The Effects of the War on Women

The development of wartime economy had given women more freedom than they had ever had before. Though they did face some discrimination in the workforce it was minimal compared to that which they were privy to in pre-world war II times. For the first time, women were able to experience some sort of social and economic mobility. Suddenly women were faced with choices, and by excersising these choices they were able to explore their own individuality and independence. With the war over and the break up of the war machine women who were urged to go to work to suport their country were now in jeopardy of losing their jobs.

But the future of women's place in the workforce did not depend soley on the state of the post war economy, infact much of it would depend on the women themselves. For the past three years women were subjected to long hours, little benefits, low-cost and low-quality child care facilities, not to mention almost unprecedented physical demands, it was possible, that for many women losing their job was a blessing. The fact was that only time would tell how women would react to the postwar period.

Another factor in deciding the postwar place for women in the workforce was public opinion. Many people just assumed that American women would just return to their homes voluntarily. More still viewed the the American homemaker turned "production soldier" would understand that her positions was a temporal as a soldiers. They reasoned that millions of men were asked to leave their job to become soldiers, and when the war was over they were expected to return home to work.

The fact of the matter is that there was no one typically femine response to the postwar era. The choices that women made and the reasons why they made them were as unique and individual as they were themselves. Some women wre glad when the war ended because that meant that they could go back to the home where they felt they belonged. Other women returned home not because they wanted to, but because their husband and much of the american society believed they should. Still other women ledt their jobs, because the return of their soldiers meant the ability to resume pre-war plans (i.e. marriage or pregnancy.)

Yet there were some women who elected to stay at work. They enjoyed their new found independence, and the income they had brought in was either important to their own livelihood, in the event that they were single, or their families. According to Karen Anderson in her book Wartime Women ,Women, who worked in defense centers during the years of 1944-1945, responded to a survey conducted by the Women's Bureau in which 75% of them said that they planned to continue working.

One thing is for certainthe effects of World War Ii would be felt for years to come. Women had experienced new oppurtunities, a sense of independence, and were expereincing their own individuality. Though some of the women that continued to work after the war did receive wage cuts and some even received demontions, they had made progress. The war allowed women to make decisions, and it gave them a chanc eto fight for their rights. And there is no doubt that the consequences of the World War II (the discrimination, job cuts, and wage inequalities) led to the development of many of the civil rights movements of the 1950's.