Running Head: Women During World War 2

Women During World War 2: Literature Review

Christopher Rosas
University of Texas at El Paso

Women During World War 2

Abstract
World War 2 was one of the biggest and bloodiest wars to ever happen on the face of the
Earth. This war lasted six years to finally end, and in these long years all men were fighting for
their country. Thus leaving a lot of the jobs unmanned on the home front. The lack of a labor
force in the U.S. led to the production of propaganda to help fill these jobs, while our men were
off at war. This propaganda produced was aimed to the American women in the form of Rosie
The Riveter. For those who may not know Rosie, it is the most famous picture of a women
flexing her right arm with the words "We can do it" in a speech bubble right above her head.
Women became the backbone of this nation during those years, producing munitions, working in
factories making planes, tanks, and boats, aiding medically as nurses, and even some joined the
armed forces as anti aircraft crew members.

Women During World War 2

For those of you who don't know what World War 2 was about. Germany elected a
dictator named Adolph Hitler, a really fascist dictator at that. He was responsible for the deaths
of millions of Jews, Blacks, Gypsies, Homosexuals and other races that didn't meet up to the
standard of the Aryan race. In Hitler's eyes if you didn't have blonde hair and blue eyes you were
inferior to him and ever else who had these traits. In 1939 Hitler invaded Poland and broke
peaceful relations with the Soviet Union. Stalin dictator of the Soviet Union felt betrayed by
Hitler's treachery and went to war with Nazi Germany. It wasn't until 1941 that the United States
joined this massive war, lured into war by Imperialist Japan. Japan's airstrike on the naval base
known as Pearl Harbor was what triggered the involvement of the United States into fighting the
war. The United States implemented a draft to recruit all able bodied men to fight in the war.

Women During World War 2

16.1 million Americans served in World War 2, with this many people gone from home a lot of
jobs were left unattended. This is why it was up to women back at home to feel love for their
country and help the war effort.
Women back in the U.S. had brothers, husbands, and sons out fighting in the war. Back at home
they just wanted to help end the war as soon as possible. So that they could see their loved ones
once more. Many women went out to find jobs in factories out of pure patriotism for their
country. Though many women started taking up jobs in factories, there wasn't enough to keep up
with the demand. This led the U.S. government to come up with ways to encourage women into
helping the war effort. This literature review will answer four main questions about women
during this era. The questions are:
1. What drove women to aid in the war effort?
2. What roles did women have during World War 2?
3.What were the conditions in women industrial jobs?
4. How were women treated after the war?
With these questions answered you will see women that went through this era in a new light.

What drove women to aid in the war effort?

U.S. government used propaganda of all sorts to make women work in factories. Broad
range of media was used to portray this propaganda such as "posters, radio programs, magazine
articles and advertisements"(Mathis, 1994 ). This propaganda portrayed women with greasy
hands and overalls working in factories. One of the more famous propaganda created by the
U.S. government was of Rosie the Riveter.

Women During World War 2

Source: J. Howard

Miller (1944) Rosie

the Riveter.

Retrieved From:

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Rosie-the-Riveter-1944-Posters_i988779_.htm
Rosie the Riveter was the most famous piece of propaganda, it was essentially the Uncle
Sam of women. It encouraged 6 million women to take up jobs in industrial plants while all men
were off at war. All this propaganda had a central theme which concentrated on women's
emotional and patriotic appeals. The patriotic appeal had two aspects, the positive "do your part"
approach and the negative "a soldier may die if you don't do your part" warning (Mathis, 1994).
The main slogan for this campaign was "The More Women at Work-The Sooner We'll Win".
World War 2 was a competition on who could produce the most weapons. With Japan and
Germany having a 10 year head start amassing weapons. The United States had to pick up the

Women During World War 2

pace if it wanted to win and women were the key to success. By December, 1941, 12 million
women had been employed and 6 million of them worked in manufacturing weapons for men out
at war. In 1944 16 million women had joined factories and was aiding the war effort in any way
they could.
War bond propaganda was also used by the U.S. government to win the war. War bond
posters usually depicted a mature women with some sort of feminine charm and slogans dealing
with sacrifice, safety or the future. The posters were supposed to portray to the viewer a feeling
of guilt, causing them to contribute more to the war effort. These posters invoked guilt that other
women had sacrificed their husband or son to the war or just simply that men weren't getting
protected right due to the lack of funds in the government. Posters also portrayed the sacrifice of
married women who were left alone to care for the children after losing their husband in the war.
Many people who viewed these posters thought buying war bonds was a small sacrifice to pay
compared to losing a loved one to the war. Another purpose this type of propaganda served the
U.S. government was to get people to invest in the future. Made people think of the Great
Depression that happened before and to assure that they have money saved up in the banks for
after the war is over. As mentioned before some posters had to do with the safety of our troops.
Propaganda with the face of a soldier and the caption "Do with less- so they'll have more" was to
make people not waste their money on luxuries because their troops were going to lack supplies
on the warfront. This added more guilt to the public in the sense that instead of spending money
on themselves, spend money on war bonds to aid the men fighting.

Women During World War 2

War bond propaganda showing a mother who lost her husband at war.
American Women, World War ll and Propaganda. (2010) War Bond Posters. Retrieved from:
https://uki16.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/igaveaman.jpg
Rationing posters were also used as propaganda in the U.S. not as heavily as in Europe
where war was at its worst. America joined the war in 1941 which gave it no time to stockpile
supplies like Germany or Japan did. The Office of Price Administration was created to prevent
inflation in the economy and to start a rationing effort. So that all Americans not just the rich
have enough food. This type of propaganda was directed to women at the head of the household
who were left back at home by their husbands or fathers. Posters of young male soldiers that
look poor and hungry were used to send a sense of blame onto the viewer for not rationing.
Rationing was primarily for women as they were the ones to cook food for the family. They

Women During World War 2

were told to can any food as to make it last the longest possible. Rations books and stamps were
also given out throughout the country to keep food supply in check.

What roles did women have during World War 2?

After men left to go fight in the war a lot of jobs were left for women to fulfill. Due to
the lack of men, women had to work in public transportation. Women who drove a streetcars for
public transportation were known as "conductorettes" . They also volunteered for war related
organizations and defense plants. In households women "became proficient cooks and
housekeepers, managed the finances, learned to fix the car, worked in a defense plant, and wrote
letters to their soldier husbands that were consistently upbeat." (Stephen Ambrose, D-Day, 488).
Ladies didn't just do household and civilian jobs, they also joined the armed forces to aid
their men in the battlefront. General George Marshall supported First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's
idea of creating a women's service branch into the Army. Although no combat positions were
given to women, 350,000 enlisted and served in the Armed Forces. Congress instituted the
Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, which was later changed to Women's Army Corps. WAC had
full military status, and by 1945, 100,000 WACs and 6,000 female officers were enlisted. The
Navy also had their own women's branch named Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency
Service (WAVES). Coast Guard and Marine Corps shortly after created a women's branch as
well. Not many people recognized the war effort from the Women's Airforce Service Pilots
(WASP) branch. These women were the first to fly American military aircrafts, ferrying planes
from factories to bases and transporting cargo. To even participating in simulated strafing and
target missions. 1000 WASPs served in World War 2, 38 of them losing their lives in the line of
duty.
Women in the armed forces also took up office jobs to free men to fight. They took on

Women During World War 2

the tasks of driving trucks, working as laboratory technicians, repaired airplanes, radio operators,
and analyzed photographs. Other women worked on the frontlines as nurses in the Army Nurse
Corps. 16 were killed by direct enemy fire, and 68 captured as prisoners of war in the
Philippines. After the war 1,600 nurses were awarded for their bravery under fire and
meritorious service.

What were the conditions in women industrial jobs?

For this question I will be using a primary source, which is an interview from Time
magazine on Margaret Bourke-White. Margaret is the first accredited woman photographer to
fly on a combat mission during World War 2. She spent some time in Gary, Indiana in 1943
where she was writing and photographing for an article for LIFE magazine about the chronicles
of women in steel factories. Margaret quoted about the women she saw working "some
completely unskilled, some semiskilled, and some requiring great technical knowledge, precision
and facility." (2014) By this she was talking about the women working at the steel factories.
The LIFE magazine that was published on August 9, 1943 had Margaret's article quoted
"Although the concept of the weaker sex sweating near blast furnaces, directing giant ladles of
molten iron or pouring red-hot ingots is accepted in England and Russia, it has always been
foreign to American tradition. Only the rising need for labor and the diminishing supply of
manpower has forced this revolutionary adjustment." (1943) With that being said conditions
were unsafe due to the fact that some workers were unskilled and having to use blast furnaces or
ladling molten iron and making ingots.

Women During World War 2

Women welders, Gary, Ind., 1943.

Margaret Bourke-WhiteThe LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images. (1943)
Retrieved From: http://time.com/3623449/women-of-steel-life-with-female-factory-workers-inworld-war-ii/

How were women treated after the war?

After the end of the of World War 2 all men came back to their homes and took up their
previous occupations before the war had started. This drove out all women from manufacturing
and industrial jobs that they were holding. This era after war was a time of prosperity and peace
which led to the generation of the baby boomers. With all the men being back at home and
having had missed their wives during war time, created a huge amount of pregnancies in one
year. Thus giving creation to the generation known as the baby boomers. Due to this, women
were expected to go back to being housewives and caring for the children. The 1950's was an
era where gender inequality was at its peak. Women were portrayed as "stupid, submissive,

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Women During World War 2

purely domestic creatures." (Catalano, 2002). Feminist organizations like the Woman's Club of
Winter Park were places where women aimed to "Advance the social, civic, educational, and
moral welfare of Winter Park, and also to seek cooperation with other similar clubs to promote
knowledge of and interest in the work of women throughout the state and nation." (George,
2013).
A welfare state in the United States created more job opportunities for women due to the
post-war reconstruction effort. Some of these jobs created were National Health Service for
nurses, cleaners, clerical staff, banking, textile, and light industries. Electronics expanded and
provided opportunities for women in clerical, secretarial, and assembly work as well. Though
jobs were created, inequality was not achieved. Women worked for lower wages, segregated by
gender at the workplace. Women campaigned for equal pay throughout the 1950's, teachers and
civil servants were the first to win equal pay. This only applied to these jobs in particular as it
was the same job for men as well. Jobs like secretaries, cleaners, typists were seen as "women"
jobs making the wage lower. It wasn't until 1968 where women who sewed Ford car seat cover
went on strike in Dagenham. They were angered at the fact that they were getting paid 13
percent less than males because sewing is less skillful than working in the assembly line. This
strike caused multiple strikes to happen all around the country leading to the Equal Pay Act that
was passed in 1970. It was applied to public and private sectors where men and women did
similar work.

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Women During World War 2

Conclusion
In conclusion, this literature review has covered four main questions about the women
who served and aided in World War 2. These ladies deserve the right to be the equal of a man.
They were able to give their sons, husbands, and fathers to the war in return for nothing. They
were able to keep America running economically without most of our men. Brave enough to
joined the armed forces and serve right next to our men on the battlefield. Taking up manly jobs
like welding, making planes, munitions, tanks, boats, smelting iron into ingots. Having the
perseverance to fight for equality in such a male controlled government. Women have shown
men that they can do just as good of a job as they can. If it weren't for the millions of women
that aided in World War 2, America wouldn't have its freedom today.

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Women During World War 2

References
Cosgrove, B. (July 15, 2014) Women of Steel: LIFE With Female Factory Workers
in World War II. Retrieved from http://time.com/3623449/women-of-steel-lifewith-female-factory-workers-in-world-war-ii/
History.com, Staff. (2010). American Women in World War II. Retrieved from
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii

The National WWII Museum. (Accessed Oct. 10th 2016). American Women in
World War II: On the Home Front and Beyond. Retrieved from
http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/ata-glance/women-in-ww2.pdf

Derbyshire Record Office, Northamptonshire Record Office, Nottinghamshire

Archives. ( accessed Oct. 10th 2016) Women at War: The role of women during
WWII. Retrieved from http://www.mylearning.org/women-at-war-the-role-ofwomen-during-wwii/p-3973/

Mathis, S. (1994) Propaganda to Mobilize Women for World War II. Retrieved
from http://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/publications/se/5802/580210.html

American Women, World War II and Propaganda. (2010) Rationing Posters.

Retrieved from https://uki16.wordpress.com/rationing-posters/

American Women, World War II and Propaganda. (2010) War Bond Posters.
Retrieved from https://uki16.wordpress.com/war-bond-posters/

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Arts & Humanities Research Council, University of Leeds, University of Lincoln.

(Accessed Oct. 12th 2016) Post World War II: 1946-1970 Retrieved from:
http://www.striking-women.org/module/women-and-work/post-world-war-ii-19461970

K, George. (April 13, 2013) Gender Roles In A Post-War America. Retrieved from
http://social.rollins.edu/wpsites/thirdsight/2013/04/13/gender-roles-in-a-post-waramerica/