LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Submitted to Dr. Allen York
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
HIWD 555-B01
Women and Their Role in WWII
by
February 27, 2022
Hollingsworth 1
Women played very crucial roles in World War II that changed women’s roles in America after
the war. Not only did women find a new place in American society, family dynamics changed
and women found a new level of independence that ignited their search for continued control
over their lives and those of their families. Women not only supported the cause of American
freedom, but they demonstrated they were able to contribute to the financial well-being of their
families. The result was more options became available to women in the workplace, however, it
also ignited a campaign for women to gain equal standing in the hierarchy of offices, factories,
and their own homes.
Women have historically provided support in various ways during times of war. During the
Revolutionary war, women took on roles that were outside the social expectation of homemaker
and mother. As men left their homes to fight in the battle for independence, very often their
wives would follow them. This would typically happen in the winter months, due to farms
needing to be tended to in spring, summer, and fall. They would leave their children home and
travel to the camps their husbands were at. There they would sew, cook, tend to the sick, and any
other task that may need to be done. Whether it was Martha Washington who traveled from
Mount Vernon to Valley Forge and set up a sewing circle with other wives or Catherine Moore
Barry who helped carry the call to arms through the neighborhood before the Battle of Cowpins
and was a scout for the Patriots; women were essential to the support of the Revolutionary War.
1
Of course, as the Revolutionary War ended, women returned to business as usual, and found
their expected place back in society.
1
Pamela Murrow. 2013. 10 Amazing Women of the Revolutionary War. Journal of the American Revolution.
Hollingsworth 2
Women’s roles changed even more in World War I, when the US Navy was the first military
branch to enlist women to fill clerical positions men normally held.
2
With men going off to fight,
women were able to provide support in those roles. As a result, society began to change their
views on women and the roles they play within it. Saying that, it was the expectation that women
would return to life as usual, much like they have throughout American history.
3
This was a
difficult concept for women to process, and as a result the women’s movement was first ignited,
and was a stepping stone to women being able to play even more active support roles in World
War II.
As a result of the pivotal actions of World War I, World War II has been described as the
woman’s war. World War II broke out in 1942, and by 1943 America was involved and the labor
force felt the void of men to fill jobs at home. The mobilization of citizens at home was the
largest social and economic transformation in America since the Civil War.
4
Women filled those
jobs, by working in factories, plants, and on farms, with some 6 million women working outside
the home for the first time in their lives.
5
It gave women a way to not only serve their country in
time of war, but also gain financial independence. Their love of country and opportunity for new
experiences similar to World War I motivated them to push the boundaries of gender roles. Rosie
the Riveter was the stereotypical image of the American woman during that time.
6
Although
fictional, Rosie was a the face of American women, tackling the needs of America,
independently. The amount of women in factories was significantly higher in World War II then
2
Kristine Carlson Asselin. 2016. Women in World War I. Essential Library.
3
Ibid.
4
Amy E. Platt. 2015. “‘Go into the Yard as a Worker, Not as a Woman’: Oregon Women During World War II, a
Digital Exhibit on the Oregon History Project.”
5
Laurie Scrivner. 1999. U.S. Military Women in World War II: The SPAR, WAC, WAVES, WASP, and Women Marines
in U.S. Government Publications. Journal of Government Information.
6
Julia Brock. 2015. Beyond Rosie: A Documentary History of Women and World War II. University of Arkansas
Press.
Hollingsworth 3
in World War I, which was evidence of progress amongst the female population in American
society. More than two million women worked in “Rosie the Riveter” jobs to manufacture
aircraft frames, engines, artillery, and munition.
7
Women that were making on average $3 per
week in domestic jobs were suddenly making upwards of $230 per week utilizing skills such as
welding.
8
Hermina Strmiska worked as a nanny and later as a migrant picker in Texas. During
the war, Strmiska earned a welding certificate, competed in a national welding contest where she
came in second, and was hired as a welder in a shipyard.
9
She earned enough during the wear to
purchase a farm, where she lived after the war.
Women served in the Armed Forces at record numbers. All branches of the military created
women’s corps, and more than 275,000 women served in the Army’s WAAC/WAC, the Navy’s
WAVEs, the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, and the Coast Guard’s SPAR.
10
Another 1,074
served in the women’s flying organization, the WASP.
11
Although these were roles that
highlighted women’s capabilities, the reality is that military leaders were not quite ready for
women’s roles to change so drastically in America. There was an effort to find a place for them
in the military, but in a way that a women’s femininity was preserved. The immediate solution
was to create quasi-military organizations that allowed women to serve in the military as
hostesses, librarians, cooks, chauffeurs, messengers, and strolling minstrels.
12
It was the action of
Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers in 1941 that prompted the establishment of the Women’s
7
Julia Brock. 2015. Beyond Rosie: A Documentary History of Women and World War II. University of Arkansas
Press.
8
Amy E. Platt. 2015. “‘Go into the Yard as a Worker, Not as a Woman’: Oregon Women During World War II, a
Digital Exhibit on the Oregon History Project.”
9
Ibid.
10
Laurie Scrivner. 1999. U.S. Military Women in World War II: The SPAR, WAC, WAVES, WASP, and Women Marines
in U.S. Government Publications. Journal of Government Information.
11
Ibid.
12
Ibid.
Hollingsworth 4
Army Auxiliary Corps in May 1942.
13
No doubt it was a step forward, but women were paid less
than other service members, were not entitled to military rank, and were not eligible for military
benefits. The Navy were the next branch to create a corps. The Navy took one step forward and
made it a corps within the Navy, enabling women to receive equal pay, rank, and benefits. The
Coast Guard then followed suit, and lastly the Marine Corps joined. By 1943, the Army decided
it was best to make the WAAC a part of the Army, and did so in July 1943, changing the name to
WAC, Women’s Army Corps. Women who served were forced to overcome fierce stereotypes,
slander, and unequal treatment. They were placed in positions below their skill levels, did not get
promoted as quickly, and were accused of sexual promiscuity. Although the majority of women
served in more clerical roles, those in the WASP piloted aircraft across the country, flew low-
target pilots in training missions, flew cargo and top-secret weapons, and were test pilots.
Interestingly, the WASP organization was not military, and those a part of it were considered
civilians. By wars end 150,000 women had served in WAAC/WAC, 100,000 in WAVES,
23,0000 in Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, and 10,000 in SPAR. The United States’ spy
agency, The Office of Strategic Services, hired about 17,000 workers during World War II,
4,500 of them women. 1,000 of these women were sent overseas to work as code clerks and field
operatives.
14
Although women had incredible hurdles to jump and suffered from harassment and
disparity in treatment, many felt it was a wonderful experience that allowed them to not only
contribute to the cause, but gain independence. In the end, the contributions made by women in
the military were noticed and in 1948 the Women’s Armed Forces Integration Act was passed
13
Laurie Scrivner. 1999. U.S. Military Women in World War II: The SPAR, WAC, WAVES, WASP, and Women Marines
in U.S. Government Publications. Journal of Government Information.
14
Amy E. Platt. 2015. “‘Go into the Yard as a Worker, Not as a Woman’: Oregon Women During World War II, a
Digital Exhibit on the Oregon History Project.”
Hollingsworth 5
and the women’s corps were made a permanent part of the military.
15
In 1977, President Jimmy
Carter gave WASPs veteran status, and in 2010 President Barack Obama awarded the WASPs
the Congressional Medal of Honor.
16
African American women served as well. Breaking glass ceilings for African American women
was more difficult. As the country ramped up for war, defense industries opened up millions of
jobs, but they weren’t vastly available to African Americans. The president of Brotherhood of
Sleeping Car Porters, A. Philip Randolph, lead the March on Washington Movement in 1941 in
an effort to fight the discrimination that was being shown to so many Americans.
17
When
Randolph threatened to bring African Americans onto the White House lawn, change was
prompted. President Theodore Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which to end
discrimination in war industries and the armed forces.
18
It was now American policy to
encourage full participation in the national defense program by all citizens of the United States
regardless of race, creed, color, or national origin.
19
Although women specifically were not
included in this executive order, it certainly was a victory for African American in particular.
Even though racism continued to flourish in factories and other labor jobs, there was an influx in
black women being hired in federal clerical positions, from sixty thousand in 1940 to over two
hundred thousand in 1943. which was progress certainly.
20
African American women were also
present in the White House, as it was Eleanor Roosevelt’s desire to shine a light on racism. Mary
15
Laurie Scrivner. 1999. U.S. Military Women in World War II: The SPAR, WAC, WAVES, WASP, and Women Marines
in U.S. Government Publications. Journal of Government Information.
16
Amy E. Platt. 2015. “‘Go into the Yard as a Worker, Not as a Woman’: Oregon Women During World War II, a
Digital Exhibit on the Oregon History Project.”
17
Julia Brock. 2015. Beyond Rosie: A Documentary History of Women and World War II. University of Arkansas
Press.
18
Ibid.
19
Julia Brock. 2015. Beyond Rosie: A Documentary History of Women and World War II. University of Arkansas
Press.
20
Maureen Honey. 1999. Bitter Fruit: African American Women in World War II. University of Missouri Press.
Hollingsworth 6
Church Terrell, Mary McLeod Buthune, and Crystal Bird Fauset were three women present in
the White House during World War II. Integration strides were made in the Army Nurse Corps
and black women were accepted in to the navy as WAVES. Black female employment in the
apparel industry also increased by 350 percent during the war.
21
Although progress was slow, the
rise of women during the war had a huge impact on African American rights as well.
The American family saw changes. During the war, families as a whole were asked to participate
in the war effort., Whether it was saving cans, lipstick tubes, and kitchen fats to be turned into
war materials or plating victory gardens to supplement food shortages, the war department
pointed out not only women, but children as well to help the cause.
22
Women often had
challenges when it came to ensuring their children were cared for while they worked to
financially support the family. Often times, domestic helpers were hired or extended family was
relied on to care for them. Other challenges included long commutes and inconvenient shopping
for needed items.
23
After the war, men came home to women that discovered a new found
independence, and some did not want to let that go. It was a societal expectation women would
return to their place in the home, and there were women that felt they had no other choice but to
leave the job that rightfully “belonged to the man that left it” to fight. Families were forever
changed during and after the war.
As World War II ended, much like every other war, it was the expectation that women would
return to “business as usual” as women returned home and men returned to work. During World
War II, women contributed to the economic reorganization of America, and they did so
21
Maureen Honey. 1999. Bitter Fruit: African American Women in World War II. University of Missouri Press.
22
Julia Brock. 2015. Beyond Rosie: A Documentary History of Women and World War II. University of Arkansas
Press.
23
Melissa A. McEuen. 2016. Women, Gender, and World War II”. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American
History.
Hollingsworth 7
enthusiastically. This lead to the inability of men to deny the contributions and capabilities of
women. During the war, women stepped up to the cause, learned skills, and earned certifications.
Post-war, there again was the expectation that life would return as it was before. Women wanted
more. They wanted to continue with the working life they built. They wanted to contribute to not
only their country, but their families. New York Senator Robert F. Wagner, in support of the Full
Employment Act of 1945, said “the right to work is synonymous with the inalienable right to
live,” adding “Whoever believes in this right to work, believes in it for every adult who is
looking for an honest job with decent pay”.
24
When debating this bill, Congress felt they did not
want to necessarily exclude anyone, however, they also felt excluding people who were “full
time students or had full time housekeeping responsibilities” was common sense.
25
Advocates of
the bill felt including women in the bill would “break up families”. Throughout history, as
women advocated for their rights, a masculine perspective was always given the upper hand. In
the end, the bill foundered, as the ideological concerns with guaranteeing work to everyone was
too much. It was more comfortable for society to keep women holding the family together, while
men supported them. An American daughter often had the expectation that she would work to
make a living until she married. Once married, her role would change to taking care of her
family and home. Women who worked felt they had the opportunity to work, however men had
the right to work. The difference and disparity changed little after World War II, but women
wanted their liberation more than ever. Although World War II changed the expectations of
women, giving them more opportunities, legislative standard remained unchanged. A women’s
24
Alice Kessler-Harris. 2003. In Pursuit of Equity : Women, Men, and the Quest for Economic Citizenship in 20th-
Century America. Oxford University Press.
25
Ibid.
Hollingsworth 8
place in society was to raise their families, maintain their homes, and “help” their husbands. It
appeared irrelevant that an average of 9 percent of women chose to not marry at all.
Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s gender difference was very much a part of marriage and
family lives, social tradition, and economic possibility.
26
It was not until the 1950s and 1960s
that civil rights movements not only focused on minorities, but women.
Throughout World War II, women, to include minority women, proved they were willing and
able to perform jobs that were previously reserved for men. They maintained homes while doing
it, and men came back to the home they left, knowing it was there because of the women they
left behind. Women filled essential roles in the military to join the fight and were proven to be
unsung heroes, even on foreign land. During the course of the war, movements took place that
allowed women to carve their place in society outside of the walls of their homes. That
movement continued after the war ended, but the ideologies created by the men in society did not
allow for many changes. Women have continued to prove their worth in society ever since.
26
Alice Kessler-Harris. 2003. In Pursuit of Equity : Women, Men, and the Quest for Economic Citizenship in 20th-
Century America. Oxford University Press.
Hollingsworth 9
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Asselin, Kristine Carlson. Women in World War I. Essential Library of World War I.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Essential Library, 2016.
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1081877&site=eho
st-live&scope=site. Web. February 20. 2022.
Brock, Julia, Dickey, Jennifer W., Harker, Richard, and Lewis, Catherine. Beyond Rosie: A
Documentary History of Women and World War II. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas
Press, 2015. Accessed January 16, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Chappine, Patricia. New Jersey Women in World War II. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing Inc., 2015.
Accessed January 16, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Honey, Maureen. Bitter Fruit African American Women in World War II. Columbia [Mo:
University of Missouri Press, 1999.
Howard, Ann. “Women in the Services - the Changing Roles of Women in World War II.” Agora
51, no. 4 (2016): 50–56. https://search-informit-
org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/10.3316/informit.463959428554777.
Kessler-Harris, Alice. In Pursuit of Equity : Women, Men, and the Quest for Economic
Citizenship in 20th-Century America. Cary: Oxford University Press USA - OSO, 2003.
Accessed February 27, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
McEuen, Melissa A. "Women, Gender, and World War II." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of
American History. 9 Jun. 2016; Accessed 27 Feb. 2022.
https://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/a
crefore-9780199329175-e-55.
Murrow, Pamela. 10 Amazing Women of the Revolutionary War. Journal of the American
Revolution. https://allthingsliberty.com/2013/10/10-amazing-women-revolutionary-war/.
Web. February 6, 2022.
Platt, Amy E. “‘Go into the Yard as a Worker, Not as a Woman’: Oregon Women During World War
II, a Digital Exhibit on the Oregon History Project.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 116, no. 2
(2015): 234–48. https://doi.org/10.5403/oregonhistq.116.2.0234. Web. February 27, 2022.
Hollingsworth 10
Scrivener, Laurie. "U.S. Military Women in World War II: The Spar, Wac, Waves, Wasp, and
Women Marines in U.S. Government Publications." Journal of Government
Information 26, no. 4 (1999): 361-383.
Wright, Mary Herring. Far from Home Memories of World War II and Afterward. Washington,
D.C: Gallaudet University Press, 2005.
