The Role of Women During World War Ii
- Submitted by: amandamilevoi
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- Category: History: American
- Date Submitted: 01/08/2012 11:08 AM
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Before World War II, most women did not work outside the home. That was always a man’s job. Lower class women usually worked as maids, laundresses, and cooks in households. Some worked long hours with heavy machinery on factory floors. Women were also paid less then men were. This all changed after World War II.
The United States entered the war on December 8, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While the men were fighting on the battlefield, they left many opportunities for women to seek. With this expanded horizon of opportunity and confidence, and with the extended skill base that many women could now give to paid and voluntary employment, women's roles in World War II were even more extensive than in the First World War. By 1945, more than 2.2 million women were working in the war industries, building ships, aircraft, vehicles, and weaponry. Women also worked in factories, munitions plants, and farms. They drove trucks, provided logistic support for soldiers, and entered professional areas of work that were previously the preserve of men.
American women also saw combat during World War II. First they were nurses in the Army Nurse Corps and United States Navy Nurse Corps during the Attack on Pearl Harbor, and later the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), Women’s Naval Reserve, and United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve were also created for women performing additional roles. The WAAC, however, never accomplished its goal of making available to the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation. In July 1943, the WAAC was reorganized to form the Women's Army Corps (WAC), which was recognized as an official part of the regular army, but not in combat units. The Women's Army Corps replaced the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. In 1944 WACs landed in Normandy after D-Day and served in Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines in the Pacific. During the war,...
The United States entered the war on December 8, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While the men were fighting on the battlefield, they left many opportunities for women to seek. With this expanded horizon of opportunity and confidence, and with the extended skill base that many women could now give to paid and voluntary employment, women's roles in World War II were even more extensive than in the First World War. By 1945, more than 2.2 million women were working in the war industries, building ships, aircraft, vehicles, and weaponry. Women also worked in factories, munitions plants, and farms. They drove trucks, provided logistic support for soldiers, and entered professional areas of work that were previously the preserve of men.
American women also saw combat during World War II. First they were nurses in the Army Nurse Corps and United States Navy Nurse Corps during the Attack on Pearl Harbor, and later the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), Women’s Naval Reserve, and United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve were also created for women performing additional roles. The WAAC, however, never accomplished its goal of making available to the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation. In July 1943, the WAAC was reorganized to form the Women's Army Corps (WAC), which was recognized as an official part of the regular army, but not in combat units. The Women's Army Corps replaced the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. In 1944 WACs landed in Normandy after D-Day and served in Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines in the Pacific. During the war,...