Ww2 American Women
The lives of American women were significantly changed both in good ways and
bad, during and after the era of World War II. Although World War II was, and still
is today, considered an unforgettable tragedy, there were many benefits to the war
because of the advantages it gave to women at the time. The war gave women the
benefits of new occupational opportunities, fashion changes, and changes of views
towards women. However, amidst all these benefits, their lives were affected in
some bad ways as well, such as the cause of family life hardships, constant labor,
and loss of occupations after the war. One factor of women s lives that changed as a
result of World War II was fashion. It all began with the invention of nylon in 1939.
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Once World War II began, America was in desperate need of workers, so this gave
women a food chance to find high paying jobs. For example, about 350,000 women
were able to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. There was an
increase of job offers for women ranging from service pilots, military doctors,
politicians, factory workers, and participation in the Armed Forces (Yellin 112,
299). 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 ( History 1). If there is one person to
thank for the new job opportunities, it is none other than the famous Rosie the
Riveter. This well known fictional woman served not only to promote the changes of
fashion during the war, but was also used as a tool for recruiting women to work,
especially in the Armed Forces, and it was a success. In movies, newspapers,
posters, photographs, articles, and even a Norman Rockwell pained Saturday
Evening Post cover, the Rosie the Riveter campaign stressed the patriotic need for
women to enter the work force and they did, in huge numbers ( History 1). Women
began to get involved in organizations women in the earlier years were never
imagined to work as such as the Women s Army Corps (WAC) and Women s Air
force Service Pilots (WASP). More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S.
aircraft industry in 1943, representing 65 percent of the industry s total workforce
(compared to just 1 percent in the pre war years) ( History 1). World War II offered
women a chance to be more involved in the military and any high paying occupation
that was considered too manly before then, because of the wider range of job offers (
History