World War II impact

 

World War II showed the biggest impact for women gaining their rights. Women proved they could work side by side with men and like them. For the women who didn’t enter the military, they stayed home and worked in factories to support the war and provided much needed labor work. The women were able to get jobs because all the men were away at war. “World War II was instrumental in the origins of the Women’s Movement. The classic image of “Rosie the Riveter” reflected the fact that millions of women went into factories when men were mobilized into the military” ("Women′s Rights in the Late 20th Century"). There were many working mothers, so many that married women outnumbered single working women. For the women who served and wore the uniforms right with the men, they were, amazingly, paid equal. Women joined the Women’s Army Corps, Army Nurses Corps, Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service, Navy Corps, Marines, and the Coast Guard. Many women used their traditional role as women in the military, taking on jobs such as nursing, or non-combat jobs.

World War II was a huge part of the Women’s movement. Men going off to serve in the military left many openings for jobs. The men leaving gave the women the opportunity to show they could handle the manual labor and work just as well as the men did. Women risked their lives working near and in combat zones. They showed they had the bravery like the men did. “We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot” ― Eleanor Roosevelt. World War II eliminated the differences between gender roles.