1939 TO 1945 THE IMPACT OF WWII ON WOMEN BY: LIZ BOBRO, JUSTINE FOWLER, & LINDSAY WEBB

PRE-1939 “woman were created to be man's helpmeet, but her unique role is in conception... since for other purposes men would be better assisted by other men." Thomas Aquinas, 13th-century Christian theologian

PRE-1939  24.3% of woman in America were gainfully employed 30% of these woman were employed within domestic or personal service. Of professional woman ¾ were school teachers or nurses.  Woman were regarded as being a creative source for human life and wifehood. thepaintedwoman.blogspot.com

Woman and war times

 Women during WWII had hard laboured jobs, which was something that was never seen any time before. blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu

 Woman worked laborious jobs such as welders, shipyard workers, and line operators for the first time.  Women filled the more traditionally male type jobs blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu

 25.4 percent of all women over the age of fourteen worked.  A large number of woman still worked in the domestic fields.  30% of woman worked in clerical or sales work  20% in factories work  20% in domestic work  10% professional work ( teachers, nurses)  10% service work  10% other  Almost 300,000 American women served in the Army and Navy  Also the rate of babies born to unmarried women increased by 42% from 1939 to 1945.

Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States, she represents American women who worked in factories during World War II /ig/World-War-II-Rosies--Pictures

THE HOMEMAKER  Women during WWII were expected to preserve everything for the war effort, for example they were told to walk with groceries instead of driving to preserve rubber.  During this time women had to balance being a homemaker and the primary breadwinner.  They had to adjust to ration points and rationing food, on top of learning how to do the work they were being placed into. tlocalchallenge.com/images/2008/07/31/of_course_i _can_wwii_poster.jpg&imgrefurl= lchallenge.com/2008/08/community

POST-1945 kraftymomkai.blogspot.com

 Most woman who were conscripted into war work, lost their jobs to men returning from the war  Immediately after there was an emphasis on family life and women's roles as homemakers.  Women married young and began having children which created the baby boom. POST-1945 dailyobsessional.blogspot.com

POST-1945 Lasting Effects  Woman relied much less on their husbands  Divorce rates skyrocketed  Woman held higher paying jobs compared to pre wartimes.  It wasn’t until the 1960’s that a real change was seen for woman in certain demographics.

 "Working Women in the 1930s." 1930's Lifestyles and Social Trends. Gale Cengage, eNotes.com Jan, 2011  February 28th,  orld_War_2_have_on_women_in_America orld_War_2_have_on_women_in_America j RESOURCES