Women
Roosevelt's Support
Roosevelt recognized the need of female labor in the workforce, as shown in a speech made on October 12, 1942:
"In some communities, employers dislike to employ women. In others they are reluctant to hire Negroes. In still others, older men are not wanted. We can no longer afford to indulge such prejudices or practices." He also complimented the labor of the women in the workforce at the time of the speech: "As I told the three press association representatives who accompanied me, I was impressed by the large proportion of women employed—doing skilled manual (work) labor running machines. As time goes on, and many more of our men enter the armed forces, this proportion of women will increase. Within less than a year from now, I think, there will probably be as many women as men working in our war production plants." |
FDR making a speech
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Propaganda
A large portion of the propaganda created during WWII was directed at women. With most of the job-holding men enlisted, their jobs had to be taken by their wives or other young women. The most famous propaganda was Rosie the Riveter. She was actually partially based on a real female munitions worker, but became largely fictionalized as the propaganda spread. Propaganda was generally aiming to encourage women to take men's jobs and free the men for service.
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Women workforce
Before WWII, the percentage of women who were in the workforce was around 27%, but during the war, it shot up to 37%. For a different comparison, 12 million women were working before the war, and it was 18 million during the war. The aircraft industry saw the largest swell of women. During WWII, it went from 1% female workers to 65%. The workforce in its entirety also saw a swell in married women - which had previously been nearly absent from industries.
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Women making aluminum shells during WWII
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A woman being taught to use a milling machine
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Treatment of Working Women
The women often had to work tedious, unskilled jobs, and they were not paid accordingly or treated well. A woman received about half the pay that a man would in the same position, and was often excluded from positions of power or decision-making. Sometimes the working married women were criticized for leaving their children alone, which was believed to lead to juvenile delinquency.
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Role of Women - Post WWII
"Women did change. They had gotten the feeling of their own money. Making it themselves. Not asking anybody how to spend it."
~Naomi Craig, a WWII worker After the war, men tried to force women back into their "job" as the caretakers of the home and children. Women had gained more acceptance as viable workers, but society was quick to remind them of their former roles. Despite this, women had gained independence and confidence in their abilities to work outside the home. As Dr. Sharon H. Hartman Strom, a historian wrote, "The genie was out of the bottle and couldn't be put back in." The number of working women would continue to rise at an unprecedented rate after WWII. |