The Second World War: Strengthening Traditional Gender Roles

Gender equality has always been a large issue in the world, and it has only been recently that vast strides have begun to take place. Many people argue that women’s rights began to improve through the roles women had to fill, during the Second World War, while the men were overseas in battle. This thought is a common misconception as gender equality only began to gain traction in the late 1960’s, due to a younger generation; the baby boomers. The Second World War strengthened traditional post-war gender roles. When the war ended, women went straight back to their traditional housewife roles. Women’s contributions to the North American economy during the Second World War did not initiate a feminist movement or liberate the female population. These women made sure to stay feminine. They chose the security of the values they already knew, over staying in the work force. This was decision was made due the pressure they felt to conform to societies idyllic perception of what women’s role in the household/home should be.

The Second World War was called a total. A total war affects and involves a nation as a whole, the people battling at war and also the citizens on the home front. The Second World War demanded help from countries’ populations like never before. Men were sent by the millions to fight in the terrible total war. This left a massive void in the workforce, in dire needs to be filled.   Subsequently the government had no choice but to allow women to join the workforce in order to fill the vacant positions. 19 million women entered the workforce , providing an opportunity to showcase their ability and prove they can do more than fill the role of homemaker. The positions women filled while men were at war included nursing and factory work, manufacturing bombs and aircraft parts. However available positions were limited to the home front, as women were not allowed to engage in combat . Even though women were given the opportunity to fill occupations that were...