In 1939, when the second world war started, there were only a little over 5 million women in the workforce in Britain. That number grew to well over 7 million after many men went to protect the world against fascism in 1943. The lack of men in the factories and other workplaces is what increased the need for women in the workforce. Not only did the women work in the factories but they also participated in the war, protected children, and farmed. Women in America took on similar duties and by 1943, the majority of people in the workforce were women. The second world war made a lasting impact on the gender equality of men and women in the workforce and at home. Women in Britain at the time of the war were ordered to work in the factories. …show more content…
In Britain, children were sent out of the areas that were in danger of being bombed. They were typically only sent with a minimal amount of resources such as one or two pairs of clothes. When they reached their foster homes, their clothes were often destroyed and unfit so the foster families shelled out their own money to dress, feed, and educate these children of war. In America, many mothers had to leave home to work. This created a need for care centers. The child care wasn’t free though so even though the women were earning a small percentage of what men typically earned, they had to pay 50 cents per child. The 50 cents would pay for a meal, snacks, and care of the child for the day. The centers that were built took care of about 130,000 children and by the end of the war, a minimum of 550,000 children had received some form of care from at least one of the centers that were built. Gender roles were also still firmly in place so men expected women to still do all of the housework after coming home from a 12-hour shift at a factory. Men also wanted women to go back to being housewives after the war ended. Eventually, the gender roles were changed due to the actions women took during the wartime which proved their abilities outside of bearing children, cooking, and