Introduction
Women have proved to have a stand in many things such as family care and leadership positions. Over 350,000 women served in the U.S. military during the Second World War, both in the U.S. and abroad (Brinkley, Giggie and Huebner, 2019). The women played a critical effort in the war, reducing the gap in industrial labor. WWII opened up doors for other women outside the military for job vacancies thought to be male-dominated (Brinkley, Giggie and Huebner, 2019). Eleanor Roosevelt formed women groups after noting that the British used women in the army. The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was upgraded into the Women’s Army Corps, and it was given full military status. The members of WACs worked in various non-combatant jobs, and it attracted more women (Miche,l 2017). By 1945, the group had over 100,000 members, of which 6000 were female officers (Miche,l 2017). The number grew even after the war had ended because of the empowerment they were given by Roosevelt’s wife.
Impact of Women in WWII
The first woman to complete training and get a pilots certificate in the U.S. was absorbed in the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) forum. Thereafter, many women joined the pilot training and joined WASP. These women enabled the ferrying of trains from factories to bases, transporting cargo, and participated in transporting military personnel and equipment to target missions (Brinkley, Giggie and Huebner, 2019). The U.S. women pilots accumulate over 60 million miles in flying, thereby freeing thousands of males to focus on the WWII active duties. However, 38 of the 1000 women WASPs members died in the line of duty (Merryman, 2020). These women ensured they created time for their country and relieved men to the active representation of the U.S. ideologies. Through them, more men realized they could rely on women to take active measures in security measures.
Active participation enables women to be liberated from inequality notions. After the Great Depression, WWII transformed the jobs that women were allowed to do. Initially, women were in traditional fields such as nursing, teaching, and taking care of the kids (Nagata, Kim and Wu, 2022). WWII showed that women could take up manly duties and demonstrate expertise. The aviation industry saw a boom in the number of women that showed up for training. Over 310,000 women registered for aviation classes (Dawson, 2019). The fight for women’s rights was raised, and many movements came up to ensure women in the U.S. were given equal rights.
The women took up positions that enabled the men to avail themselves of the war. Women handled the office and clerical jobs. The ideologies of masculine jobs seized because women worked as laboratory technicians, analyzed photographs, served as radio operators, rigged parachutes, and handled anti-aircraft artillery gunners (Dawson, 2019). Others joined in the fight through medical service provisions. The medical and nursing staff saved the lives of the army while on the battlefields. The ambient conditions created by the women made the government and the men focus on the war. It also reduced the tension or stress that husbands had about their families while on the battlefields (Chappine, 2022). It was an ideal condition through trust and belief that women in the U.S. could handle family matters that gave their husbands the fighting spirit.
Conclusion
The absenteeism of fathers in their fighting to their families led to the Lanham Act in 1940. The Act was a caution for childcare services where defense production has eroded men. Franklin Roosevelt urged for reforms that allowed women to go to grocery stores and leave their working environment during working hours (Chappine, 2022). Therefore, WWII empowered women and opened their liberties as equal citizens of the U.S. It enabled them to have equal pay, and they gained the trust to handle delicate situations in many organizations. The country also recruited more women into masculine affiliated jobs to reduce their unemployment rates.
Bibliography
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