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Free Essays - History Essays
WWII and Women
World War II was a time of turmoil in America and around the world. While fathers, sons, and brothers went to war, women in America were faced with new tasks and responsibilities they had never experienced before. Because of the conflict going on at the time, women stepped up and assumed new responsibilities, forever changing their role in American Society. Their patriotism and support during the war helped women have always been thought of as the “home makers” of their families, and until WWII, that’s the way things remained. They were expected to take care of the house and children, cooking, cleaning, and do other more traditional tasks. When the Second World War began, however, women’s roles drastically changed. With ten million men at war overseas, women had to fill their roles, if America was destined for success in the conflict. Soon, simple housewives became a valuable asset to America’s success in WWII.
Women were urged to join the American workforce and support the war. They were lured into working by messages that emphasized the importance of working jobs that were usually deemed “non-traditional” for women by society. By the war’s peak in 1944, over nineteen million women were employed, setting a record high for working females in America. However, many men still didn’t approve of women joining the labor force. Women discriminated against while applying for jobs, after they were told that it was their “patriotic duty” to do so. Many were not hired, and those who were received a salary lower than that of an equal male counterpart. The National War Labor Board attempted to equalize the treatment and pay of women in the workplace by employing an equal pay principle in 1942. These laws were seldom enforced, and the new “production soldiers” were forced to work over 48 hours a week, with only Sundays to rest.
Despite their unequal treatment in the workplace, women still kept working in order to support their country and their men who were fighting the war. Soon, former housewives were operating cranes and loading and testing firearms. Secretaries and waitresses found themselves making military uniforms and fighter jets. By 1940, 27% of women over the age of 14 were employed. That number rose to 35% by 1944.
Soon, female Americans took an active role in the Second World War. Women volunteered as workers for the American Red Cross. Some women became Military Welfare Staff, and were sent overseas. The recruited nurses provided medical care and kept the morale of the soldiers up. WACs also joined the effort overseas. The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) provided support roles in Europe and the Pacific. At first, these women were sent to fill mundane occupations so more men could go fight instead of working desk jobs, but their roles quickly evolved. Soon many women filled the positions of everything from radio operators to airplane mechanics.
A select few women even changed the face of flying during wartime. Over a thousand female pilots flew in WWII as a part of WASP (Women Air Service Pilots). Thirty-seven WASPs were killed and thirty-six were injured between 1942 and 1944. Though over 25,000 women applied to join the program, a select 1830 were chosen. At first, these women to intended to transport training aircraft, but soon they racked up millions of miles and had flown over seventy different airplanes. The group of 960 pilots was separated before they were able to be militarized.
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