Women & World War II

Women in the Military

In 1940 Japan attacks pear harbor and the United states enters the second World War. In 1942 two groups were established for women. They include The Women's Army Corps (WAC) and Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). Also congress allows women to serve in the United States Navy. In 1943, an all girls professional baseball team was established.

 

 

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history/videos/ask-history-rosie-the-riveter

"During World War II, some 350,000 women served in the U.S. Armed Forces, both at home and abroad. They included the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, who on March 10, 2010, were awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal. Meanwhile, widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor force. Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945 nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home."


http://womenshistory.about.com/od/warwwii/a/women_work.htm
In Jone Johnson Lewis's article about Women in Offices, Factories, and Other Jobs during WW2, she states,"During World War II the percentage of American women who worked outside the home at paying work increased from 25% to 36%. More married women, more mothers, and more minority women found jobs than had before the war. Because of the absence of many men who either joined the military or took jobs in war production industries, some women moved outside their traditional roles and took positions in jobs usually reserved for men. Propaganda posters with images like "Rosie the Riveter" promoted the idea that it was patriotic -- and not unfeminine -- for women to work in non-traditional jobs. "If you've used an electric mixer in your kitchen, you can learn to run a drill press," urged an American War Manpower Campaign. As one example in the American shipbuilding industry, where women had been excluded from almost all jobs except a few office jobs before the war, women's presence went to over 9% of the workforce during the war. Thousands of women moved to Washington, DC, to take government office and support jobs. There were many jobs for women at Los Alamos and Oak Ridge, as the US explored nuclear weapons. Minority women benefited from the June, 1941, Executive Order 8802, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, after A. Philip Randolph threatened a march on Washington to protest racial discrimination. The shortage of male workers led to opportunities for women in other non-traditional fields. The All American Girls Baseball League was created during this period, and reflected the shortage of male baseball players in the major league."