American Women in World War II
American Women in World War II
[Link].
DuringWorldWarII,some350,[Link],bothathome
[Link],whoonMarch10,2010,were
[Link],widespreadmaleenlistment
leftgapingholesintheindustriallaborforce.Between1940and1945,thefemalepercentage
oftheU.S.workforceincreasedfrom27percenttonearly37percent,andby1945nearlyone
outofeveryfourmarriedwomenworkedoutsidethehome.
WOMENINTHEARMEDFORCES
Inadditiontofactoryworkandotherhomefrontjobs,some350,000womenjoinedtheArmed
Services,[Link]
groups,andimpressedbytheBritishuseofwomeninservice,GeneralGeorgeMarshall
supportedtheideaofintroducingawomensservicebranchintotheArmy.InMay1942,
CongressinstitutedtheWomensAuxiliaryArmyCorps,laterupgradedtotheWomensArmy
Corps,[Link],knownasWACs,workedinmorethan200non
combatantjobsstatesideandineverytheaterofthewar.By1945,thereweremorethan100,000
WACsand6,[Link],membersofWomenAcceptedforVolunteer
EmergencyService(WAVES)heldthesamestatusasnavalreservistsandprovidedsupport
[Link],thoughinsmallernumbers.
DidYouKnow?OnMarch10,2010,nearly70yearsaftertheyweredisbanded,theWomen
AirforceServicePilotsreceivedtheCongressionalGoldMedal.
OneofthelesserknownroleswomenplayedinthewareffortwasprovidedbytheWomens
AirforceServicePilots,[Link],eachofwhomhadalreadyobtainedtheir
pilotslicensepriortoservice,[Link]
ferriedplanesfromfactoriestobases,transportingcargoandparticipatinginsimulation
1
2016 ReadWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.
Article: Copyright 2010 [Link]. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
American Women in World War II
strafingandtargetmissions,accumulatingmorethan60millionmilesinflightdistancesand
[Link].Morethan1,000WASPs
served,[Link]
withoutofficialmilitarystatus,thesefallenWASPsweregrantednomilitaryhonorsor
benefits,anditwasntuntil1977thattheWASPsreceivedfullmilitarystatus.OnMarch10,
2010,ataceremonyintheCapitol,theWASPSreceivedtheCongressionalGoldMedal,oneof
thehighestcivilianhonors.Morethan200formerpilotsattendedtheevent,manywearing
theirWorldWarIIerauniforms.
ROSIETHERIVETER
Whilewomenworkedinavarietyofpositionspreviouslyclosedtothem,theaviationindustry
sawthegreatestincreaseinfemaleworkers.Morethan310,000womenworkedintheU.S.
aircraftindustryin1943,representing65percentoftheindustrystotalworkforce(compared
tojust1percentintheprewaryears).Themunitionsindustryalsoheavilyrecruitedwomen
workers,[Link].
Basedinsmallpartonareallifemunitionsworker,butprimarilyafictitiouscharacter,the
strong,bandannacladRosiebecameoneofthemostsuccessfulrecruitmenttoolsinAmerican
history,andthemosticonicimageofworkingwomenduringWorldWarII.
Inmovies,newspapers,posters,photographs,articlesandevenaNormanRockwellpainted
SaturdayEveningPostcover,theRosietheRivetercampaignstressedthepatrioticneedfor
womentoentertheworkforceandtheydid,[Link]
tothewareffort,theirpaycontinuedtolagfarbehindtheirmalecounterparts:Female
workersrarelyearnedmorethan50percentofmalewages.
2016 ReadWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.
Article: Copyright 2010 [Link]. All rights reserved. Used by permission.