World War I: Women's Role In Society

The role of women in society has changed immensely over the years. War specifically has proved as an accelerator to many of these changes. World War I was a pivotal time for women. It gave women an opportunity to prove themselves in a male-dominated society. The role of American women during World War II was just as important, both at home and in uniform. With the loss of their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers to the overseas war, women were forced to make up for the lack of manpower on the home front. With so much new production needed to support the war effort and with a gross shortage of men to staff factories, propaganda was distributed through print, film and radio to encourage women to take over jobs for the duration of the war.
The Women’s Trade Union League was established in 1903 which focused on supporting the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The Women’s Trade Union League played an important role in supporting the massive strikes that led to the later development of major organizations and movements and it was seen as a key institution in reforming women's working conditions in the early 20th century. A decade later, the National Woman's Party was founded by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. This organization fought solely for women's suffrage, ignoring all other issues. It utilized picketing and open public demonstrations to gain attention. The 1920s proved to be one of the most important decades for women’s rights. The ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment on August 18, 1920 is majorly responsible for this. The amendment guaranteed that: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” ( 1; sec. 1). Secondly, the League of Women Voters, an American civic organization, was formed to help newly enfranchised women exercise their responsibilities as voters. This organization was founded in 1920 by Carrie Catt six months before the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote. A year later, the American Birth Control League was founded by Margaret Sanger at the first
This decrease in male soldiers meant that women would be looked to to take their place. The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAC) established in 1942 allowed for more than one hundred thousand women to participate in the war alongside men. During the fall of 1942, the Women’s Auxiliary Air Squadron became known as the Women’s Air Force, and began training women pilots who flew planes to various military bases in the United States. Members of the WAC were the first women other than nurses to serve within the ranks of the United States Army. Both the Army and the American public initially had difficulty accepting the concept of women in uniform. However, political and military leaders realized that women could supply the additional resources so desperately needed in the military sectors. Advertisements flooded the home front with posters and cartoons encouraging women to take control of their country’s destiny and “Join the WAC now!” (Join the WAC). Women were convinced that their “aid was vital” to winning the war (We’re in the army now). This support only further pushed the involvement of women. By the end of the war their contributions would be widely heralded. Along with the establishment of the Women’s Army Corps in 1942, came a shortage of male pilots that led to a group of female pilots called the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). These women, each of whom had