The History of Women's Work Essay Example

With men always getting preference for jobs, there were very few left for women. Not only were most occupations reserved for men but, they were also paid 5 times higher for the same tasks the women did. Before WWII about a quarter of women worked outside of the home. Much of the work was done by single women or minorities.  For African American women and women who were born in different countries; they didn’t have a choice to work but, instead, they had to survive. In some states, it was illegal for married women to work. The typical role of a woman during this time was to be a wife and a mother and take care of the home and the children and that was their job. They had the role of maintaining their duties for their family and children, such as cleaning, caring for the house, cooking, and tending to her husband. Women did these chores with very little help and would do these chores for up to 18 hours a day. 

In 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed and, the United States joined a war they said they would stay out of for two years. 50 million men from the United States were sent to war. Everything the United States and the World knew was about to change. Thus, brought the new age of women working out of the home.

In 1942, the war raged on in Europe as the song "Rosie the Riveter" was broadcasted across the home front, and a large manufacturer commissioned artist J. Howard Miller to make a series of posters to promote the war effort. One of his posters featured a woman wearing her hair wrapped in a red scarf, rolling up her sleeve, and flexing her bicep, at the top of this poster it states, "We Can Do It." Many people think that this is "the" Rosie the Riveter" but, it was never the intention to make this image "Rosie" and many citizens at that time did not think of this poster as "Rosie." The "Rosie" that was popular during the war was created by Norman Rockwell for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in 1993. This image depicts a muscular woman, wearing overalls, pins of honor, and goggles. She sits with a riveting tool in her lap, eating lunch with "Rosie" inscribed into her lunch pail. She is sitting on a copy of Adolph Hitler's book "Mein Kampf." These posters illustrated women working in previously male-dominated jobs. The government took advantage of the popularity with Rosie and started making a campaign of the same name. The government produced more posters and films of women in the workplace to entice them to serve their country as part of the labor force.  

The jobs that women had before the war were receptionists, secretaries, store clerks, and many more jobs than weren’t considered as grueling as men's jobs. During the five years, the number of employed women grew from 14 million in 1940 to 19 million in 1945, rising from 26 to 36 percent of the workforce.  Women were recruited for many jobs that would previously be considered too hard for them such as welding, machine repair, operating tractors, and other large engines. They made uniforms, weapons, and ammunition, they built trucks, tanks, and airplanes. They also took on both white and blue-collar jobs, such as taxi drivers, steelworkers, construction workers, lumber workers, government workers, etc. Women also served in dangerous roles in the U.S. military, around 350,000 women served in the military during WWII. Women in uniform took most clerical duties as well as nursing jobs. Working mothers were forced to make difficult choices during wartime. Many chose the 2nd shift or night shift so they could see their children during the day. In some states, social workers and school staff made allegations that women entering the workforce wanted additional income and evade the responsibility of children. These mothers were not seen as patriotic.    

Minority women faced challenged during WWII. Many African American women struggled to find a job in the defense industry, and they found that white women were unwilling to work alongside them. Many white women were welcomed with open arms into the labor force.But, Latino and African American women were turned away from decent jobs or earned less than their white counterparts. Many African American women were also limited to lower positions with fewer responsibilities and less pay. Latinas also started to fill positions. Latinas could be very-low wage workers, and the U.S. industries took advantage of that. Many WOC joined the military as well, they did not always receive recognition. But, they worked in the armed forces as well as nurses overseas. As the war ended WOC returned home and wanted to be welcomed as heroes who served their country but, this was not the case. They were still discriminated against because of their gender and race; their military status did not change the perception of WOC in the eyes of white Americans. Many still thought of them as second-class, foreigners, and others.

After a long 4 years at war, the servicemen returned home. Employment for women and especially WOC decreased. Women workers were expected to give up their wartime jobs and go back to being mothers, sisters, and wives. Surveys were done around the end of the war always found that the majority of women war workers intended to continue working after the war. Although women wanted to keep their jobs they were forced out by the men returning home. African American and Latina women were the first to be let go. Then, the rest of their white counterparts. All of these working women were trying to keep their jobs, they loved the freedom that it gave them, but now that the war was over, employers were pressuring women to quit.

Now, that the war is over and men returned to their jobs.  The call for women was meant to be temporary for the war. Although women made a lot of progress during the war their roles changed again. Some women were okay with going back to the old way of life- but they left their jobs with new skills and more confidence. The war changed women's outlook on jobs and life overall. Men could no longer claim superiority over women and, women enjoyed financial and personal freedom. They wanted more.

Slowly, after WWII, women returned to the labor force because of the desire to work, consumerism, or economic necessity. By 1950 about 32% of women were working outside of the home and half of these women were married. It opened new opportunities for women and, it had been long assumed that women couldn't do jobs such as professions in the sciences, engineering, etc. The war allowed women to explore things that they could do without the backlash of society. WWII had solidified the notion that women were in the workforce to stay. They proved that they could hold high-paying, respectable jobs, and they could do it well.