Once the war began the United States did not have enough workers to help the military and industrial needs, and so 6 million women pursued work in factories; women boosted to work force by 35%.. At first factories were reluctant to hire women because they did not not think they had enough stamina, but the women proved them wrong.
Women faced much prejudice with other minorities and their wages were 40% less than men. They also took up journalism and other male professions during the war, such as photography, to document the work being done by the army. A lot of women worked in defense plants, which offered more challenging work and higher pay. The women built ships, aircraft, vehicles and, weaponry.
On top of working in factories women were also in charge of taking care of the house while the men were fighting the war. Mothers who had lost sons in the war effort put up banners with gold stars for every son or husband lost; they became known as Gold Star Mothers.
Rosie the riveter became a cultural icon for women who worked in the factories in world WWII.
More than 59,000 American nurses worked in army nurse corps, which lowered post injury, mortality rate. Propaganda posters encouraged women to join the force in order to support their soldiers.
World War 2 provided an opportunity for women to show the country what they could do. They helped their country and made our victory against the Axis powers possible.
