Before WW2, few women followed careers. Gender roles in the 1940s and earlier dictated that women should follow ‘traditional’ roles such as nursing, secretarial or caring jobs. Only when millions of men joined the armed forces did women take on an active role in World War 2. They broke gender stereotypes at the time and filled many paid jobs that previously had been held by men – such as a bank teller, shoe salesperson or aircraft mechanic.
Women on the homefront also started working in factories to support the war efforts. This was known as the ‘Rosie the Riveter’ phenomenon and it’s been attributed to the ‘We Can Do It’ poster that you might recognize too. Over time, it’s become one of the best feminist icons in history. As a way to lure young women into the factories, advertisers showed women workers as glamorous and even fashionable. They mentioned that women did not care much about their appearance while at work, but that they were still feminine underneath the dirt. [sources: 1 2 3]
It’s hard to believe but some of your grandmothers actually made bomber planes! These WW2 color photos show us the challenging work taken on by these proto-feminists. Without their efforts to break stereotypes, we wouldn’t have women in engineering or other supposed men’s roles today. Scroll down through these amazing vintage women photos and maybe you’ll find yours.
1940s Women In Engineering Training
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Women are trained as engine mechanics in thorough Douglas training methods, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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Part of the cowling for one of the motors for a B-25 bomber is assembled in the engine department of North American Aviation, Inc.'s Inglewood, Calif.1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
Changing Traditional Gender Roles With A Rivet Gun
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Oyida Peaks riveting as part of her NYA training to become a mechanic at the Naval Air Base, Assembly and Repair Department, Corpus Christi, Texas 1942 August, photographer: Hollem Howard R.[/caption]
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This girl in a glass house is putting finishing touches on the bombardier nose section of a B-17F navy bomber, Long Beach, Calif. She's one of many capable women on the homefront in the Douglas Aircraft Company plant. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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Woman at work on motor, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
These WW2 Color Photos Also Show The Style At The Time
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Women at work on bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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Girl worker at lunch also absorbing California sunshine, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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Women are trained to do precise and vital engine installation detail in Douglas Aircraft Company plants, Long Beach, Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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American mothers and sisters, like these women at the Douglas Aircraft Company, give important help in producing dependable planes for their men at the front, Long Beach, Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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Woman working on an airplane motor at North American Aviation, Inc., plant in Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
Rosie The Riveter
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"Rosie the Riveter", working on an A-31 "Vengeance" dive bomber. Operating a hand drill at Vultee-Nashville, Tennessee 1943 Feb. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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Women on the homefront install fixtures and assemblies to a tail fuselage section of a B-17 bomber at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant, Long Beach, Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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Woman machinist, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
WW2 Aircraft Systems Being Tested
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Woman aircraft worker, Vega Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, Calif. Shown checking electrical assemblies 1942 June, photographer: Bransby, David[/caption]
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Lunchtime brings a few minutes of rest for these women workers of the assembly line at Douglas Aircraft Company's plant, Long Beach, Calif. Sand bags for protection against air raid form the background. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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Riveting team working on the cockpit shell of a B-25 (i.e. C-47) bomber at the plant of North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood (i.e. Douglas Aircraft Co., Long Beach), Calif. 1942 photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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An A-20 bomber being riveted by a woman worker at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant at Long Beach, Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
Women Engineers Checking Aircraft Propeller
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Women at work on C-47 Douglas cargo transport, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942 Oct. photographer: Palmer, Alfred T.[/caption]
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Painting the American insignia on airplane wings is a job that Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy, a former office worker, does with precision and patriotic zeal. Mrs. McElroy is a civil service employee at the naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas. Her husband is a flight instructor 1942 August, photographer: Hollem, Howard R.[/caption]
Gender Roles In The 1940s Were Not Great To Women
On July 1943 Transportation Magazine even published "11 Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees", which were written for male supervisors of women during World War II. This example of institutionalized sexism now looks ridiculous in today's age.
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