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Rosie the Riveter (Westinghouse poster, 1942). The image became iconic in the 1980s. American women in World War II became involved in many tasks they rarely had before; as the war involved global conflict on an unprecedented scale, the absolute urgency of mobilizing the entire population made the expansion of the role of women inevitable.
By 1945 there were 4.7 million women in clerical positions - this was an 89% increase from women with this occupation prior to World War II. [8] In addition, there were 4.5 million women working as factory operatives - this was a 112% increase since before the war. [8] The aviation industry saw the highest increase in female workers during the war.
Several hundred thousand women served in combat roles, especially in anti-aircraft units. The Soviet Union integrated women directly into their army units; approximately one million served in the Red Army, including about at least 50,000 on the frontlines; Bob Moore noted that "the Soviet Union was the only major power to use women in front-line roles," [2]: 358, 485 The United States, by ...
Women workers in the ordnance shops of Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company in Nicetown, Pennsylvania, during World War I (1918). Because the world wars were total wars, which required governments to utilize their entire populations to defeat their enemies, millions of women were encouraged to work in the industry and take over jobs previously done by men.
In 1891, a law was passed requiring women to take four weeks away from factory work after giving birth, but many women could not afford this unpaid leave, and the law was unenforceable. [ 98 ] The 1870 US Census was the first United States Census to count "females engaged in each occupation" and provides an intriguing snapshot of women's history.
Australian women during World War II played a larger role than they had during The First World War, when they primarily served as nurses and additional homefront workers. Many women wanted to play an active role in the war, and hundreds of voluntary women's auxiliary and paramilitary organisations had been formed by 1940. [ 52 ]
During World War I and World War II, the primary role of women shifted towards employment in munitions factories, agriculture and food rationing, and other areas to fill the gaps left by men who had been drafted into the military. One of the most notable changes during World War II was the inclusion of many of women in regular military units.
With a shortage in the number of women working in the factories, the Ministry of Production pushed for the war artists to depict production workers. [7] Knight was commissioned to paint Ruby Loftus in late 1942. She was a machine operator described by the Ministry of Supply as "an outstanding factory worker". [8]