Women in WWII
World War II marked a retreat from the existing notions of women's capabilities and proper roles. With the men gone at war, women had to take over the work force. Government propaganda encouraged women to do their patriotic duty by leaving their homes and entering the workplace. At the wartime peak in July 1944, 19 million women were employed. This was an increase of 47% over the level in March of 1940. For the first time, married women outnumbered single women in the work force. Women over thirty-five made up 60% of the increase in the labor force. Girls between 14 and 19 added another 17.3% to the total (Anderson 4). Women took over the common jobs of building ships and planes, becoming lumberjacks, train conductors, steelworkers, and drill press operators (Rappaport 224). Patriotism was only one of the many motivations for women to sign up for work. Economic necessity, the excitement and challenge of work, the need to cope with the loneliness and anxiety caused by having their husbands and sons overseas, a disaffection from housework, a desire for more social independence, the sense of purpose accompanying productive work, and other such personal considerations complemented the desire to help in the war effort. Seat
The long - awaited American victory was finally accomplished in August 1945. People took to the streets in celebration, but the stresses of returning to peacetime living hampered their joys. The imperatives of wartime had created vast changes in American Society. With the dismantling of the war machine came the very real possibility of limited job opportunities and a substantial decline in the standard of living for many Americans. The postwar period was especially important for women, who had experienced vast changes in their daily lives as a consequence of the war. The position of women in the postwar economy was further undermined by the widespread belief that working women would quietly and willingly withdraw from the labor force to make way for male job seekers. Irene Murphy, Secretary of the Detroit Day Care Committee, said "'Americans continue to cling to the fantasy that women can always be dispossessed of their jobs - that they don't need to work"' Some women had planned to quit the work force once the war was over, and had only worked for patriotic reasons. A survey by the Women's Bureau revealed, though, that 75 percent of the women employed in 1944-1945 planned to continue working (Anderson 159-164). Rappaport, Doreen. American Women Their Lives in Their Own Words. HarperCollins De Pauw, Linda. Founding Mothers. Houghton Mifflin, New York. 1993. Another problem with the war was the unbalanced ratio of women to men. Men became a scarce and valued commodity for many young women. The growing popularity of going steady among teenagers, the rise in teenage marriages, and the revisions of standards of sexual conduct among younger women were all cultural expressions of this wartime phenomenon. In a marriage - oriented but male - scarce society, getting and retaining male attention and approval became an even greater preoccupation for many girls and women than it had been before the war. The desperation of many women to find a man was displayed in their outrageous attempts. For example, Seattle served as a servicemen's center. Because the large number of military personnel in the area offered a solution to the male shortage in the resident population, the area became a magnet for young girls seeking relationships. They were often runaways who had arrived penniless. Marriage thus remained an important focus for women's aspirations during the war years, despite the demographic and labor force changes that were occurring (Coles28-22). Rooke, Patrick. Women's Rights. Wayland, London. 1989.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Eleanor Straub, Seattle Star, Women's Bureau, War II, Josephine Bucklin, Labor Board, Paul Mcnutt, American Society, Lanham Act, Care Committee, labor force, women force, family life, women employed, black women, child care system, women postwar, war effort, refused hire, de pauw, conventional attitudes,
Approximate Word count = 1899
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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