Women After WWII

Paper Summary:

The paper explores the effects of World War II on women's roles and explains how the need for women to join the workforce, the mass migration from the East and Midwest to the West Coast and the move of African-American women to the North all accounted for women's continued role in the workforce. The paper discusses the period of the 1950s that idealized the nuclear family but then describes the subsequent rise of the women's liberation movement in the 1960s and the changes this brought about, such as freedom in birth control and abortion. The paper briefly looks at the 1980s and 1990s and concludes that women's roles in the United States have changed more in the past sixty years than ever before.

From the Paper:

"The United States entered the War in December, 1941. Within three and a half years, it had sent over five million troops to two major global fronts. While many men stayed behind in crucial positions, women were required to take over what had traditionally been men's jobs, from machinists to farmers.
"The War was important to women: six million women entered the work force who had not worked before (Harvey 2006). In addition, women entered the work force that had lost their jobs during the Great Depression. Finally, women who were working in the civilian sphere converted to military or military-related positions. Of the three, the most important group (in terms of women's role in society) was the women who were new to work."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Friedan, B. The Feminine Mystique. New York: W. W. Norton, 1963.
• Garfinkel, I., and McLanahan, S. S. "Single Mothers and Their Children: A New American Dilemma." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 1988: 388-394.
• Goldin, C. "The Role of World War II in the Rise of Women's Employment." The American Economic Review, 1991: 741-756.
• Harvey, S. Rosie the Riveter: Real Women Workers in World War II. Women's History, Washington: Library of Congress, 2006.
• Newton, J. L. From Panthers To Promise Keepers: Rethinking The Men's Movement. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2005.

More papers on Women After WWII:

• Essay # 39079 : "Canadian Women and WWII"
• Term Paper # 134788 : "Women's Work in Canada"
• Essay # 64206 : "Japanese Women in Society and Culture"

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