Women's+Role+in+Industry

Name: Sharon O'Neill Age: 22 Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Occupation: Factory Worker Relationships: Single Ethnicity: White Birthday: June 21, 1925

This war has brought me many mixed emotions. While I am deeply saddened that my father and brother have been called away for military service in Europe, I am also happy for the sudden opportunity women have been given in the industrial workforce here in America. When the war began, many worried that the Selective Service System that sent our men to war would cause our country to not have enough workers to meet it's military and industrial needs. However, by 1944 nearly 18 million workers had found labor in war industires, and I am proud to say that more than 6 million of these new workers were women (Danzer 565). I believe that the large amount of propaganda that told women that it was their "patriotic duty" to go to work influenced many women to join the work force. Below this entry is popular picture that was used as propaganda for women in the work force. We called the woman in the poster "Rosie the Riveter" and she became kind of a symbol for all women in industry ("A Call to Arms" 1). I think that at first the war industries did not believe that women could handle factory work, something crazy like we didn't have enough stamina for the job.We really proved them wrong. We showed that women could operate welding torches and riveting guns just as well as the men could, and many employers hired us in large numbers (Danzer 565). Others, however, were less willing to have women work for them. I remember when a friend of mine went to apply for a job at an airplane manufacturing plant, and the employer told her that he refused to hire women! I even heard that other companies will not allow women to work jobs previously "assigned to men". I find it strange that our husbands, our brothers, and our sons are fighting for equality and human rights overseas, yet the women who work to help run this country are still discriminated against at home ("A Call to Arms" 1). To make matters worse, many employers, including my own, pay women only 60% the amount that men would make for the same exact job, but I’m not complaining. Prior to the war, I made only $24 a week at my old job. Now, however, I’m being paid nearly $40 a week at my new job at the factory! It gives me a great sense of pride and freedom now that I am making my own money without having to rely on the support of the other men in my family ("Women's Roles" 1). With the combined efforts all of the women now working in industries all over the country, I know that we will win this war. Our tireless efforts and our commitment to serve this country will surely pull this nation through these hard times. It is the responsibility of women to help those fighting overseas, and I know that soon enough our soldiers will return home.





__Works Cited__

"A Call to Arms." __Women and World War II__. 24 Oct. 2007. <[|http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~cg3/pagetwo.html>.]

Danzer, Gerald A, et al. __The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century__. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005.

"Women's Roles During World War II." 2002. 24 Oct. 2007 .