Maya Palakal
Carnes, Mark C., and John A Garraty. The American Nation: A History of the United States. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2003.
- by 1944 6.5 million more women had entered the workforce
- women obtained jobs because of patriotism, independence, and because it had never been done before
- rise in divorces due to hasty and difficult marriages
Giampaoli, Cristina. “Women and WWII.” University of San Diego. 19 Apr. 2006. http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~cg3/outline.html
- Various rations placed on women staying at home
- Canned goods, etc.
- ‘Other items that women needed to ration were silk, nylon, rayon, cotton, and wool. All of these materials were in high demand because they made parachutes, aircraft and military clothing, tents, and even gunpowder bags. Food items that were rationed were coffee, tea, butter, and meat. As a result, housewifes had to drive around to several different markets to find the supplies that they needed to create a well balanced meal. This too created a problem given the fact that gasoline was rationed as well.”
- Difficulties of being a housewife
McClymer, John. “Women and the American Experience.” Assumption College. 24 Apr. 2006. http://www.assumption.edu/acad/ii/Academic/history/Hi113net/Hi113Syllabus.html
Sorenson, Aja. “Rosie the Riveter: Women Working in WWII.” 2004. San Francisco State University. 20 Apr. 2006. http://www.nps.gov/pwro/collection/website/rosie.htm
- Cultural division of labor force
- Women separation from men
- “Working was not new to women. Women have always worked, especially minority and lower-class women. However, the cultural division of labor by sex ideally placed white middle-class women in the home and men in the workforce. Also, because of high unemployment during the Depression, most people were against women working because they saw it as women taking jobs from unemployed men.”
- Gov’t use of propaganda campaign to recruit female workers
“War, Women, and Opportunity.” 3 Apr. 2002. Library of Congress. 20 Apr. 2006. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/wcf0002.html
- New professional opportunities for women
- Journalism
- Photographers
- Broadcasters
Wilson, Barbara A. “Women in WWII.” 1996. AUG Link Communications, Inc. 19 Apr. 2006. http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets5.html.
- Use of women forces overseas
- WAAC
- WAVES
- “Women continued to serve overseas through 1945 and at one point there were over 2000 WACs serving in North Africa alone. From there women were sent to Italy to serve with the 5th Army and these women moved all over Italy during the Italian campaign handling the communications; they earned commendations, bronze stars and the respect of their fellow soldiers as they sloughed through mud, lived in tents, dived into foxholes and dugouts during the Anzio air raids. During the battle on Anzio, six Army Nurses were killed by the German bombing and strafing of the tented hospital area. Four Army Nurses among the survivors were awarded Silver Stars for extraordinary courage under fire. In all, more than 200 Army Nurses lost their lives during World War II.”
“Women and WWII.” 2004. Metropolitan State College of Denver. 20 Apr. 2006. http://www.mscd.edu/~history/camphale/www_001.html
- “Unprecedented numbers of women entered the ranks of factory workers, helping American industry meet the wartime production demands for planes, tanks, ships, and weapons. It was through this aspect of war work that the most famous image of female patriotism in World War II emerged, Rosie the Riveter.”