Roughly a million American women went to work during World War II. This week in Map & Cityscapes, we take a look at some of the promotional posters from The Office of War Information (OWI) and several traditional and non-traditional jobs filled by women. Resource links are provided at bottom of page.
Promotional Posters
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Women go to Work en masse - WW II
National Weather Service
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WOMEN IN THE WEATHER BUREAU DURING WORLD WAR II, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Dept. of Commerce
Women in Industry
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Aircraft motor workers. It there's the slightest flaw in any of these airplane motor parts, it will be caught by Gabrielle Corveau (left) and Elizabeth Kamerer, two youthful inspectors employed by a Midwest aircraft motor plant. An erstwhile office worker, model and salesgirl, nineteen-year-old Miss Corveau has done war work for only a short while, but her work is on a par with the company's veteran employees. Mrs. Kamerer, twenty-four, sole supporter of herself and her invalid husband, finds her war job both interesting and exciting. "It's thrilling to be a war worker," she says. Rosener, Ann, photographer, Aug. 1942. Library of Congress.
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| Electronics technician, Goodyear Aircraft Corp., Akron, Ohio. Library of Congress | Machinist, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Ca., 1942. Library of Congress | Lathe operator, Library of Congress |
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| "Richmond Welders" Courtesy of the Family of Margaret Fong | Bernice Palmer, second from left, worked at Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan, one of 9,000 feminine employees helping build Packard marine and Rolls-Royce aircraft engines.during WWII. | WAC mechanic repairs Army truck, The National Archives |
"A Bell System switchboard where overseas calls are handled. Not all of the services shown here are available under wartime conditions" By an unknown photographer, unknown location, December 22, 1943. The most famous female worker of World War II was the mythical Rosie the Riveter, who patriotically joined the industrial workforce to do her bit in a shipyard or an aircraft factory. There were many real-life Rosies, but many more women worked in service or clerical jobs as secretaries, bank tellers, retail clerks, and telephone operators. National Archives, Records of the Women's Bureau
"Tulip Town Market, Grove Center" By James Earl Westcott, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, July 4, 1945. World War II created numerous "boomtowns" associated with the expanding shipbuilding, armaments, and aircraft industries. There were also "secret cities" built for workers involved in the development of the atomic bomb. These grocery clerks worked in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, site of several uranium-235 extraction facilities. National Archives, General Records of the Department of Energy
American Indian Women Serve in WWII
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Minnie Spotted Wolf, Blackfeet, was the first Indian woman to enter the Marine Corps Women's Reserve in WW ll. Photo: National Archives
PFC Eva Mirabel, Taos Pueblo, was a painter and cartoonist in the WAC during WWII. She assisted on the work "Bridge of Wings", a mural still in place at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. She also drew the cartoon strip "G.I. Gertie" for WAC publications. Photo by AAF Air Service Command.
Resource links:
The Way We Worked, National Archives
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/twww/
World War II Posters: Women, About.com: 20th Century History
http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blyindexww2women.htm
Rosie Pictures: Select Images Relating to American Women Workers During World War II, Cartoons, posters, color slides, B & w photos, Library of Congress.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/126_rosi.html#black
Rosie the Riveter: Real Women Workers in World War II, Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/journey/rosie.html
Owens Archive, WWII Homefront images
http://www.owensarchive.com/world-war-ii/homefront/cat_158.html
Rosie the Riveter - WWII Home Front Nat'l Hist Park, Richmond, CA
http://www.rosietheriveter.org/
Rosie the Riveter: Women Working During World War II, Nat'l Park service
http://www.nps.gov/pwro/collection/website/home.htm
THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS: A COMMEMORATION OF WORLD WAR II SERVICE, By Judith A. Bellafaire
http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/wac/wac.htm
The Office of War Information (OWI), Library of Congress
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/owiinfo.html
Women in the Weather Bureau During World War II
http://www.history.noaa.gov/stories_tales/women1.html
http://www.lib.noaa.gov/edocs/women.html
Native American Women with Military Service
http://www.nativewomenveterans.org/index.html
Women Played Key Roles in the Manhattan Project, US Army Corps of Engineers
http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/history/Vignettes/Vignette_46.htm
Women's Contributions to the Corps of Engineers During World War II, US Army Corps of Engineers
http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/history/Vignettes/Vignette_16.htm
Working Women of WWII - Primary Documents: The Editorial Cartoon, A Lesson Plan from The Department of Education of The National D-Day Museum
http://www.ddaymuseum.org/pdf/edu_lp_Cartoons.pdf