ipl-logo

Women's Roles In Ww2

1005 Words5 Pages

For centuries, women had been seen as stay-at-home-mothers and housewives. They were seen as not being equal to men. Higher education for women was accepted among their peers but not in the workforce. Cut off from their own means of income led many women to ration food and other staples at home. Women learned to feed a family on what little food was available. However, war was aproaching for America in 1939-1941. A revolution was about to occur in which the role of women would be changed forever.
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, a beautiful sunny day in Hawaii, the sounds of fighter planes and bombs rang out. The fear among all would soon be near as the news of Pearl Harbor's attack by Japanese fighter planes was announced. Disruption for …show more content…

Limitations were put on women’s opportunities for religion, race, class, sexuality and age. As the war continued, the women on the home-front stayed busy with numerous activities. In the community women raised money for war bonds. They raised children and often mourned for those whose lives were lost. These activities would keep the women busy, not being able to focus on the reality of home life. Food and supply ration was on a high. Women weighed less and children were suffering from hunger. All while the women in the war zone were becoming prisoners of war (POW’s). Some women, like Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth, would take pictures of themselves and send to the men in the war zone. These women became personal pinup girls and played an important role in men's lives in the war, as the pictures reminded them of life before the war and left them to believe life on the home-front was normal.
A group was organized called the United States Organization (USO), women volunteers were used as entertainment for the servicemen. This kind of work was not to challenge men’s masculinity, but to appear as uncompetitive with the men. The women’s selflessness would make the men happy and hold order in war (The War …show more content…

Women of color with limited training, were endured racial slurs and physical attacks in factories, while getting paid less than white women. These women found their biggest challenge being between work life and home. Women at this time was encouraged to treat all jobs as a war job. Many saw feminization as an employment ranking, as well as a risk to employers. Employers had man concerns of safety for the women workers. These concerns led to Women in War Industries established by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins (The War 1941-1945). This would become a great force for all women across the country. Health and beauty needs would be added to work place environments for women. Soaps and sanitary supplies in restrooms were now being provided. This comfort would not be used to ensure a women’s place but merely to ensure a women’s stay in the workforce.
Also in 1943, the United States Marine Corps Women Reserve (USMCWR) was established by Eleanor Roosevelt for those women who volunteered to go into the war zone. These "Angels of Mercy" nurses and care givers would now have the opportunity to have uniforms, march in formation, and be promoted. This would mean women were considered part of the military. As women into all-male positions, discrimination against women would once again become an issue. Men were afraid women would become "mannish". Lesbian rumors began to circulate (The

Show More
Related

How Did Harriet Truman Contribute To The Civil War

2320 Words | 10 Pages

Women from the ages fifteen to at least forty---five, volunteered to provide services to the war in anyway deem necessary. The idea of women fight alongside the men in battle was viewed as abnormal. The main job or contribute the women made were designated to serve as nurses or in some cases, as doctors and to provide aid to the wounded and sick. Young women would be an inspiration to the unit. These women

Read More

How Did Ww2 Change Australian Women

1098 Words | 5 Pages

When the men went off to fight in World War II, women took over their jobs to aid the war effort by joining organisations which allowed the men to be recruited into the war as soldiers. For the

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Navajo Code Talkers

1512 Words | 7 Pages

The world they left was gone forever. After all, the women, children, and age stricken men were left home as the young men left for the war. The high demand for war goods resulted in the need for active participation of everyone 's help. Therefore, women were encouraged to take part and help for the sake of the war.

Read More

Essay On Women's Role In Ww2

825 Words | 4 Pages

Compared to World War 1 women’s roles drastically changed as they played a more active and important role in World War 2 than World War 1. During World War 1 women were expected to be 'housewives' or to do certain 'women's jobs', such as nursing, to be a domestic servant or a shop assistant. The government also discouraged the women who wanted to involve themselves in some kind of military services. However, in World War 2 it soon became clear that the war was going to demand much more than the government had expected. This changed the world of work for women forever.

Read More

Did Women Challenge The Social Norms Of The 1920s

1170 Words | 5 Pages

The jobs were more varied than before as women were no longer being shielded from the war and its hardships. Many organizations did not allow for women to work as soldiers, but they were telephone operators in America, also known as “Hello Girls” (“Women During World War I”). Women were taking bigger steps towards equality and challenging the social norm of women being housewives by working the jobs traditionally meant for men, while successfully creating a stable Homefront and workforce for the war. There were still restrictions as women could not to work abroad or on board ships as they were not thought to be trained enough to be near battle (“Women During World War I”). Though not all women could work, others became volunteers, which was “of central importance to middle class women” (“Campbell”).

Read More

How Did The Revolutionary War Affect Women

752 Words | 4 Pages

Wives, mothers, and daughters, of Patriot soldiers were left to operate businesses and keep up with the duties of farms. Other women followed their soldiers to the battlefield. Though their presence around the army men was oftentimes controversial - they were commonly regarded as nuisances - having women around to clean and cook, along with being companions, benefited the American army. Women that wanted to fill the boots that their husbands left, or step up to the plate on their own, would disguise themselves as men so they could participate in battle. Post-war women’s roles were seemingly regarded the same as they had been before.

Read More

The United States War Manpower Commission's Expectations For Women During WWII

508 Words | 3 Pages

During World War II, the United States drafted many American men for national defense. In fact, over the course of said war, more than 10 million men were instated – most of them joining the military (Vergun). Thus, many jobs became open when men were suddenly sent overseas, providing women, who were the ones mostly left in the country, the responsibility and opportunity to fill those empty positions. The United States War Manpower Commission’s wartime poster from 1944 entitled “Women : There’s Work to Be Done and a War to Be Won... : Now!” conveys the progress of women’s involvement outside traditional domestic spheres and their growing societal importance as their contributions in maintaining the country’s industries were crucial during WWII.

Read More

American Women After Ww2 Essay

677 Words | 3 Pages

The soldiers could not have gotten through the war without the emotional support from the woman. The site acknowledges “faithful women doing volunteer work to support the war effort, keeping home fires burning, waiting for their men to return... Certainly, during the war the women obligingly did their "duty" -- they wrote letters to their husbands, brothers, and friends; they attended USO dances and talked to lonely soldiers. But there is no denying that there was a new sense of freedom. ”(Strom and Woods).

Read More

Women's Role In Ww2 Essay

2069 Words | 9 Pages

Women first began their entrance into the workforce during the era of World War II. On December 7th 1941, the United States entered the war after the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor. Japan launched a surprise attack on a U.S. naval base in Hawaii, in which they destroyed naval vessels, airplanes, and killed more than 2,400 Americans. The attack on Pearl Harbor united most Americans in agreeance to go to war finally, after remaining isolationist for so long. Though the lost lives, destruction of ships, docks, and airplanes were devastating, the attack was what the United States needed in order to be pushed into the war.

Read More

Unbinding Revolutionary Women

885 Words | 4 Pages

Women were well suited for providing nourishment and necessities for the army due to their skills obtained by their accustomed housework. “...the American army often recruited the many female camp followers to fill these jobs” (Brooks 2013, para. 17). They had slowly began to achieve recognition in society, especially war. It was then, that woman had begun to silently “protest” on having the same equal opportunity as men. During the war, women created a role for themselves to side amongst the male soldiers: a secret soldier.

Read More

African American Women's Role In Ww2

1248 Words | 5 Pages

The Second World War was the source of both destruction and change. While millions of soldiers fought and died in the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific, American women in the home front had experienced a newfound liberation. As the men left, the positions and jobs they held opened the opportunity for women to work. This changed the lives of women around the country as mothers and daughters could now earn a living. American women played a pivotal role in World War II, they were industrial workers, nurses, and caretakers.

Read More

Women's Roles In Ww1

1796 Words | 8 Pages

As the men had been, women were drafted into the roles that their men had vacated. Due to the war, many jobs had been created as part of the war effort. The high demands for weapons created factory jobs that manufactured ammunition. This was an important job, being that the military needed weapons to fight. There was resistance to the idea of women entering the workforce, and taking on the jobs, that were seen as “men’s work.”

Read More

Womens Role In Ww1 Essay

894 Words | 4 Pages

The war had provided a variety of employment opportunities for women and the most common job for women was at home, working in factories and filling in positions for their husbands, fathers, and brothers in their absence. Although the highest demand for workers were in previously male-dominated

Read More

Women's Roles After Ww2

1178 Words | 5 Pages

As the war was demanding more and more soldiers, more men had to leave work and join the war. This resulted in the government recognizing that women were needed to work and were open to do jobs once only considered for men. Usually if a women took a man's job it was seen as immoral and was considered stealing that job, but as more and more men were needed the argument of it being wrong for a woman to take a man's job no longer no could stand. And so jobs which were once cut off due to it being "too physically hard for them"(ergo.slv.vic)these jobs ranged from "train cleaners, bus conductors, volunteer police women" (mylearning), some of these jobs even helped in the war, like "making uniforms, weapons and ammunition," (ergo.slv.vic) a large influx of jobs were now open for women going from welding to farming. Even on the front-line, nursers were risking their lives.

Read More

American Women During World War 2 Essay

848 Words | 4 Pages

American Women during World War 2 had many responsibilities at war, work, and home. But they did not have many equal rights compared to the rest of the society. The women’s rights and responsibilities topic is very interesting. One is understanding and knowing the history about the responsibilities women had to do and how hard working they were. This topic is very important because there was a big change in women’s rights and responsibilities during World War 2.

Read More

More about Women's Roles In Ww2

Related Topics

Open Document