Entry #8: The Women of WW2

CHAPTER 4:

     "When bombers got back to their base, the steel cylinders were taken from the racks and shipped back to the United States of America, where factories were operating night and day, dismantling the cylinders, separating the dangerous contents into minerals.  Touchingly, it was mainly women who did this work." (page 74-75)

     In the U.S. the role of women became more independent after World War I.  They worked as secretaries or nurses or shop assistants, etc.  However, even though women showed that they were capable of more than housework, society's view of them did not change after the war and many went back to housework when the men reclaimed their old jobs.  The same is true for what happened during WWII, however, this time it helped ignite the women's rights movement of the 1950's and 60's.

     With men unable to man the factories women stepped up to help.  They worked on assembly lines helping to create a variety of war supplies such as weapons, uniforms, ammunition, etc.  They also joined the army, becoming nurses, pilots, spies, etc.  Women had a vital role in WWII that is usually overlooked.  Although the government encouraged women to take over the jobs of the men that left, their opinion of them did not change after the war ended.  Women were expected to, as many did after WWI, to return to the housework.  Society still refused to recognize their value outside of the home.  However, many women were not of the same opinion.  During the Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's women would gain the right to vote, hold public office, and all of the rights that had been denied to them previously.