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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Role of Women during WWII

After america entered the Second Globe War, millions of American men had been drafted to fight both sides with the battle inside South Pacific against the Japanese to Europe against the Germans. There was a beneficial shortage of workers inside region to run factories, farms, railroads, hospitals, foundries, steel mills along with other businesses. So the federal government turned to womanpower to fuel the nation’s economy in particular from the production of war materials required by the us soldiers and the allies to win the war. The government along with the media launched a massive campaign to attract women to jobs outside their homes. The response was overwhelming as millions of women joined the workforce wherein over half have been married and by no means held work before. They came from different backgrounds majority of whom came within the middle class, a few have been rich and some had been poor. They answered the call out of patriotism in aid to your war. The labor marketplace for women increased swiftly from 12 million in 1940 to 18 million in 1945. They took men’s work in the civil and defense market perceived at that time as unthinkable as a result of their conventional role as wife, mother, and homemaker.
With more than 16 million men serving within the military, the require for new war workers was unprecedented. Responding to this need, some 6.5 million women entered the workforce, increasing the female labor force by more than 50 percent. The women expressed pride in their war jobs and usually commented, with enthusiasm, on the new sense of responsibility and independence they were achieving (Litoff & Smith 9). The role of women during this period was very essential to victory as their efforts and sacrifices have been valuable. The war was a defining moment in their lives as they realized their potentials and capabilities. Despite the opportunities to be self-supporting and earn, the case was burdensome for women as they tried to balance duty to country and family. They would work 8 to 10 hours a day, six days a week and still be in a position to wash clothes, raise children, do groceries, and perform other household chores. The women had been exposed to damaging work as the working conditions then have been not suited for them. Over 210,000 have been injured in accidents and at least 37,000 died. At first, many industries did not welcome women as workers and were reluctant to hire them since they had been noticed as as well weak to do a man’s job. Eventually, this idea was proven wrong as women excelled in their work and far more usually surpassed the men in performance. They shattered cultural barriers as to how women had been perceived and what they could do. Overall, the women hastened the end of war that ensured victory by generating reliable weapons and munitions. They played essential roles on a residence front by fighting the war in their own distinct ways working and sacrificing unceasingly to your excellent of American soldiers and sailors in battle in addition to uniting the country.
Women in the Military.
Seeing the capabilities of women, the government hired practically 350,000 to serve in the military as nurses and defense workers performing non-combatants duties. Besides administrative and clerical jobs, the women were given larger responsibilities and volunteered in several corporations like the Red Cross, the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP), the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES), and the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). The WAFS and WASP, with 1,000 members, helped flew planes during the factories to the air base, transported troops, and tested new planes. The WAVES, with 100,000 members, worked closely with the US Navy handling communication, naval air navigation, and air site visitors control. As defense workers, the women functioned as air raid wardens, fire watchers, messengers, drivers, and auxiliary police too scanned the skies with binoculars searching for enemy planes. Members of WAC, which totaled 150,000, were assigned to a number of sections with the defense department. In the Air Force, the women have been tasked to observe and forecast the weather, analyze and break enemy codes, operate radio communication and do repairs, make sheet metals, maintain bombsights, verify aerial photographs, and managed the manage tower.
In the Army Support Forces, the women computed the velocity of bullets, measured bomb fragments, mixed gunpowder, and loaded shells. Others worked as draftsmen, mechanics, and electricians, and some received training in ordnance engineering (Bellafaire par.32). Inside the Chemical Warfare Service, they tested communication equipment like walkie-talkies and instruments for surveying and meteorology. They created test tubes along with other glass instruments for chemical laboratories. At the Army Medical Department, they worked as dental technicians, secretaries, and ward clerks. In the Army Signal Corps, they operated telephone switchboards, telegraph, and studies maps and photographs. In September of 1940, right after 18 months of struggling, Genevieve Grotjan was in a position to decipher and crack Japanese secret messages. This led towards creation of an analog machine that decodes Japanese diplomatic messages. Women’s contribution to winning the war was no doubt very important whilst they did not go to the battle fields. Nevertheless more often they faced discrimination and low acceptance whilst making their jobs. Despite the obstacles they have been determined to supply their selfless sacrifices to winning the war.
There were over 59,000 American nurses that had joined the Army Nurse Corps during the war. While majority of them served overseas, they have been recruited at the household front. Their spirit to care for the soldiers in the battle fields drove them to face even the dangers of becoming killed yet they pursued their goals to serve their country. There have been 201 nurses who had died even though serving during the war and others had been taken as prisoners of war. Due to their zeal and commitment towards the profession, many lives were saved. As war intensified, the require for nurses also increased. The American Red Cross embarked on a massive recruitment across America. Thousands signed up despite lack of knowledge in military protocol nor had previous experience inside military. They had been trained rigorously in care and medication. The government subsidized the education of nursing students so that you can meet the demand. As military nurses grew, civilian nurses declined in American hospitals. Even though they lack in numbers, the nurses at household continued to supply high quality care to American soldiers who had been brought household during and after the war. They have worked for the clock. The experiences of war have widened the lives of nurses, sharpened their skills, and changed the outlook of their profession, that is certainly to have a tendency the sick and wounded selflessly.
The Impact from the War on Women.
The war elevated the involvement of women within the labor force from 20% in 1920 to 36% in 1945. It gave them much better opportunities to explore themselves of what they could do to rebuild America. They played a major role in saving the economy as well as shortened the war with their abilities to produce war materials on time. They've volunteered their services to help the region survive and win the war. World War II substantially improved the economic prospects of women as the demand for labor to meet the nation's wartime needs exceeded the accessible provide of male labor and opened occupations formerly closed to them (O’Brien & Parsons 107). Unfortunately, following the war the government and corporations changed their policies over a working women by returning them to their conventional role as homemakers, cleaning, cooking and taking care of children. Numerous opted to stay on with their jobs but had been laid off to give way to the men returning from war. Six months after the war, three million women lost heir jobs. Companies have been no longer hiring married women. For individuals who remained, they experienced harassment, received low wages, and faced numerous restrictions. In spite of their enormous contributions during the war, the government asserted that the women workforce was only temporary as a mere response on the war. They have been just substitutes.
Realizing their capability to work outside the home, the women formed themselves and named over a government for active roles in society. This gave birth to women’s movements in The us that continuously, even today; promote equal opportunity for work and benefits. Presently, women are utilized in all forms of fields that once dominated by men but even now they encounter the exact same old issues of discrimination, harassment, and unequal pay. The legacy of Rosie the Riveter gave women the strength and courage to fight for their rights. The events of World War II taught women how to use their gifts and talents other than household chores. The hardships and sacrifices they created during people depressing times created them much more mature and brave enough to face uncertainties. Finally, women played the important role of preservers of peacetime virtues and loved ones life, which came to be equated with security, stability, and prosperity. As well as their courage and strength, they emerged as caretakers of national ideals and normalcy, a role that echoed women's traditional purpose as spiritual guides for your family (Honey 7).
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