American Women in World War II

American Women in World War II

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DuringWorldWarII,some350,000womenservedintheU.S.ArmedForces,bothathome
andabroad.TheyincludedtheWomensAirforceServicePilots,whoonMarch10,2010,were
awardedtheprestigiousCongressionalGoldMedal.Meanwhile,widespreadmaleenlistment
leftgapingholesintheindustriallaborforce.Between1940and1945,thefemalepercentage
oftheU.S.workforceincreasedfrom27percenttonearly37percent,andby1945nearlyone
outofeveryfourmarriedwomenworkedoutsidethehome.

WOMENINTHEARMEDFORCES
Inadditiontofactoryworkandotherhomefrontjobs,some350,000womenjoinedtheArmed
Services,servingathomeandabroad.AttheurgingofFirstLadyEleanorRooseveltandwomens
groups,andimpressedbytheBritishuseofwomeninservice,GeneralGeorgeMarshall
supportedtheideaofintroducingawomensservicebranchintotheArmy.InMay1942,
CongressinstitutedtheWomensAuxiliaryArmyCorps,laterupgradedtotheWomensArmy
Corps,whichhadfullmilitarystatus.Itsmembers,knownasWACs,workedinmorethan200non
combatantjobsstatesideandineverytheaterofthewar.By1945,thereweremorethan100,000
WACsand6,000femaleofficers.IntheNavy,membersofWomenAcceptedforVolunteer
EmergencyService(WAVES)heldthesamestatusasnavalreservistsandprovidedsupport
stateside.TheCoastGuardandMarineCorpssoonfollowedsuit,thoughinsmallernumbers.

DidYouKnow?OnMarch10,2010,nearly70yearsaftertheyweredisbanded,theWomen
AirforceServicePilotsreceivedtheCongressionalGoldMedal.

OneofthelesserknownroleswomenplayedinthewareffortwasprovidedbytheWomens
AirforceServicePilots,orWASPs.Thesewomen,eachofwhomhadalreadyobtainedtheir
pilotslicensepriortoservice,becamethefirstwomentoflyAmericanmilitaryaircraft.They
ferriedplanesfromfactoriestobases,transportingcargoandparticipatinginsimulation
1

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Article: Copyright 2010 History.com. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

American Women in World War II

strafingandtargetmissions,accumulatingmorethan60millionmilesinflightdistancesand
freeingthousandsofmaleU.S.pilotsforactivedutyinWorldWarII.Morethan1,000WASPs
served,and38ofthemlosttheirlivesduringthewar.Consideredcivilserviceemployeesand
withoutofficialmilitarystatus,thesefallenWASPsweregrantednomilitaryhonorsor
benefits,anditwasntuntil1977thattheWASPsreceivedfullmilitarystatus.OnMarch10,
2010,ataceremonyintheCapitol,theWASPSreceivedtheCongressionalGoldMedal,oneof
thehighestcivilianhonors.Morethan200formerpilotsattendedtheevent,manywearing
theirWorldWarIIerauniforms.

ROSIETHERIVETER
Whilewomenworkedinavarietyofpositionspreviouslyclosedtothem,theaviationindustry
sawthegreatestincreaseinfemaleworkers.Morethan310,000womenworkedintheU.S.
aircraftindustryin1943,representing65percentoftheindustrystotalworkforce(compared
tojust1percentintheprewaryears).Themunitionsindustryalsoheavilyrecruitedwomen
workers,asrepresentedbytheU.S.governmentsRosietheRiveterpropagandacampaign.
Basedinsmallpartonareallifemunitionsworker,butprimarilyafictitiouscharacter,the
strong,bandannacladRosiebecameoneofthemostsuccessfulrecruitmenttoolsinAmerican
history,andthemosticonicimageofworkingwomenduringWorldWarII.

Inmovies,newspapers,posters,photographs,articlesandevenaNormanRockwellpainted
SaturdayEveningPostcover,theRosietheRivetercampaignstressedthepatrioticneedfor
womentoentertheworkforceandtheydid,inhugenumbers.Thoughwomenwerecrucial
tothewareffort,theirpaycontinuedtolagfarbehindtheirmalecounterparts:Female
workersrarelyearnedmorethan50percentofmalewages.

2016 ReadWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.

Article: Copyright 2010 History.com. All rights reserved. Used by permission.