Women factory workers during World War II   Save
War History Commission General Files
Description: Dated 1941-1945, this photograph shows women factory workers during World War II, 1941-1945. After the United States entered World War II, there was a labor shortage due to the departure of men who enlisted or were drafted into the armed forces. To fill the gap, more than 6 million women became war workers. Those who were involved in the production of military hardware became Women Ordnance Workers, or W.O.W.s. Spurred on by higher wages and a propaganda poster featuring a muscle-bound "Rosie the Riveter" exclaiming "We Can Do It!" millions of American women helped assemble bombs, build tanks, weld hulls, and grease locomotives. Most were married, 60 percent were over 35, and a third had children under 14. On average, women war workers were paid only 60 percent of what men performing the same work were paid. The government insisted that "Rosie the Riveter" was a temporary response to war. "A woman is a substitute" claimed a War Department brochure, "like plastic instead of metal." Indeed, many women lost their high-paying positions after the war. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00101
Subjects: Manufacturing industries--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Economy--Labor; World War II; Ohio Women
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)