Beyond Rosie: Women in World War II - Kennesaw State University

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Beyond Rosie: Women in World War II Three ‘Into the Factories’ Time Required 1 – 2 Class Periods PAGE 22 Overview: Men leaving to fight in World War II created a labor shortage in industries in the United States. To fill this void and maintain the United States’ industrial and economic strength, the government looked to women as a source of labor. Women entered traditionally maledominated jobs in armaments, farming, and industry in unprecedented numbers. At least 6 million women in the United States answered the call from the government, which used propaganda posters and film to convince women to contribute to the war effort. Propaganda served an important purpose in women entering the work force, and slogans such as “Women in War – We Can’t Win Without Them” began to appear. These propaganda posters usually displayed pretty, well-dressed women and downplayed how hard and gritty the work would be. The idea was to convince women that they could be feminine and still be valuable to the war effort. Women faced several obstacles, including prejudice in the work force, doubt from their husbands and male workers, and even a lack of confidence in themselves. At first, in 1941, only women who were already in the labor force made the change to wartime production. Eventually many women, both black and white, left domestic jobs that paid as little a $14 a week to work in shipyards and factories for as much as $37 a week. The government hoped that girls graduating from high school would put off college to work in the factories. Millions of unmarried women and later married housewives, answered the call of the government. Women riveted, welded, built airplanes, trains, and ships, worked in offices as typists or secretaries, made clothing for soldiers, and even worked on farms in food cultivation. Through the help of women, agriculture as well as industry thrived during the war. In armaments industries, women packed parachutes and made guns, bombs, and other weapons to help the American troops. Women working in airplanes helped to weld, work on engines, fix propellers, and riveted the metal together. Similar duties were performed by women working in shipyards. Almost 50% of women in the United States worked during the height of wartime production between 1943 and 1944. At first, more married women worked than single women. At least two-thirds of these women worked due to necessity before the war and shifted to high paying jobs during wartime while the remaining one-third were housewives before the war. Despite these changes, however, the government continually reminded women that once the war was over, they would return to their pre-war occupation.
Beyond Rosie: Women in World War II Learning Objectives: • Critically evaluate the different reasons for women entering the workforce. • Understand the impact of World War II on women’s changing employment. • Analyze the impact that entering the workforce had on women during this period. • Critically evaluate the experience of minority women in World War II. Materials Needed: Pens/pencils, paper, computer with internet access, projector Introduction: 1. Discuss with the students the different types of work that women did during the war. Emphasize that the jobs varied both geographically and in required skill levels. 2. As a class, analyze the famous 1942 J. Howard Miller image of Rosie the Riveter attached (Source 13) and discuss what this primary source tells us about women’s role in the workforce during World War II. 3. Split the students into small groups and ask them to discuss why they think this image of Rosie has come to symbolize all women workers during the war, despite the diversity of experience of women. 4. Have each group present and explain their answers to the class, and as a class discuss the enduring legacy of Rosie the Riveter as a symbol of women’s involvement in the workplace. Part 1: Reasons for entering the workplace 1. As a class, view the first 5 minutes of the film, “We Can Do It: Women During WWII” http://www.nationalww2museum.org/education/for-teachers/women-during-world-warii.html. 2. Discuss this film segment as a group and discuss the different motivations that women had for entering the workforce during the war (patriotism, economic necessity, high standard of living, a more challenging environment). 3. Ask the students to write a persuasive piece outlining the different reasons that women entered the war, and to argue for the reason that they think is most important. Additional research can be conducted at: www.nps.gov/pwro/collection/website/rosie.htm Teacher’s Guide PAGE 23 Part 2: Analyzing a personal narrative 1. As a class view Jane Tucker speaking about her experience in World War II, located on the Museum of History & Holocaust Education’s website: www.kennesaw.edu/historymuseum/traveling_women_war.shtml (11:21 minutes). 2. After viewing this video, ask the students to answer the following questions: • Why did Tucker join the workforce in June 1943? • What work did Tucker do in Savannah, GA? • What differences did Tucker note between her previous work and her work in the Savannah Shipyards? • What were the conditions like for Tucker while she was working?
Page 1: Teacher’s Guide Museum of History
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Beyond Rosie: Women in World War II - Kennesaw State University

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