Working women

Working women

This is a detail from a photograph in the Washington State History Museum. During World War II women worked in U.S. industry in unprecedented numbers and many factories were racially integrated for the first time. At the outset of the war the country was woefully ill prepared to fight any war much less one on multiple fronts worldwide. Within a couple of years output of ships, tanks, rifles, and other materiel was astonishing. The military won the war but factory workers fueled the effort.

Honoring Martin Luther King today as well as the legions of others who have fought for social justice.

5 thoughts on “Working women”

  1. These women were vital to the war effort! I don’t think they’ve ever received the recognition they deserve. Their engagement in the factories also changed the culture dramatically which slowly began to accept the notion that women could and should work outside of the home.

  2. It’s astonishing how much WWII helped change our attitude about many things. But I guess we don’t notice a lot of changes as we live through them,noticing them more as we look back.

  3. It was a tough time in many countries, and I agree that the war era changed many things: sex roles, cultural mores, employment and economics.

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