What It Was Like Being a Female Factory Worker During WWII

From the empowering story of Rosie the Riveter to their pivotal role in manufacturing during World War II, American women were a vital part of the war effort at home and abroad. 6 million women joined the workforce during World War II. They helped keep the country running and ultimately played a pivotal role in helping secure victory. Today, we're looking at what it was like to be a female factory worker during the Second World War. But before we get started, make sure to subscribe to the Weird History channel. And don't forget to leave a comment and let us know what other wartime topics you would like to hear about. OK, time to roll up the sleeves and get to work on this riveting tale. Becoming a factory worker during the war was a patriotic act and an economic opportunity for many women in the United States. As the war kicked off and men enlisted or were drafted to fight overseas, the need for labor was dire. After all, those tanks weren't going to build themselves. This isn't Cybertron. The country needed workers to fill vital roles in every sector. From truck driving jobs to engineering roles, women were able to work in fields that had previously only employed men. In addition to that type of shift work, hundreds of thousands of women served in non-combat roles in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. And over 3 million volunteered for the Red Cross. But the majority went to work in industry. And millions were employed in durable goods factories converted to make the munitions, airplanes, vehicles, machines, and ships the US needed to prevail. Previously, women mostly worked clerical jobs or in service industries. When the need arose, however, the nation's women answered the call. Factories throughout the nation were repurposed to build and repair the munitions, planes, vehicles, and other machines required for the war effort. And it turned out that women were more than capable of meeting the challenges of factory work, including laboring in confined spaces, meeting aggressive production goals, and handling factory work's repetitive nature. Unfortunately, factory conditions were still just as harsh as they'd ever been. Hours were long, and factory life could be exhausting and dangerous. But that didn't deter many American women from taking on vital roles. Many worked on the aircraft and ships that were used in the war. Others operated the blast furnaces used to manufacture materials or made vital repairs to broken equipment. In addition to building and repair, they were also tasked with inspecting and testing everything they made. Because it wouldn't do to discover that an airplane was assembled incorrectly when it rolled off an aircraft carrier like a runaway skateboard. Whether it was repairing damaged vehicles, painting radium on instrument panels, or riveting and drilling, women filled a wide range of defense industry jobs that required exacting detail and new levels of efficiency. Building airplane motors, reconditioning damaged parts, welding, riveting, and inspecting machinery were all part of a day's work throughout the war. But women's factory work wasn't limited to riveting and operating cranes. Some women helped design aircraft, served as code breakers, or piloted planes. In a 1944 issue of National Geographic, Glenn Martin, whose company would eventually become Lockheed Martin, called women an asset to factories, saying, the presence of so many women has had an excellent effect upon production. They have set production records that are a challenge to men. And there's something about a woman beating a man in his machine that he just cannot stand. That's a secret of a healthy workforce. Hit them against each other. But convincing women to enter the workforce took some effort. Convincing an entire generation to abandon their traditional gender roles and help with the war effort wasn't easy. But the US used some tried and true tactics to get people on board. Most of us are probably familiar with the old, I want you, enlistment poster featuring an extremely intense Uncle Sam pointing an accusatory finger forward, as though you forgot to flush. Similar posters depicting women working in factory roles, phrases such as, we can do it, and the now iconic image of Rosie the Riveter, all helped convince women to join the war effort. The messages emphasized not only the importance of war work for the country, but also the economic opportunity it offered. Other recruitment methods were used throughout the war as well. Videos produced by the War Manpower Commission touted the benefits of putting existing skills learned in the home to use in factories or other industries. The War Woman Power Commission took out newspaper and radio ads rallying women to join the effort. They also had recruitment offices enticing people to take wartime jobs. One major selling point of factory work was higher wages. Some factories paid more than jobs that traditionally employed women at the time, such as secretarial work. Plus, you don't get to work in machine press while answering phones at a family practice. Rosie the Riveter is one of the most enduring images from the Second World War. You know, outside of that one guy with a mustache. Or I guess it's two guys with a mustache. In the posters and illustrations, Rosie is shown as a strong, confident woman wearing blue overalls and a red bandana. She was a symbol of empowerment, and a pretty effective symbol at that. From 1940 to 1944, 6.3 million additional women went to work in various industries and positions, increasing women's representation in the nation's workforce from 24% to 32%, and driving the unemployment rate to the lowest on record at 1.2%. Although women who served in factories during the war were collectively known as Rosies, there were a few real life women who were likely candidates for being the inspiration for Rosie the Riveter. Artist Norman Rockwell modeled his illustration of Rosie on a woman named Mary Doyle Keefe. Rosalind P. Walter, who put rivets on Corsair fighter planes, is another likely inspiration, as is a woman named Naomi Parker Fraley. Regardless of who inspired the winning image, collectively, the Rosies participated in a wartime effort that built over 297,000 airplanes, over 100,000 tanks, and billions of ammunition for small arms. The idea of Rosie was so compelling that she even became the subject of her own song, Rosie the Riveter, by popular band leader Kay Kaiser. That's how you know you've hit it big, when the Kayster writes you a tune. Throughout World War II, women from all walks of life answered the call to serve their country. A significant portion of the women who worked were married, with their husbands off fighting in the war. By 1944, women held a full third of factory jobs in the United States. However, Black women attempting to join the effort were blocked by racially discriminatory practices. Thanks to activists like Mary McLeod Bethune, the issues they faced were brought to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's attention. I mean, he did something about it. After FDR signed Order 8802 in 1941, racial discrimination was banned in the defense industry. This empowered over 1 million African-American women to join paid defense work as administrators, railroad workers, sheet metal manufacturers, and as factory workers that became so integral to the war effort. Work-life balance wasn't something that was always easy to come by during World War II. For the married women who worked in the factories, a good work-life balance was even more difficult because their husbands were fighting overseas. Many women would work long hours six days per week, especially after the government declared a mandatory 48-hour work week in early 1943. And these women still had to come home and take care of their children and the household. For the women working in factories that produced war machinery, there was also a high demand for overtime. Since these were some of the highest paying gigs available, women were keen to keep going, staffing factories around the clock. For those skilled women working in war industries, especially with strong union protections, wages were high and matched those of their male counterparts. However, equal pay wasn't achieved easily or consistently. Legal decisions, government policy strikes, and union labor agreements were the tools that tried to guarantee the same pay for equivalent work regardless of gender. However, it wasn't always effective, especially for women employed in non-defense industries without union protection or in states with unfavorable laws or that limited a woman's ability to work. They could face lower pay compared to their male counterparts and much lower than workers in war industries. Some women loved the work because they could get off every day at the same time, which is super underrated. Others appreciated the money, and others wanted to help the war effort and beat those Nazis. As for the women who had children, the government rose to the occasion to help them out, for a little while anyway. Child care can be expensive. But during World War II, mothers who had jobs related to wartime production had unprecedented access to subsidized daycare. Using some of the authority and funding from the Defense Housing and Community Facilities and Services Act, the US government established subsidized child care in 1942. Under the act, families who lived in communities where defense production was prominent were able to get access to child care six days a week. But it wasn't just free daycare for anyone who wanted it. Communities had to apply for funding through the act, establishing the direct support of workers in wartime production, and build their own daycare centers. Although there were other buildings designed and built specifically for this purpose, most daycare centers were makeshift areas built into pre-existing buildings. Some communities repurposed church basements as daycare centers, because all the best child care takes place in basements. Others built care centers into the factories where mothers worked. Funds for those centers were approved comparatively quickly. Child care wasn't free. It was subsidized for a much lower cost, around $0.50 per day. For those keeping score, that's an equivalent of $9 per day in 2022. That's a pretty good deal. And it wasn't just a bunch of kids being thrown into a gym to lord of the flies amongst themselves for eight hours. Many of the child care facilities offered high quality care, with free meals and education. And they accommodated the odd hours their mothers might work. And according to studies over these years, women were highly satisfied with these programs. The Allied victories in 1945 ended the war, but presented a new challenge, how to demobilize millions of soldiers and transition to a non-war economy. This was no small task. By 1944, 47% of all production in the US was war related. Peacetime led to changes. Factories shut down to retool. Employees were laid off. Wages dropped. And programs related to wartime production, such as subsidized child care, ended, directly impacting the ability and incentives for women to work. In addition, with 10 million veterans returning to domestic life, the fear of economic disaster was real. The Great Depression was fresh in memories. And predictions of post-war unemployment ran as high as 34%. In response, the GI Bill was passed, offering job placement, training, loans, and unemployment compensation. The public rallied around returning troops. And employers preferentially hired veterans. As such, most of the Rosies could not secure factory jobs when production resumed. And in some industries, such as automotive manufacturing, women were not even considered for factory labor, and were abandoned by their unions. As the US returned to a more traditional peacetime economy, and the baby boom got started, women's participation in the workforce dropped, although it remained above pre-war levels, and climbed steadily until the 1960s, when it surpassed its World War II peak of 37%. Women in the workforce during World War II, represented by the image of Rosie the Riveter, were essential to the success of US forces fighting around the world, and pivotal to securing a global allied victory. By rising to the challenges of war, women across the country also redefined themselves and their roles, changing America, and paving new paths for women who would choose to enter the workforce in the decades to come. So what do you think? Would you have joined the war effort at home? Let us know in the comments below. And while you're at it, check out these other videos from our Weird History.