Outline

Chapter 9: Creating "Rosie The Riveter" Propelling the American woman into the Workforce.

This is the timeline to when the media used advocacy propaganda by calling for female workers with positive coverages and praise in their articles and images during the World War II era. This enabled women to work in jobs that were once restricted to them and also helped the United States win the war. It also gave women a sense of worth and fulfillment and a new era of working women emerged in the years to come even after the end of the war.


World War II and the severe labor shortage when the men in the country were away at war. Womanpower was used instead.

          1940 12 million American women worked outside their home.
          1942 The Number increased to 19 million. A 58 percent increase.
           The Fourth Estate, newspapers, news magazines and radio started giving women positive coverage to persuade them to join the workforce.


    2.  Calling all women
       
        Business week quoted the importance of womanpower in the production of war weapons.
        Independent Radio station KJR creates program titled "Jobs for Women." It aired the importance of women and the specific jobs available.
        2200 women joined the Seattle workforce, the program "Jobs for Women." was an instant success.
        New York Times headline "Needed: 50,000 Nurses."
        Christian Science Monitor headline "Calling All Woman" and "It's Woman's Day Right Now."
        1942 The Nation's cover story wanted compulsory employment for all healthy women.
        1941 New York Times fall article talks about how American women were making a difference
        The Times had articles pleading women to join the workforce by creating a recruitment brochure.


  3. Glamorizing the "Girls"

     Christian Science Monitor published a photo spread of beautiful young women walking to work in slacks and overalls. Overalls and slacks was made the new black and was described as "glamorous."
      The Monitor describes assembly line female workers like they were Hollywood Stars.
      The Time and New York Times describes work uniforms and work stations by using designer names and fashion terms.
      1942 Life magazine publishes a photo essay gushing about the glamor of a working girl. American magazine did the same.

  4. Praising Working women

   1942 Newsweek boasts about women working in every area of defense production.
    New York Times agreed that women were equal to men when it came to working skills.
    Business Week Magazine praised women for their attention to detail and longer attention spans.
    Radio stations joined the propaganda too.

5. Balancing Two Worlds.

    New York Times writes a story about fictional character named Alma balancing her work life and duties as a wife and mother perfectly.

6. Redefining "Women's Work."

    American Magazine publishes an article about how women can do anything when she is mad or threatened.
    1941 American Magazine publishes article titled "Amazons of Aberdeen" the increase of women working in grounds and fields they were once not allowed to work at.
     Newsweek argued that black women were just as capable as white women.
    1930 Margaret Bourke-White publishes breathtaking photos with Life Magazine.

7. Capturing the Moment in Pictures.

 Margaret Bourke-White and Life Magazine publishes photos and her personal account of her rescue at sea.
 Bourke-White captures female workers in a rugged masculine way in her photography.
  Another life photographer uses beautiful Hollywood Stars modeling as factory girls completed with glamorous hobbies outside of their work life.
Time publishes medical story disagreeing that riveting is the cause of breast cancer.
  New York Times publishes photographs of women hard at work.

Changing the Social Order.

Between 1940 and 1944, women in the workforce increased to more than half
1946 one million more women were working in factories compared to 1940.
Two million women returned to their workdesks after peace was restored after the war.
Twenty Percent of American families had both husband and wife working compared to the eleven percent before the war.