Job Opportunities Of Women During World War II

The new job opportunities that arose for women during World War I had deteriorated when the war ended. The jobs that women had taken over were now reserved for men when they got back. Some states even banned women labor forces from employment. After the war had ended, women went back home to continue their roles as wives and mothers. When Germany invaded Poland in September of 1939, women again began pursuing careers that would help the war effort.
Following the beginning of the war, more women made it their mission to find jobs outside of the home. The government initiated the War Manpower Commission, to encourage women to take over jobs that had been left by men. The commission was advertised on the radio, on print and even at the movies
In early 1940, there was a call for women to go and help out in factories to do their part for the war and to secure themselves financially. The first ones to respond to this call were positioned as blue-collar workers. These workers included women who were, working-class wives, widows, divorcees, and students who needed the job to earn extra money to make ends meet. Women, who worked in food service jobs, did not make as much money as women who worked in factories. These industrial jobs drew interest from both African American and white women. The demand for women workers was very high, and an issue of Newsweek disclosed that 3.2 million new workers were needed for industrial
Female workers had a difficult time adjusting to this type of work since men usually were the sole contributors. This barrier for women decreased as soon as the need for more production increased. In 1942, the 141- year ban on hiring women was lifted from the Brooklyn Navy Yard because of the need for more ships to be produced. The next year, there was a need for 30,000 more workers to assemble ships in the shipyards along the gulf coast. In Richmond, California, one of the largest shipyards, the Kaiser Shipyard, hired thousands of women to build ships rapidly and inexpensively. The expeditious of these ships being built, came to recognize the U.S. as an efficient wartime production country.
Labor shortages on farms were also a major issue during wartime. The U.S. Department of Agriculture took action and encouraged the Women’s Land Army (WLA) to take over. The Women’s Land Army enrolled thousands of women to work on farms. Most of them were very inexperienced farm hands. One woman, Florence Hall, was appointed the leader of the WLA. She traveled around helping and training women on farms. The U.S. brought in 230,000 foreign laborers to help plant and harvest. 265,000 prisoners of war were used as