“Women and World War II.” University of San Diego. 19 April 2006. http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~cg3/outline.html

• With 10 million men gone to war, women had to help build the ships, tanks, and planes to fight Hitler. “A Call to Arms” S-top
• World War II was a war based on production. S-top
• Women were told it was their “patriotic duty” to join the labor unions. S-top
• By July 1944, 19 million women were employed. S-1/4
• S- top
• Women were still discriminated against and were rejected by employees. S-1/2
• Women were required to ration much of their supplies at home. “Wartime Roles” s-top
• Women made “Victory gardens” in their yards to produce vegetables themselves. S-1/2
• Women were unable to get many canned foods at home because of the steel rationing. S-1/2
• Roles in the home were very difficult for women during the war because they had to continue taking care of the home as if the war did not exist despite all of the rationing. S-bottom
• Many women had to take night jobs to contribute to the war effort. “Rosie the Riveter” s-top
• Men did not contribute much to helping around the house because they felt that they were doing their share by allowing their wives to work. S-1/2
• The war gave women a substantial amount of new rights despite being discriminated against in the work force. “The Effects of the War on Women.” S-top
• The discrimination the women faced was much less than what it was before the war. S-top

Wilson, Captain Barbara A. “Women in World War II.” Auglink: The Communications Company You Can Talk to. 1996. 19 April 2006. http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets5.html

• Congresswoman Rogers passed a bill allowing women to join the military in 1941. s-top
• Women contributed a great amount especially in Pearl Harbor as nurses. S-top
• Eleanor Roosevelt was a major contributor in allowing women into the military. S-1/4
• By 1944, over 100,000 women were in the military force.
• During the entire war, more than 200 nurses lost their lives. S-1/4
• Several nurses were captured and kept as prisoners of the Japanese. S-1/2

Strom, Dr. Sharon H. Hartman and Linda P. Wood. “Women and World War II.” What did you do in the war, Grandma? 1995. Brown University. 19 April 2006. http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Women/WomenInWWII.html

• "I think for girls and women, and perhaps boys and men, of my generation the war forced them to grow up prematurely. It made them far more serious about the bare realities of life: life, death, values. It robbed them, in a sense, of some childhood." S-top
• " I think all of us were terrified of Hitler. I mean he'd gone booming through all of Europe, just doing whatever he wanted to do," s-top
• Patriotism or propaganda that made women enter the work force? S-1/2
• Many couples postponed marriage, could not afford a family, and the birth rate fell during Great Depression. S-1/2
• War fixed all of that: Men married before being shipped out and, upon returning, substantially increased the birth rate. S-1/2
• Women wrote letters to the men they knew in the military and helped comfort lonely soldiers at home. S-1/2
• "Looking back on it now, I was fairly young, and the war was exciting. There's no getting way from it. It was an exciting time. But it was a scary time too," s-3/4

Carnes, Mark C. and John A. Garraty. The American Nation. New York: Pearson Education, 2003.

• By 1944, 6.5 million women had entered the workforce. S-top
• By 1945, 19 million were employed. S-top
• 100,000 were serving in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps. S-top
• The discrimination against women was strong, but not strong enough to counter the need for labor. S-1/4
• “It’s thrilling work, and exciting, and something women have never done before.” This woman was talking about driving a taxi. S-1/4

Martin, Maryellen. Personal Interview. 30 April 2006.
“Home front during WWII.”  Wikipedia.org.  19 April 2006. 20 April 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Front_during_World_War_II>.

•  S-top
• Home Front- name given to activities of civilians in a state of total war. S-top
• Women joined the work force to replace men who had joined the military. S-1/2
• Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that the efforts of civilians at home to support the war through personal sacrifice were as critical to winning the war as the efforts of the soldiers themselves.  S-1/2
• “Rosie the Riveter” became the symbol for women on the home front working in the factories during WWII. S-1/2
• The War brought many changes to the role of women in society. S-1/2
• Many women lost their new jobs to returning veterans after the war. S-1/2

“Rosie the Riveter.”  Wikipedia.org.  19 April 2006. 20 April 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Front_during_World_War_II>.

•  S-top
• Six million women worked in manufacturing plants. S-top
• Women produced many materials including munitions, which would normally be a man’s job, but the men were at war. S-top
• Rosie the Riveter is now a feminist icon. S-top
• In 1940, only 10% of women who worked were employed by factories. By 1944, the number of women employed by factories increased to 30%. S-1/3
• Men were paid $54.65. Women were paid $31.21. S-1/3
• Rosie the Riveter convinced women that they had a patriotic duty to do their part even if they were discriminated against. S-1/2
• In 1942, between the months of January and July, the percentage of jobs that were deemed 'acceptable' for women raised from 29 to 55 percent.
• About half of the working women were married.
• By the end of the war the average income for women had risen by 38%.
• By 1945, one in every three workers was a woman.

Hartmann, Susan M.  “Women and WWII.”  Metropolitan State College of Denver.  2004. 17 April 2006. <http://www.mscd.edu/~history/camphale/www_001.html>.

•  S-top
• Many women entered the work force. S-1/3
• Women helped the American industry meet demands for planes, tanks, ships, and weapons. S-1/3
• Women’s labor force grew by 6.5 million during WWII. S-1/2
• In 1944, 37% of all women were employed. S-1/2
• At the height of the war, there were 19,170,000 women in the labor force. S-1/2
• Between 1940 and 1945, the female labor force grew by 50 percent. S-1/2
• In 1944, skilled female workers made an average weekly wage of $31.21 while skilled male workers earned $54.65 weekly. S-1/2

“The Women’s Army Corps.” U.S. Army Center of Military History. 17 February 2005. 20 April 2006. <http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/wac/wac.htm>.

•   S-top
• Over 150,000 American women served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. S-top
• The WAC women were the first women other than nurses to serve within the ranks of the United States Army. S-top
• Resistance existed to the WAC at first, but with the demand for help while fighting a two front war, it was permitted to go on. S-top
• The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was established to work with the Army, “for the purpose of making available to the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation.” S-top
• Women officers were not allowed to command men. S-top
• If WAAC’s were captured, they had no protection under existing international agreements covering prisoners of war. S-top
• Applicants had to be U.S. citizens between the ages of 21 and 45 with no dependents, be at least five feet tall, and weigh 100 pounds or more. S-1/3
• Over 35,000 women from all over the country applied for less than 1,000 anticipated positions. S-1/3

Nelson, Mary. Personal Interview. 30 April 2006.

 

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