It wasn't just my brother's country, or my husband's country; it was my country as well. And so this war wasn't just their war; it was my war, and I needed to serve in it."1
Beatrice Stroup's comment resonated with many American women in World War II. As the war began, many women felt the call to support the American cause. However, deeply ingrained cultural norms triggered resistance to allowing women in male-dominated roles. Continue reading to see how American women pushed past societal implications and heeded the call to serve their country!
American Women in WWII History
The millions of American men serving in WWII left a significant employment gap that needed to be filled. Facing enormous resistance, women began filling the male-dominated workforce. Women served in various roles throughout WWII and would critically impact the war effort and women's equal rights for decades.
WAAC, WAVES, & WASPS
Fig. 1 WAAC Recruitment Poster
During WWII, American societal norms dictated that women were confined to a domestic role. However, with the urging of women's activist groups and Eleanor Roosevelt, Congress created the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) in 1942. The group was given full military status, with its' members becoming known as WACS. These women provided support in non-combatant roles at home and overseas. WACS served as clerk, radio operator, air traffic controller, electrician, and various other positions. In 1945 over 100,000 women were working for WAAC, with 6,000 officers.
Though we now take the idea of women in the military for granted, in the 1940s, it was a vigorously debated suggestion. Men protected their country; women stayed at home. Because of conflict over whether women should serve in the army, Congress compromised by creating the Women's Army Auxillary Corps (WAAC), whose impact still resonates today."
-Yashila Permeswaran, The Women's Army Auxillary Corps
Fig. 2 1940s Recruitment Poster for WAVES
The Navy had a similar service for women known as Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). Thousands of women served in a variety of roles helping from clerical jobs to performing instructor roles for pilots. Unlike WAAC, WAVES did not initially serve overseas. Though the sub-branch of the Navy was deemed progressive, it did not offer African American women any role in the service until President Roosevelt demanded full integration.
Did you know?
Over six million women entered factory jobs during the war, three million volunteered with the Red Cross, and more than 200,000 served in military roles!
Fig. 3 Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS)
Due to a severe pilot shortage, America scrambled to fill the gap with female trained pilots. The Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) was created in 1943, with only 1,074 out of 25,000 applicants making the cut. These women were not part of the military but instead civilian employees and were the first women allowed to fly military aircraft. Pilot training for WASPS mirrored their male counterparts, excluding combat training. Overall, WASPS flew various aircraft from the P-38 to the B-24 and ultimately became flight instructors. The WASP service was not celebrated then, and it took almost 70 years for the group to be recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010.
Famous American Women in WWII
Throughout the Second World War, the American government utilised advertising and promotions to drive female recruitment.
Fig. 4 "We Can Do It" Rosie the Riveter Poster
Rosie the Riveter
The model for Rosie the Riveter has been debated over time, but the idea of Rosie sought to encompass all women during WWII. The character of Rosie became the center of a female recruitment campaign throughout the war and would remain one of the most memorable images of working women.
Hundreds of thousands of women worked in factories in WWII. The aircraft and munitions industries specifically saw a surge in female workers. Even with the importance of females in the workforce, they were paid half of what their male counterparts received. Though women were not treated equally during the war, society could no longer ignore women in the workplace, and their roles would continue to grow in the decades to come.
Did you know?
Mae Krier, an original Rosie the Riveter, is pushing Congress (as of 2019) to set March 21 as Rosie the Riveter Day of Remembrance!
Marilyn Monroe
One of the original Rosie the Riveters, Marilyn Monroe, known as Norma Dougherty, helped serve in WWII, working for $20 a week at a WWII defense plant known as Radioplane. David Connover visited the plant to take pictures for an article when he suggested Dougherty look into modeling. Soon after his suggestion, she changed her name to Marilyn Monroe and dyed her hair. In 1946 she became a successful model and eventually went on to become a famous actress.
Contributions of American Women in WWII
Women's roles and contributions throughout WWII are often minimized, even though their bravery would impact women's rights for decades. Some of the most critical impacts women had during the war were:
- Millions of women became wage earners during WWII, and many took advantage of opportunities not previously offered to them. Even though women were not paid as much as men, they still earned more than they were accustomed to before the war.
- The government ensured women knew that their services would only be needed for the duration of the war. However, women would cement their place in the military through units like WAAC, WASPS, and WAVES.
- The jobs and roles that women took reshaped the pre-war cultural norms. American societal norms would never go back to where they were. Working women laid crucial foundations for women's equal rights and other civil rights movements.
Similarities with African American and American women in WWII
Fig. 5 25th Station Hospital Unit in Liberia in 1943
Working women faced deep cultural stereotypes throughout the war embedded in American society. Both African American and white women worked to support the war effort through military, volunteer, and industrial roles. Fears arose that women working in male-dominated spaces would become too masculine. Women were encouraged to wear makeup and dress in feminine apparel to ease these fears to maintain male morale. African American and white women faced cultural stereotyping, but African American women encountered incredible discrimination when entering the wartime workforce. Even with President Roosevelt's mandate to integrate the military, African Americans faced astonishing opposition.
While many posters pictured white Rosies, many working Rosies were African American.
Roles of African American Women in WWII
Though the military was segregated for most of the war, minority men and women played critical roles in WWII. African American women, in particular, struggled the most to secure positions in military industries. If they could find a job, they found that white women were either unwilling or not fond of working with them. Almost 7,000 WAAC members were African American and were placed in the 6888th, a separate unit, in 1944. African American women's organizations rallied to support soldiers fighting in the war and volunteered at the YMCA and Red Cross.
Did you know?
Charity Adams completed WWII with the ranking of lieutenant colonel and would be the highest-ranking African American woman in the war!
Important American Women in WWII
Playing an integral part in the war effort, the role of women in the Second World War was not limited to just factories and industry.
Fig. 6 Female worked inspecting gun shells
Working Mothers
During the war, women entered the workforce in droves and successfully worked in male-dominated roles. However, working mothers faced harsh criticism for leaving their domestic posts to help support the war effort. Eleanor Roosevelt tried to help transition women into the duality of their new roles and pushed to have the federal government to open childcare facilities. While the Community Facilities Act of 1942 established several childcare facilities, it was insufficient to keep up with the demand. While mothers continued to work throughout WWII, society would attempt to push them back in domesticity at the war's end.
Did you know?
Concerned with making women too masculine, some factories gave women workers lessons on how to apply their makeup appropriately!
Women in the Military
Freeing up men for combat, thousands of women directly joined the military. These women worked as nurses, flight mechanics, performed clerical duties, drove trucks, and flew planes. Some women were even captured and killed in combat.
Congress had established WAAC in 1942 after heated debate and assumptions that "women generals would rush about the country dictating orders to male personnel and telling the commanding officers of posts how to run their business." 2 WAAC eventually ended its auxiliary status and women received the same rank, benefits, and pay as their male counterparts. However, despite this advancement, the army continued to deny nurses the same benefits as WACS.
Did you know?
There were ninety-eight recorded columns of debate amongst Congress when discussing the establishment of WAAC!
American Women during ww2 - Key takeaways
- The severe employment gap left by soldiers going to war needed to be filled, and facing cultural stereotypes, women began to fill the male-dominated workforce.
- Despite resistance, Congress established the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps. WACS served as clerks, radio operators, air traffic controllers, electricians, and other positions. Other military branches also had all-female units, such as WASPS and WAVES.
- Though all women faced social resistance to working, African American women were met with cultural stereotypes and segregation but continued to play critical roles throughout the war. For example, many "Rosies" were African American women working in military industries. These women also supported soldiers by volunteering at organizations such as the YMCA and Red Cross.
- Women made sweeping impacts in furthering equal rights for women.
- They became wage earners, making much more than they did before the war (but not equal to their male counterparts)
- They reshaped cultural norms by establishing their place in the military and American society.
- These women laid the foundation for women's and civil rights movements.
1. Yashila Permeswaran, 'The Women's Army Auxillary Corps: A Compromise to Overcome the Conflict of Women Serving in the Army.' The History Teacher, Vol 42 (Nov. 2008), pp. 95-111
2. Melissa Ziobro, "Skirted Soldiers": The Women's Army Corps and Gender Integration of the U.S. Army during World War II
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