Ep. 01 – Rosie the Riveter & The Women of WWII

The Riveting Rosies Podcast — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Corissa:

U.S. got involved in WW2 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which led to a shortage of workers, primarily white men
Push from U.S. government to recruit new workers to jobs in the war industry (AKA the Home Front), used Rosie the Riveter for propaganda
Created a whole campaign around Rose in print media to recruit women to the Home Front. Popular image at the time by Norman Rockwell (published in the Saturday Evening Post, May 29, 1943), but the image we know today was created by J. Howard Miller on a poster for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Song created in 1943 by Redd Evans & John Jacob Loeb called “Rosie the Riveter” led to the immortalization of her name
Total percentage of women in the workforce increased from 27% to 37% between 1940 to 1945; 1 in 4 married women worked outside the home as a result of the Rosie campaign
Aviation industry had the largest female presence on the Home Front, increased from the pre-war 1% to 65%
Munitions industry also heavily recruited women to aid American & Allied forces as part of FDR’s “Arsenal of Democracy”
Mass influx of workers to the industrial centers led to creation of “boom towns” across the country; many workers chose to stay after the conclusion of the war, changing the cultural landscape of the U.S.
Women in armed forces during WW2:
- WACs (Women’s Army Corps): partially created by Eleanor Roosevelt, established full military status for non-combatant positions in the U.S. and evey theater of the war. Began in 1942 with 200 jobs, and increased to over 100,000 workers and 6,000 officers by 1945. Additional efforts were created by the Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and the Navy, who established WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).
- WASPs (Women’s Airforce Service Pilots): women with pilot’s licenses prior to the war, the first women to fly military aircraft in the U.S.. Helped get planes and cargo from factories to military bases, also helped simulate missions. Racked up over 60 million miles in flight distance. Over 1,000 served, 38 lost their lives. Civil service employees, not given full military status until 1977.
Women’s role in the workforce was considered temporary; many women lost jobs or were demoted after the war. Pay received for their work was approximately 50% of male wages.
Working conditions were dangerous; more industrial casualties than military casualties from Pearl Harbor & D-Day Invasion combined
- High industrial casualties led to regulations to increase workplace safety
Large numbers of working mothers led to creation of child development centers and profession of early childhood development
Men & women of minorities also recruited to the Home Front, helped make significant impacts on Women’s Rights Movement and Civil Rights Movement in later years
Cohesive, patriotic sense of duty was created nation-wide. People of all backgrounds worked together towards a common goal and had to overcome differences.
- War bonds purchased, children collected recyclable materials and scrap, Americans grew 60% of consumed produce in Victory Gardens
- “Use It Up–Wear It Out–Make It Do–Or Do Without”
Women replaced men in sports, orchestras, community institutions
Rosie the Riveter/WW2 Home Front National Historic Park established in 2000, located in Richmond, California. Home to the most productive shipyard in WW2, produced 747 ships. 55 total war industries located here, several buildings still intact, as well as the SS Red Oak Victory, the last remaining Victory ship built within the shipyard.

Elise:

While World War II started in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, the United States didn’t enter the war until after Pearl Harbor was invaded on December 7, 1941. At this point, the US quickly employed an “all hands on deck” approach to getting involved in the international conflict. This meant they shipped supplies & men overseas as fast as they could. This left many jobs empty, which needed filling. For context,16 million US males were mobilized.

What I didn’t realize until researching this, is that some women actually started getting involved before WWII actually started. In 1938, the US Naval Reserve Act permitted qualified women to enlist as nurses.

However, once the US joined the war, women really became involved (or were able to become) involved. From 1940-1945, females went from making up 27% of the US workforce to ~37% of the US workforce. One of every 4 married women in the US were working outside the home by 1945.

Military:

Auxiliary branches for women were created for different branches of the military: Women’s Army Corps, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, & Women Airforce Service Pilots (these are the famous WASPs that we’ll cover in a future episode). Unfortunately, these women were still restricted from combat zones, which led many to become nurses to care for wounded troops.

Some women took more office & clerical military jobs, freeing up men to take combat roles. Other women worked as airplane mechanics, lab technicians, radio operators, test pilots, & more.

It’s important to note here that these women did not have “cush” jobs: they still worked near frontlines. Nurses were present in the early days of Normandy. 16 women in the Army Nurse Corps were killed by direct enemy fire. Nearly 70 were captured as Prisoners of War in the Philippines. These women even won awards & combat decorations.

Women also participated in the Manhattan Project, which was a research & development project that built the first nuclear weapons, yes including the atomic bomb. They were recruited from colleges & worked on several aspects of this project. And yet, they were still not given the opportunity to progress into leadership positions. Many women were not given credit for their contributions until much later, or even at all.

On the homefront:

As Corissa mentioned, many women worked on the homefront, including in war factories, agriculture, transportation, & clerical/office work.

Some of the most popular positions included working in aviation plants. According to Wikipedia, the skills that the women acquired from their “daily chores proved to be very useful in helping them acquire new skill sets towards the war effort.” Hence, why riveting was such a phenomenon – apparently their sewing skills prepared them extensively for riveting. But they also did a lot of other stuff too.

To the surprise of no woman ever (& I’m biased here), the women were found to be more competent than the males who traditionally worked these jobs. For example, the United States Department of Labor found that women were drilling 150% more holes than what the men would do. And yet they were still paid less.

Beyond the aviation industry, women worked in metal, steel, automobile, shipbuilding, bombs, & weapons plants.

In addition to work outside the home, women also volunteered extensively to assist the war effort. They grew & canned their own food with victory gardens, sold war bonds, donated blood, helped boost troop morale at home & abroad & much more.

In conclusion:

Throughout the rest of World War II, more than 6 million women took wartime factory jobs, approximately 3 million women volunteered with the Red Cross, & more than 200,000 women actually served in the military. In total, 19 million women worked on the homefront.

Through their work & volunteering, these women experienced new levels of independence, both financially & socially. In fact, most of these women desired to keep their new jobs, but almost all were laid off as men returned from overseas. Those who weren’t laid off were demoted & were paid less.

It really wasn’t until later in the 1900s with the Civil Rights Movement & Equal Pay Act of 1963, where women really began to work outside the home in large numbers.

One thing I found interesting is that apparently the Axis powers were very slow to employ women in the war effort. Hitler said German women should just be good wives & mothers & keep producing perfect little Third Reich babies.

Resources:

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