becoming soldiers. Even if it was an accomplishment for many women, it was dangerous because, throughout the process, many women were captured and tortured in Japanese Prison camps. Also within those three years of torture, many of the women did not come back and therefore causing them to become more strict.

For more than simple housework women were needed for jobs which advertised would help the US win the war, like taxi and bus drivers, salespeople, elevator operators, farm workers, etc. Women's participation in traditionally male-dominated fields opened up new career paths for them after the war ended; some even continued working outside of their homes when returning veterans resumed their old positions at factories or businesses across America. This raised the issue of over industrializing parts of the country. Articles like “Watch the West Coast” by Carey McWilliam express how the West primarily industrialized wartime products as factories retooled for wartime production of weapons and equipment needed by U.S. troops overseas, like aircraft and construction ships. So post-war would be a serious threat to employment rates.

The Effect of Women on the Outcome of World War Two World War II effected women tremendously by taking them out of their comfort zones and chucking them into the work force and pushing them to do most of the work men normally would have been doing. The war also effected women by providing opportunities for them to serve in non-traditional roles; in fact, some of them enlisted into the military to serve the United States. The way the war effected women is that they had to take care of family in addition to performing work normally done by men. It was difficult to find people to watch after kids which made life during this time very difficult. After the end of World War II society in general was effected considering the baby boom.

Before the war broke out women were restricted to housewife jobs such as cooking and cleaning. Not every woman wants to do housewife duties. I believe that people started to realize that not everybody is cut out for a certain job description. After the war started and men were shipped overseas, women were finally able to do more productive jobs like factory or office jobs. Women were even given the chance to become nurses for the Red Cross Association.

World War II is very similar to World War II with women joining the industrial workforce with over fifty percent. Women also joined the Women’s Army Corps and WAVES or Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service, but women were not allowed in combat. Many of these women that joined these two organizations performed many duties including clerical, nursing, and transportation duties with 240,000 women in their ranks. Women who took the jobs at home including the industrial jobs, textile jobs, defense jobs, and other jobs their income did go up as they moved to more important positions. Propaganda was used again to persuade women to join the war effort and help supply the men overseas.

(pbs.org) But a source of labor was high in demand since most of the men left to fight in the war. This opened up many opportunities for the minorities in America, especially women. Before the war, women didn’t have outside jobs. Their role was to tend to family affairs and stay at home while the husband worked to make a living.

Men had to step away to aid in the war meaning there was a demand for women within the workforce. According to document 4, the Office of War Information encouraged women to step away from their housewife roles and fill in the jobs that were left behind. They achieved this through propaganda posters claiming that it would help the war end sooner; about 6 million women joined the workforce. Some of these jobs include farmworkers, mechanics, construction workers, manufacturers, and Messengers. Within the military 4 branches were created for women, opening up more opportunities and employing 216,000 women, allowing them to step further away from the traditional jobs.