In order to inspire patriotism and meet the country’s
economic needs during 1 World War II was why the
United States government launched a massive, targeted
propaganda campaign. It worked with advertising agencies
to create images specifically aimed at women to get them
to fill industrial jobs recently vacated by men. These efforts
led to the creation of one of the most famous and enduring
icons in American history—an icon who 2 would have an
incalculable influence on American labor and society.
The propaganda posters featured images of a coverall-
clad, muscular woman named Rosie the Riveter. Dirty yet
wearing makeup, brawny yet feminine, 3 female factory
workers were symbolized by Rosie. She represented women’s
wartime work and sacrifice in an exaggerated form for
inspiration. 4 Posters and literature stressed the idea that
if women became “Rosies” and worked, the war would end
sooner.
5 Women broke traditional gender roles to earn
money and make their families proud. They began working
on railroads and streetcars, as engineers and technicians,
and in steel mills and lumber yards. By 1943, an additional
six million women had entered the workforce. Not only did
more women work as new business sectors opened to them,
but the composition of the female workforce changed.
Before the war, working women were primarily young and
single. Middle-aged, married women joined
6 them during the war, almost one out of every four
gained employment outside the home. By 1944, 62 percent
of the female workforce was 35 and older, and 46 percent of
all working women were wedded.
7 Rosie appeared as a white woman on posters.
Changes ushered in by the campaign added significant
opportunities for African American women as well. Rather
than continuing to work domestic jobs for $3.50 a week,
they began laboring in industrial plants for $48 a week. By
1945, the number of African American women working
for the federal government had more than tripled, and the
percentage working in the defense industry was equal to
8 it’s proportion of the general population.
As a result of their entry into careers from which they
were previously excluded, women exercised a newfound
social and economic independence. They enjoyed having
an income of their own and living on their own for the
first time. 9 Comparatively, they refused to shrink
back into the domestic sphere; 80 percent who worked
outside the home wished to continue doing so by the
war’s end. Women continued to push for 10 expanded
job opportunities, entry into professional roles, and
greater access to higher education. As the graph suggests,
Rosie’s influence persisted even after the war. 11 To this
day, Rosie continues to influence women as a symbol of
feminism in popular culture.
economic needs during 1 World War II was why the
United States government launched a massive, targeted
propaganda campaign. It worked with advertising agencies
to create images specifically aimed at women to get them
to fill industrial jobs recently vacated by men. These efforts
led to the creation of one of the most famous and enduring
icons in American history—an icon who 2 would have an
incalculable influence on American labor and society.
The propaganda posters featured images of a coverall-
clad, muscular woman named Rosie the Riveter. Dirty yet
wearing makeup, brawny yet feminine, 3 female factory
workers were symbolized by Rosie. She represented women’s
wartime work and sacrifice in an exaggerated form for
inspiration. 4 Posters and literature stressed the idea that
if women became “Rosies” and worked, the war would end
sooner.
5 Women broke traditional gender roles to earn
money and make their families proud. They began working
on railroads and streetcars, as engineers and technicians,
and in steel mills and lumber yards. By 1943, an additional
six million women had entered the workforce. Not only did
more women work as new business sectors opened to them,
but the composition of the female workforce changed.
Before the war, working women were primarily young and
single. Middle-aged, married women joined
6 them during the war, almost one out of every four
gained employment outside the home. By 1944, 62 percent
of the female workforce was 35 and older, and 46 percent of
all working women were wedded.
7 Rosie appeared as a white woman on posters.
Changes ushered in by the campaign added significant
opportunities for African American women as well. Rather
than continuing to work domestic jobs for $3.50 a week,
they began laboring in industrial plants for $48 a week. By
1945, the number of African American women working
for the federal government had more than tripled, and the
percentage working in the defense industry was equal to
8 it’s proportion of the general population.
As a result of their entry into careers from which they
were previously excluded, women exercised a newfound
social and economic independence. They enjoyed having
an income of their own and living on their own for the
first time. 9 Comparatively, they refused to shrink
back into the domestic sphere; 80 percent who worked
outside the home wished to continue doing so by the
war’s end. Women continued to push for 10 expanded
job opportunities, entry into professional roles, and
greater access to higher education. As the graph suggests,
Rosie’s influence persisted even after the war. 11 To this
day, Rosie continues to influence women as a symbol of
feminism in popular culture.