The Negative Impact Of World War II On Women

With the war, came devastation, depression, deprivation, and death. During World War II over 290,000 American servicemen were killed in action. It cost the U.S. over $350 billion. One of the first major impacts felt was with the labor shortages when the men went off to war. Many jobs that men originally had were left up to the women to handle when wartime came. More and more women entered the workforce taking up jobs that were reserved for men in the industry. Women changed a lot in this time. I definitely believe that the women were the group affected most by WWII. They had more a voice and a place now. A popular icon for women was Rosie the Riveter. Another group affected by WWII were the number of high school dropouts, increasing significantly.
“War widow” numbers were as high as five million who were trying to take care of their children alone. The rates of juvenile delinquency went up rapidly. Venereal diseases also rose dramatically. The war also aggravated systemic racism. Thousands of Americans of Japanese descent were relocated and interned in camps. As for African Americans were usually “the last to be hired and the first to be fired”. Discrimination continued its isolating role in society during this time.The government played a big role in supplying the military with supplies during WWII. The federal government encouraged Americans to conserve and recycle numerous items so that the factories could use them for wartime production materials. The government then conducted things called “salvage drives” throughout the country to aid the war effort. Now looking towards the end of the war… It revealed pent-up demand. Prices increased with the removal of price controls, but women stayed on the jobs to buy items needed for their families. The American dream changed into a reality for many families as they were able to now buy a home, a washing machine, a car, and to give their children the things they had been deprived of for such a long time in the