The 1940s provided a drastic change in women’s employment rates and society's view of women. With the end of the Depression and the United States’ entrance into World War II, the number of jobs available to women significantly increased. As men were being drafted into military service, the United States needed more workers to fill the jobs left vacant by men going to war. Women entered the workforce during World War II due to the economic need of the country. The use of Patriotic rhetoric in government propaganda initiated and encouraged women to change their role in society. Yet, at the end of the war, the same ideas that encouraged women to accept new roles had an averse affect on women, encouraging them to leave the workforce. The patriotism promoted by propaganda in the 1940s, encouraged Americans to support the war effort and reinforced the existing patriarchal society. Propaganda's use of patriotism not only increased loyalty to America during the war, but also, increased loyalty to the traditional American patriarchal values held in society. 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, ... ... middle of paper ... ...ck, Sherna Berger. Rosie the Riveter Revisited. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1987 Hartmann, Susan M. The Home Front and Beyond: American women in the 1940s. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1982 Honey, Maureen. Creating Rosie the Riveter. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1984 Koussoudji, Sherrie A. and Laura J. Dresser. “Working class Rosies: Women Industrial Workers During World War II” The Journal of Economic History 51.2 (June 1992): 431-446 Meyerowitz, Joanne. “Beyond the Feminine Mystique: A Reassessment of Postwar Mass Culture, 1946-1958” The Journal of American History (March 1993): 1455-1482 Mies, Maria. Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale. New York: St Martin’s P, 1998 Nichols, Nancy A. Reach for the Top. Boston: Presidents and Fellows of Harvard, 1994 Williams, Raymond. Keywords. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979
“There was much more to women’s work during World War Two than make, do, and mend. Women built tanks, worked with rescue teams, and operated behind enemy lines” (Carol Harris). Have you ever thought that women could have such an important role during a war? In 1939 to 1945 for many women, World War II brought not only sacrifices, but also a new style of life including more jobs, opportunities and the development of new skills. They were considered as America’s “secret weapon” by the government. Women allowed getting over every challenge that was imposed by a devastating war. It is necessary to recognize that women during this period brought a legacy that produced major changes in social norms and work in America.
The role of women in American history has evolved a great deal over the past few centuries. In less than a hundred years, the role of women has moved from housewife to highly paid corporate executive to political leader. As events in history have shaped the present world, one can find hidden in such moments, pivotal points that catapult destiny into an unforeseen direction. This paper will examine one such pivotal moment, fashioned from the fictitious character known as ‘Rosie the Riveter’ who represented the powerful working class women during World War II and how her personification has helped shape the future lives of women.
World War II affected the workforce of men and women in different ways, men were drafted to war while women took their place in factories and workyards. Patriotism influenced women into working while the men were at war. Once at work, women were convinced to go to work by the economic incentives, the women learned about the nonmaterial benefits that come with working such as learning new skills, contributing to the public good, and proving that women can do the jobs meant for men just as good as the men could do the work (1940s.org). Women in the 1940s were hesitant to join the workforce, that was until Norman Rockwell’s fictional character “Rosie the Riveter” inspired multiple women to join the workforce to help dedicate their services to the war. The creation of “Rosie the Riveter”lead to, many other images of “Rosie” to help bring forth volunteers for the
When all the men were across the ocean fighting a war for world peace, the home front soon found itself in a shortage for workers. Before the war, women mostly depended on men for financial support. But with so many gone to battle, women had to go to work to support themselves. With patriotic spirit, women one by one stepped up to do a man's work with little pay, respect or recognition. Labor shortages provided a variety of jobs for women, who became street car conductors, railroad workers, and shipbuilders. Some women took over the farms, monitoring the crops and harvesting and taking care of livestock. Women, who had young children with nobody to help them, did what they could do to help too. They made such things for the soldiers overseas, such as flannel shirts, socks and scarves.
Wartel?s Senior Comps, Hired and Fired: The Effects of World War II on Women?s Employment in the United States Compared to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, 1938-1948. no date URL http://www2.kenyon.edu/people/wartelse/essay.html accessed 16 March 1999.
As a result of World War II beginning, quick marriages became the norm. All the teenagers would get married before their men went overseas to war. Later on, after women started receiving their own wages, they would start feeling even more important and patriotic than ever before. This made many of their families feel very proud. In contrast, an atrocious conflict caused by Hitler, is that he mocked the Americans for putting their women to work. He said that the role of German women was to be good wives, mother, and have babies. However, the Americans still didn’t give up, especially the women- this was important because the work had to be done no matter what. The women continued to work and kept on moving
I have always been inspired by the workings of chemistry and mathematics. My studies of these subjects have developed my understanding and have made me pursue my interest in these two topics. I want to take up chemistry as it involves a large amount of mathematics which I value and understand to be challenging, yet very enjoyable, as there is always an alternative route to obtain the answer. Additionally, I am drawn to the course because it is a mixture of all these exacting subjects, forming a degree that is very demanding and stimulating. Chemists are constantly thinking of new ways to produce viable drugs containing different isomers to improve the pharmaceutical sector using mathematical equations. Chemistry is about innovation, applying information to new areas and how to do things better than they were before, the degree appeals to and fascinates me.
The 1940’s was an interesting and critical time for the United States of America. World War II began in the late 1930’s and moved on into the 1940’s. The United States Army joined in 1941 and “when the United States entered World War II, every aspect of life in America was affected by the conflict” (The 1940’s). New opportunities arose for women because of all the men out at war, so women had the chance to show off their skills and capabilities. They operated machines in factories and worked with heavy artillery. If a person did not fight the war for their country, they made weapons for the brave soldiers. This caused a drastic increase in the growth of the economy in the United States.
The film titled, “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter”, looks at the roles of women during and after World War II within the U.S. The film interviews five women who had experienced the World War II effects in the U.S, two who were Caucasian and three who were African American. These five women, who were among the millions of women recruited into skilled male-oriented jobs during World War II, shared insight into how women were treated, viewed and mainly controlled. Along with the interviews are clips from U.S. government propaganda films, news reports from the media, March of Time films, and newspaper stories, all depicting how women are to take "the men’s" places to keep up with industrial production, while reassured that their duties were fulfilling the patriotic and feminine role. After the war the government and media had changed their message as women were to resume the role of the housewife, maid and mother to stay out of the way of returning soldiers. Thus the patriotic and feminine role was nothing but a mystified tactic the government used to maintain the American economic structure during the world war period. It is the contention of this paper to explore how several groups of women were treated as mindless individuals that could be controlled and disposed of through the government arranging social institutions, media manipulation and propaganda, and assumptions behind women’s tendencies which forced “Rosie the Riveter” to become a male dominated concept.
Considered as one of Shakespeare's most intriguing plays, Othello, displays social power in society and the dominance of men over women. Through the story, various personalities are introduced and the female characters show their worth and how they have the ability to illuminate society despite being looked down upon by many. Women are portrayed as nothing but objects and are dehumanized. They are expected to obey the commands of their husbands and remain meek at all times. Despite all the standards women have to live up to, they are powerful figures and contribute to the betterment of society even though their efforts are often overlooked. The role of women and gender representation Othello illustrates women as powerless and submissive figures,
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.
During the Great War and the huge amount of men that were deployed created the need to employ women in hospitals, factories, and offices. When the war ended the women would return home or do more traditional jobs such as teaching or shop work. “Also in the 1920s the number of women working raised by fifty percent.” They usually didn’t work if they were married because they were still sticking to the role of being stay at home moms while the husband worked and took care of the family financially. But among the single women there was a huge increase in employment. “Women were still not getting payed near as equally as men and were expected to quit their jobs if they married or pregnant.” Although women were still not getting payed as equally it was still a huge change for the women's
All through history, the role of women and their place in the general public has tremendously changed. William Shakespeare’s Othello was established during a time period where the role of women and their collective value were downgraded in the Venetian and Elizabethan era. During the Venetian era women were dominated by their sexual orientation. The Venetian era had a patriarchal society. In a patriarchal society, the father is the head of the household and men have authority over women and children. During the Elizabethan era the conduct toward women was vicious. Women were considered second class citizens. Males only consider women as possession, who is obligated to remain submissive and meek. Additionally, women are expected to be quiet, obedient to male figures, and chaste. Women were either considered a good wife or a whore. There are only three women in Othello; Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. Desdemona is the passive wife of Othello who has a quite idealistic take on life and marriage. Emilia is the cynical, perceptive women who seem to have a bitter take on her marriage to Iago. Bianca is portrayed as the whore of the play, and she has relations with Cassio. Although, each woman varies in roles and personality, they all had a common trait; they lived in a patriarchal society and suffered together. Each of them live in a society where it was ideal to think women were psychologically and physiologically inferior to men, however in reality each of them knew their role in society.
In Elizabethan England, a woman’s character was frequently attributed to societal expectations of their gender. William Shakespeare’s Othello presents women, namely Desdemona and Emilia, as women who were not limited by their gender. As someone who lived in Elizabethan England, Shakespeare could have easily portrayed the men and women as stereotypical members of that society. That would mean that the women would be depicted as inferior to men, expected to obey the will of the men in their lives, and act delicate and submissive whereas the men’s role was to hold power and authority over women. Shakespeare kept the mold of the men virtually the same but created women who would additionally possess strength and self-respect. By being more than
Shakespeare connects the behavior of women from his Elizabethan society to a Patriarchal Venetian society.