These jobs will have to be glorified as a patriotic
war service
if American women are to be persuaded to take
them and stick to
them. Their importance to a nation engaged in
total war must be
convincingly presented. --Basic Program Plan
for Womanpower
Office of War Information
In
the face of acute wartime labor shortages, women
were needed in the defense industries, the civilian
service, and even the Armed Forces. Despite
the continuing 20th century trend of women entering
the workforce, publicity campaigns were aimed
at those women who had never before held jobs.
Poster and film images glorified and glamorized
the roles of working women and suggested that
a woman`s femininity need not be sacrificed.
Whether fulfilling their duty in the home, factory,
office, or military, women were portrayed as
attractive confident, and resolved to do their
part to win the war.
Victory
Waits on Your Fingers
Produced by
the
Royal Typewriter Company
for the U.S. Civil Service Commission
NARA Still Picture Branch
(NWDNS-44-PA-2272)
(Click on poster
for high-resolution image)
Longing
Won`t Bring Him Back Sooner... Get a War Job! by Lawrence Wilbur,
1944
Printed by the
Government Printing Office for the War
Manpower Commission
NARA Still Picture Branch
(NWDNS-44-PA-389)
(Click on poster for
high-resolution image)
We Can
Do It! by J. Howard Miller
Of all
the images of working women
during World War II, the image of
women in factories predominates. Rosie
the Riveter--the strong, competent
woman dressed in overalls and
bandanna--was introduced as a symbol
of patriotic womanhood. The
accoutrements of war work--uniforms,
tools, and lunch pails--were
incorporated into the revised image of
the feminine ideal.
Produced by Westinghouse
for the War Production
Co-Ordinating Committee
NARA Still Picture Branch
(NWDNS-179-WP-1563)
