Women played an important roles during World War II throughout the world; they gave their time, energy, and some even gave their lives. The War also transformed women's roles in the workplace and society, but for many, it did not last forever. Many had to do work that men did before the war. However, most of the works needed professional and outstanding skills. Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform, volunteering for numerous reserves and corps. They drove trucks, repaired airplanes, worked as laboratory technicians, served as radio operators, and flew military aircraft across the country. After the war ended, even though majority of women wanted to keep their jobs, many were forced out by men returning home.
Women during the war became nurses, cost guards, sold war bonds, telephone operators, anything that needed to be done. When the men left for war the women stepped into to every role. Women's hard work showed that they were not as fragile as men believed and they were capable of everything a man could do. A large part of America's success in the war is attributed to the work of women. The work of women also helped convince President Wilson to support women's rights.
First, the men joined the military. Thirty-eight percent were volunteers and sixty-one were drafted. (BY THE NUMBERS: THE US MILITARY). Since the men where away at war, women were allowed to move into the job field. Although, many people objected and thought that they should on be at home with the children.
As a result of the war women were forced into the workforce due to many of the men being away at war. Many women had to run the family farm and work in factories and stores due to the reduced workforce. This provided an opportunity for women to obtain new job skills and change the belief that a woman’s place was in the home. Also, World War I provided an opportunity for women to enlist in the military as nurses and as part of the Naval Coastal Defense Reserve. Women participation in the labor force was helpful in the women’s suffrage movement that eventually gave women the right to vote thru the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
To start off women played an important role in the revolution while the men fought at war. Women took jobs like shipbuilding, blacksmiths, carpentry, or weavers. Others transformed homes into hospitals for the wounded, and some sewed uniforms and stockings for the soldiers. One woman who dared to join the army was Deborah Sampson.
So, as seen in source 4, women were needed to work and contribute to the war effort. They were needed as teachers and taxi and bus drivers and a lot more types of jobs. Every job that men had left, the women needed to fill. This resulted in a change in the role of women. They were now able to do more, which impacted women’s rights and roles for the years during and after the war.
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.
World War II positively affected women by giving them new opportunities both in the workforce on the homefront and in participating in the war. It somewhat negatively affected African Americans as their migration to the Midwest provided them with new job opportunities, yet resulted in racial tensions rising majorly. With men fighting in World War II, women made employment gains on the homefront. With the draft, many male Americans were enlisted in the military and couldn’t work, making many worry
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.
With the steady increase in gaining nobility of women’s equality, began the war effort, which was beneficial for the fight of gender equality. It illustrated women as important figures, and strong contributors to the world around them. Women during World War 1, contributed significantly by sewing socks and clothing for the men and providing money to promote and give assistance to the war effort, while still nurturing children and maintaining their set housewife duties. Although, some women during World War 1, were sent to work in factories to keep the economy stable, while others served as nurses to provide aid for the wounded soldiers.
Prior to World War II, women’s role in the US was “increasingly limited to family responsibilities within the domestic sphere - particularly maintaining the home and child care” (Laslett 3). Child rearing was a domestic issue, to be dealt with at home. However, with the increasing need for labor during the war, women stepped out into the workforce. As more and more mothers began working, the lack of caregivers for children led to the realization that daycare centers were an important part of the war effort.
During World War II, women believed in authoritarian attitudes and behaviors (Peterson & Zurbriggen, 2010). Women’s and men’s roles were defined, and there were basic attitudes about male and female relationships (Peterson & Zurbriggen, 2010). People were encouraged to adhere to conventional moral values, people were submissive to established authorities, and people were willing to aggress against people if they were perceived as unconventional or threatening (Peterson & Zurbriggen, 2010). In that time frame, people had reasons to believe that moral strictures about sexual behavior and sexual partners. People adhered to conventional beliefs, and were more likely to hold convention attitudes about sexuality (Peterson & Zurbriggen, 2010).
After the start of WWI, changing the role of women became a huge favorable change for the society. In the December of 1941, Britain put into place the second National service act, and therefore, Britain became the first nation to conscript women in the world and it gave them a part in the conflict in the making of history (hubpages). They had organizations such as the FANY-First Aid Nursing Yeomanry,- and VAD-society of female volunteers which was part of the effort toward war. New jobs opened up for women through ads in newspapers, which included tram drivers, postal workers, police patrols, chemical manufacturers, munition workers, typists, and many more. Counter argument: Some might argue that the roles of women did not change much due to
The Great War was a horrible catastrophe which led many men and women to sacrifice their lives. It was described as “the war to end all wars”, which was a global disaster and many troops were excited to join the war and fight for their country. The Great War originated in Europe and lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918. In this time Canadian women contributed enormously. They donated their own time to the production of munitions, as nurses on the front lines, fundraised for the war effort, and maintained their homes and farms.
But what is rarely mentioned is all the behind the scenes work women were responsible for while men were off fighting in the military. The war disrupted their ordinary lives, and the everyday roles men were employed in needed to be filled. Women throughout the United States assumed untraditional roles to so that life would continue, now being involved in politics, factories, businesses, commanding the household, and helping during
Women were starting to expand in the workforce because most men were at war. The jobs that women did during the war mostly included; engineering, working in munition factories, and public services, such as police, firefighters, postal workers, etc. Items like rubber, food, and gas were being rationed Tanks were first introduced in world war one. These heavily armoured vehicles could withstand enemy fire and shot explosive