Essay On Role Of Women In World War 2

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Before World War II, the women's role was to simply be a wife to her husband, a mother to her children, and a caretaker to the house. As World war II raged on, women made enormous sacrifices for their family, and also learned new jobs and skills. World war II opened up numerous opportunities for women because of the large amount of men that joined the armed services and went abroad, leaving many open jobs that had been previously closed to women. During World War II, many women found that their contributions and responsibilities expanded dramatically. Even though, women faced inequality and segregation while working, women's actions in World War II helped alter society's views on women employment and opportunities for women in the workforce. In early America, a women's life tended to center around farm and family. For the most part labor was…show more content…
By the time the war ended 18 million women were in the workforce. Only 3 million women worked in traditional war plants, however, the majority worked in traditional female service sector jobs. Women faced inequality while they went to work in industries. Management denied them equal status in the workplace. Segregation by gender was common on the shop floor, and separate seniority lists were kept for men and women. Women were also paid a lower wage than men. Most had to work in jobs that paid poorly and were very tedious. Men, at that time, were still the dominant sex and received better paying jobs. Unlike men, women suffered from the double shift of work and caring for the family at home. Women enjoyed working in male jobs but did not like the changes in the men's attitudes. The women factory workers fought their own battles during the war. They struggled with new horizons, social discrimination, gender harassment, and physical pain from long hours and poor working
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