A Womans Change
For women, wartime was considered "the best years of their lives" by some people and historians. Not only did women come to the country's aid in time of need, they also started the concept of women having a job. The idea of women at work during World War II was not utterly new. In the previous years of World War I, women were nursing sisters and volunteers. If a woman had a job it would usually be as a teacher, sales clerk or a secretary, but it never would require hard labor. As World War II came around however, the situation changed. As the men went to war, women would now take over the men's jobs. One of the most famous ads that tried to persuade women to take the place of the men was of an imaginary character named Rosie the Riveter. Rosie was portrayed very well and had rosy cheeks, a sign of a true lady. This advertisement not only made working look attractive, but patriotic as well. When women realized that they could work and still be feminine, they started looking for jobs. Some people had a problem with women working in the area of a man's job. Industry was hesitant to hire women because they thought the only reason women wanted a job was to earn a little spending money. They were wrong because women were tired of thei
When Kathy asks the question what did you do in the war grandma, she responds by saying "after my husband went into war I quit my job at Gibson's and went to work in a woolen mill, Listers, which before the war was just a normal routine job. The money factor also helped, but women wanted to prove that they could do the same job as a man. Lyn also had the pleasure of being a burner at the same time. Women now did jobs that traditionally were not theirs. The women went from working in a cafeteria, a kitchen, a stock girl, a maid, and typing office work. As a welder in the shipyard, Lyn was making $1. The 5 women who tell their stories are Gladys Belcher, Lola Weixel, Margaret Wright, Wanita Allen, and Lyn Childs. In 1944 "the average woman's salary was $31. The women would now replace the men's job as they were in war. Women went through many hardships, and should be recognized for it. The women were proud to be able to help out with the war as much as possible and to be able to experience different skills that they never were allowed to encounter before. The women loved their jobs and wanted to keep it full time. If there were one significant event that one of the women went through it would be when Lyn was on the ship that she helped build when it was being pushed in the water.
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