Women in the New York Navy Yard During WWII
Beginning with the aggressive recruiting methods utilized to bring them in, and ending with the return of men from the war -- especially veterans -, women became extremely active in the working force during World War II. This was evident at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where four thousand and six hundred women were employed. Even though they remained employed for up to six months after the war, eventually men did return to their positions, leaving only women veterans still qualified to hold a position there. However, the focus of a speech on this matter by Dr. Sparr was the activity that occurred during these women's employment.
A total of 71,000 were employed at this navy shipyard; but out of this total, only 4,600 were women. At no time did the total of women exceed 8% of the shipyard's overall population. The shipyard itself was named the New York Navy Shipyard, however a campaign was started to change it to the Brooklyn Navy Shipyard due to its location. This shipyard was the world's largest industrial employer. The Maine and Missouri were built there, and the Monitor ship was fitted there. Some of the buildings within the shipyard were ones that remained from the Civil War period. Prior to World War II, only 120 women were employed at the shipyard, and their sole occupation was to sow United State Flags.
This would all change in 1942, when six million people entered the labor force during the war. The New York Navy Yard built fighting ships, which lead to the recruit of women to their work force. Women began committing to jobs where they welded and riveted. Women in overalls became the attractive ones, and the center of romanticism. The ideal employee at the shipyard was a single, older woman, who could work six days a week for duration of nine to ten hours. In the "first class" of women workers, twelve African-Americans resided among them. Among these twelve, one secured the highest civil service test score ever achieved, a score of 99.
During their time at the New York Navy Yard, women received the same treatment as men. There were many female ship fitters. In May of 1943, there were 1,080 women welders. The shipyard once fused two destroyers that had many bad parts into one good ship. Accomplishments like this are what brought on their nickname, the "Can do navy yard.
For Philadelphia, the shipyard was a place that they could always count on for employment. There was always a need for people to work there and for the most part, the people of the city took advantage of that. There was a certain vibe within the city and the nation that the shipyard would always be there and would always be able to provide work. Former Secretary of the Navy, Francis P. Matthews once wrote, “I have every confidence that one hundred and fifty years from today Americans will repeat this solute to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard when it celebrates three hundred years of distinguished service to the fleet and to the nation.” Not even a half century later, Matthews prediction was proven to be
During the time of 1940-1945 a big whole opened up in the industrial labor force because of the men enlisting. World War II was a hard time for the United States and knowing that it would be hard on their work force, they realized they needed the woman to do their part and help in any way they can. Whether it is in the armed forces or at home the women showed they could help out. In the United States armed forces about 350,000 women served at home and abroad. The woman’s work force in the United States increased from 27 percent to nearly 37percent, and by 1945 nearly one out of every four married woman worked outside the home. This paper will show the way the United States got the woman into these positions was through propaganda from
World War Two was the period where women came out of their shells and was finally recognized of what they’re capable of doing. Unlike World War One, men weren’t the only ones who were shined upon. Women played many significant roles in the war which contributed to the allied victory in World War Two. They contributed to the war in many different ways; some found themselves in the heat of the battle, and or at the home front either in the industries or at homes to help with the war effort as a woman.
Sorensen, Aja, Rosie the Riveter: Women Working during World War II. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/pwro/collection/website/rosie.htm, (n.d.)
Life for women was expanding because the men were at war and some one had to step up and be both the man and woman in their household. Both men and women were going into World War II because the war was so big that in 1942, The Women's Army Corps (WAC) and Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES) were created. After two these organizations were accepted, The United States government then allowed women to serve in the U.S. Navy. Women back in the United States worked in factories, hardcore jobs and became the main focus of society when it came down to the entertainment industry. Through out the 1940's, the number of women in the working rose by 35 percent. Harvard University found that from 1930 to 1950 participation rate for married women 35 to 44 years old in the work force increased by 15.5 percent. Only 8 percent of workers were married in 1890. Plus, the number of married woman workers in 1930 rose from 26 percent to 37 percent in 1950. The average married woman that was working was more educated than the average married
Male workers found a new competition for their jobs as women upheld them during the war. Some men even went on strike to force women off the job, while officials in New York informed twenty women judges that "they had simply been hired as temporary wartime help." One of the more positive ideas of the war was the flourishing wealth to the American economy. Factory output grew more than thirty-three percent from 1914 to 1918. Because many men were off at war, the civilian workforce grew. Over 1 million people joined the work force from 1916 to 1918, mostly made up of women and blacks.
World War II was the largest and most violent armed conflict in the history of mankind.
During World War II, this belief changed; women now had to be an essential part of the workforce. Women were desperately needed to replace men at work while they were off fighting the war. Essentially, World War II opened the gates to female work outside the home and redefined women’s role in the paid employment industry. The Second World War redefined Canadian women’s work in the factories as well as typical male jobs. This time period allowed white women and black women to find a place in the workplace.
Many factors affected the changes in women’s employment. The change that occurred went through three major phases: the prewar period in the early 1940s, the war years from 1942-1944, and the post war years from around 1945-1949. The labor shortage that occurred as men entered the military propelled a large increase in women’s entrance into employment during the war. Men's return to the civilian workforce at the end of the war caused the sudden drop to prewar levels. The cause of the sudden decline during post war years of women in the paid workforce is unclear. Many questions are left unanswered: What brought women into the war industry, ...
Tolman, Steven A. "1941 Women Take Over Factory Work during World War II." Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Prometheus Labor Communications, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
The article was published on February 6, 1943 in the midst of World War II. Women had become an asset to the war effort and were then considered "At Home Soldiers" or "Riveters". They worked in the factories constructing submarines for the Navy, planes for the Air Force, and became medics.
In 1943, not only had the female population contributed exponential numbers in support of the war but women had begun to dominate. Reports indicate that more than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry; this made up more than half of the total workforce. Prior to this moment in history, women’s involvement in the aircraft industry was merely one percent. Despite the manifestation of Rosie the Riveter propaganda and the continuous push to recruit women, they still were not granted equal pay for their services.
During the war, men were off fighting for America, and the women were left behind to take over their jobs in the factories. Women proved that they can do almost all of the same jobs as men. Rosie the Riveter, a picture of a woman flexing with a caption of “We Can Do It,” became the symbol for women all across the nation. After the war, years later, women began to receive equal pay for the same jobs that the men were doing. Many other minority groups, such as African Americans, played a huge
During America’s involvement in World War Two, which spanned from 1941 until 1945, many men went off to fight overseas. This left a gap in the defense plants that built wartime materials, such as tanks and other machines for battle. As a result, women began to enter the workforce at astonishing rates, filling the roles left behind by the men. As stated by Cynthia Harrison, “By March of [1944], almost one-third of all women over the age of fourteen were in the labor force, and the numbers of women in industry had increased almost 500 percent. For the first time in history, women were in the exact same place as their male counterparts had been, even working the same jobs. The women were not dependent upon men, as the men were overseas and far from influence upon their wives.
When the war began men had to leave their families and jobs behind. World War I was a complete war because all of the world’s assets had to be used and the entire nation’s population was involved. Anyone that had the ability to work had to work. The women had to take up jobs and went through a lot changes in order to support their families during the war. World War I gave women with the chance to have a significant part in the victory of the war which had an impact them and changed the lives of all women forever.