As I was researching, one article that I stumbled upon was particularly interesting to me. The image to the left represents a women dressed in men's clothing. This shows that women have the ability to take on jobs that men used had. This image was used by the U.S. government to encourage women to become involved in the workplace. I believe that this picture is capable of giving women more hope by showing them that they can work in fields that only men used to typically work in. "When war was declared, millions of men were drafted to fight, and women needed to step in for men in untraditional women's jobs, especially those in heavy industry." I believe that the only reason these jobs were offered to women was because it was necessary for these jobs to be occupied, and with the war going on, the only people available to complete these duties was the women. Although women typically worked inside their homes, some were waitresses, secretaries, and dishwashers. However, men mostly always took on jobs such as the production of cars, ships, and airplanes. As the years progressed, women were making up larger percentages of the labor force. During the times of war, women were heavily relied on and treated more equally. I believe that these jobs gave women a sense of pride and accomplishment. "Nevertheless, when victory was declared, the days of women working in traditionally male jobs came to an abrupt end. Women were laid off, and their jobs were given to the soldiers returning from the war. It appeared that women were a labor reserve that would be used only in times of crisis." This showed me that although during the times of war women felt as if they were truly gaining equality in the workforce, in reality they were only given these jobs because the men were at war. When the men returned home from the war, instead of realizing the abilities of the women and allowing them to continue to have these jobs, the men were given back their previous jobs. Overall, although the women gained equality for the time being, when the men were brought back home, this newfound equality disappeared.
"Rosie the Riveter." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/.
1 comments:
I did an article that talked about women working while the men went to war, too, so this was easy to understand. I think you brought up a good point about the rest of society not recognizing the potential women had in the workforce. I think that it's really important because no one felt like they could rely on women having the same responsibility as men. I also think your picture demonstrates that women were capable of doing the same jobs of men. They believed in themselves, and wanted the support of society, even though I believe they didn't end up getting that type of response. How did it make you feel when some communities only wanted the help of women in a time of need? I know that I would want my peers to feel comfortable with me helping them no matter what my gender is. I also believe that our country is so successful today because we value the opinion of women much more than they did back then.
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