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Rosie the Riveter retires

3 min read

World War II ended with VJ Day (Victory over Japan) this week (Sept. 2) in 1945, when the Japanese became the last holdout to formally surrender. Just as the war had been life-changing for so many Americans, so would its end, for women as well as men.

The war necessitated millions of American soldiers going off to fight in Europe and the Pacific, which meant that to keep the American economy going, millions of women had to replace them in jobs not traditionally considered women’s work. And given that America’s industrial output was now military equipment as well as consumer goods, women would be needed to work in factories, on countless assembly lines, as mechanics, welders, electricians, plumbers and more.

Most women welcomed this challenge. The belief that the majority of the women’s workforce during the war was suburban moms now trading housekeeping and child rearing for a real job is not true. Yes, many educated, upper-class women soon worked in white-collar jobs traditionally held by men, but most of this female workforce were working-class women, some married, some single, all looking for a paycheck, all proud to be full-time employees in the real working world, making new friends, learning a marketable skill, and doing their part to win the war.

The symbol of this women’s workforce was Rosie the Riveter, originally a drawing on a Westinghouse poster, who is dressed in a work shirt, has her hair tied up in a scarf and is flexing her arm muscle, saying, “We can do it!” But she was also quite pretty, and feminine; she even wears lipstick and eyeliner. The combination of female beauty and “can do it” muscularity was what attracted both women and men to the Rosie image, making her one of the most iconic symbols of the war.

Obviously these women were happy the war ended, although four out of five of them hoped to keep their jobs. But with the men now returning, it was expected – actually it was a law, the Veteran’s Preference Act – that the men would be given back their old jobs, leaving the women out of work and back to their old lives. And there was the traditional belief back in the 1940s (and lasting until the late 1960s) that the man of the house was the breadwinner.

And so, most all former Rosies returned to what was considered “women’s work” – as secretaries, clerical workers, domestic helpers, department-store sales ladies, and housewives and moms.

As a postscript, the Japanese surrender ceremony ending the war took place on the deck of the USS Missouri, built in 1944, in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, by just as many Rosies as Ralphs, Roberts, Randys and Richards.

Bruce G. Kauffmann’s email address is bruce@historylessons.net.

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