Robert MacMahon

HST 328
4/12/15
The Saga of Women Factory Workers

American women during WWII helped to shape the outcome of the war through their massive efforts in the
home front, most notably in the factories. Through an examination of news media propaganda during the time
and the difficulties and effects of other areas where women sought to benefit the war cause, the importance of
women in the factory becomes quite evident. Although women in other fields such as in the military or as
housewives were helpful to the overall victory during the war, it is the women behind the men with the guns
who ultimately had the biggest impact.1
The mass media of the time (newspapers, magazines, film, and radio), were subject to the desires of such
government agencies as the Office of War Information (OWI) and compelled women to the industrial front lines
by subjecting them to a barrage of propaganda.2 As Maureen Honey points out, propaganda organizations
were established for film, radio, and newspapers, and that they were not only made aware of government
propaganda needs, but also sent representatives [to meet with]... government agencies. 3 The newspaper
element of Honey's declaration is illustrated by many articles published during the time, which enticed women to
the factories. One such article is from the Boston Traveler. Published in 1942 this article discusses Grayce
Grace, the first woman driver at the Watertown Arsenal and describes her fundamentally as a woman's woman.
She is an ex-beautician, stenog [sic], and 'phone operator' (all jobs popular for women in the early part of the
century), whose husband told her he wanted to get into the Navy, [so] she decided she wanted to do something
to help win the war.4 The latter part of this quote is in bold as though emphasizing the point that a woman
should be behind her man. The article also informs the reader that Mrs. Grace wears a natty overseas cap and
1 Joseph Purcell, Hie From Altar to War Jobs, Boston Daily Record, October 23 1942, from America on the
Homefront, Accessed April 9, 2015. http://www.archives.gov/boston/exhibits/homefront/4.01-10scrapbook.pdf#page=6.
2 Gail Collins, Americas Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines (New York: Harper Perennial,
2003), 371.
3 Maureen Honey, Creating Rosie the Riveter: Class, Gender, and Propaganda during World War II, (Amhurst:
University of Massachusetts, 1984), PDF e-book, 13,14.
4 West Newton Grandmother New Chauffeur at Arsenal, Boston Traveller, September 2, 1942, from America on the
Homefront, Accessed April 10, 2015. http://www.archives.gov/boston/exhibits/homefront/4.01-10scrapbook.pdf#page=6.

and a brown gabardine dress, which seems to also indicate that this article is addressed to women, who would
have been presumably more preoccupied with Mrs. Grace's fashion than men would have been. 5
In terms of the heroines of magazine stories and soap operas, the former took on the persona as defender of
freedom, and the latter signed up for defense jobs, quite contradictory to the women portrayed in these forms
of media in preceding decades6. Furthermore, visual reminders to those women who did not enter factory work
at times were quite persuasive. Such slogans as, a 'soldier may die unless you man this machine, undoubtedly
played its role in the propaganda campaign focused on women. 7 With this combination of guilt ridden and
empowering propaganda, women took to the factories in great numbersix million by the end of the the war. 8
The massive effort it took to mobilize this kind of propaganda shows that women in the factory were women's
most important role during WWII.
While government campaigns to enlist women into the factory were very prominent in American society at
the time, there seems to be little in regards to women getting into military organizations like the WAC. These
women faced an uphill battle to gain access into this field. Gail Collins describes this in her discussion of the
origins of the WAC and WASP groups when she writes that only [a]fter a series of compromises [did
Representative Edith Nourse] manage to pass legislation establishing the WAC. 9 In comparison to the six
million women who became factory workers, there were about 350,000 female WAC servicewomen and 1000
female pilots in the WASP program, and though other branches of the military had women's units they seem to
have had less of an impact due to their size, and are all but left out of Collins' book. 10 Although women pilots for
example flew 60 million miles during the war and acted as target practice for inexperienced [artillery]
trainees the struggle faced by the female military organizations and also their dramatically smaller size, seems
to indicate that they did not have as much of an impact as women working in defense factories. 11
But numbers are not everything in determining whether women factory workers influence were the biggest

5 West Newton Grandmother New Chauffeur at Arsenal, Boston Traveller, September 2, 1942, from America on the
Homefront, Accessed April 10, 2015. http://www.archives.gov/boston/exhibits/homefront/4.01-10scrapbook.pdf#page=6.
6 Honey, Creating Rosie the Riveter, 149; Collins, America's Women, 382.
7 Collins, Americas Women, 371.
8 Collins, America's Women, 381.
9 Collins, America's Women, 374.
10 Collins, America's Women, 374.
11 Collins, America's Women, 377.

female influence in WWII. For example 90% of married women did not sign up for defense work. 12 These
women did play a vital role in the cause by adjusting to the changes in consumerism mandated by the
government's Office of Price Administration to [prevent] living costs from rising thus [keeping] the economy
stable for when the men came home, while others [got] into the fight to keep prices down by volunteering as
OPA price panel assistants.13 The contribution of these women, however still did not exceed that of the woman
in the factory, as victory in the war was dependent on manufacturing. As the acting Regional Director of the
War Manpower Commission said in 1944 (quoting top military brass), [t]he battles...in progress entail heavy
losses in material which American industry must replace...any slackening in [this] production will only
delay...victory...[a]t many points our offensive is slowed by the lack of transportation. 14 So even though women
on the home front, who sacrificed the luxuries of gasoline or coffee and those who volunteered as price panel
assistants did do their part, it did not serve the war effort as much as those in the defense industry. In 1942 at the
Watertown Arsenal alone, production was estimated at thirty million dollars and this is hard to compete with. 15
Without this productionneeded transportation or war materialsthere would be less of a need for housewives
to protect the economy for returning men, as there would have probably been less men to return due to a
lengthened war, or none at all should the Allies have succumb.
Even though most married women did not enter the labor force, they were the main target of the
propaganda machine.16 Like the discussion about the WAC and WASP above this demonstrates that although
married women and women serving in military groups were integral parts of the war effort, they did not have the
impact economically, or socially that female factory workers had. Perhaps Katherine Donovan puts it best in her
1942 article published in the Boston Review, with the expansion of industry and the increasing shortage of
manpower, employers had no alternative but to call upon women. 17
12 Collins, America's Women, 384.
13 Office of Price Administration, Radio Clip Sheet, January 1944, from America on the Homefront, Accessed April 8,
2015, 5,1. http://www.archives.gov/boston/exhibits/homefront/1.02-radio-clips.pdf.
14 Arthur C. Gernes Speech to be Made by Arthur C. Gernes, July 31, 1944, from America on the Homefront,
Accessed April 7, 2015, 2. http://www.archives.gov/boston/exhibits/homefront/4.16-gernes-speech.pdf.
15 Milton E. Connelly, Women Playing Big Role At Watertown Arsenal, April 30, 1943, from America on the
Homefront, Accessed April 7, 2015. http://www.archives.gov/boston/exhibits/homefront/4.01-10scrapbook.pdf#page=6.
16 Collins, America's Women, 372.
17 Katherine Donovan, Bay State Victory Girls Meet the Challenge of War, Boston Review, December 13, 1942, from
America on the Homefront, Accessed April 9, 2015. http://www.archives.gov/boston/exhibits/homefront/4.01-10scrapbook.pdf#page=6.

Due to the historical urging against women in the workplace, the fact that the government and society were
willing to (at least temporarily, and at least to a degree) bypass their cultural traditions in order to allow women
in typically male dominated fields such as factories shows the massive need for women in defense factories.
Prior to the war when it was first suggested that women be used on men's jobs, many an employer viewed with
alarm, or laughed heartily and ignored the suggestion.18 But the WOWS (Women Ordnance Workers Services)
were intent on wow[ing] the Axs [sic], and eventually wowed their employers whose attitude rapidly
developed into amazed admiration. 19 Unlike the WASP program, which was dismantled in 1944 partially due to
a surplus of [male] pilots, who feared the competition of female pilots, factory workers were desperately
needed, as noted by Donovan's statement above, and continued in the industry until war's end. 20
The admiration of male employers shows two things. First, it shows the male domination of the military
and their lack of willingness to allow women to enter, and secondly it shows that women in factory work were
much more accepted. This second fact allowed for women in the factory to be as influential as they were. Due
to this and female factory workers' massive number the female factory workers became more important to the
United States war effort in WWII. As one congressman from New York stated, A woman's Army to defend the
United States of America!...What has become of the manhood of America.. 21
One of the main factors then of women in the factory being more influential than other areas that WWII
women sought to help their nation is the benefits that the United States reaped in terms of production, and
another is the degree to which American's accepted a woman's presence in the factory versus other areas. The
propaganda machine ensured that the American public knew women workers were necessary, as workers in
general were in strong demand. How, after all can an industrial nation thrive with a majority of its workers
overseas? How can an army battling across thousands of miles of crashing seas continue without industrial
production? They cannot, and this is why the War Manpower Commission felt so strongly about production, and
why the government and media (guided by the government) pushed for women workers.
The government shut down the WASPs, pressed for housewives to enter the workplace, and as for voluntary
organizations, an article written in the Chronicle in 1943 shows The Reading Ration and Price Control Board
18
19
20
21

Donovan, Bay Street.

Donovan, Bay Street.
Collins, America's Women, 378.
Collins, America's Women, 375.

practically begged for two female volunteers. 22 The fact that these contributions of American women were less
accepted, less encouraged, and less popular overall, while across the nation people of both genders were
subjected to propaganda of all kinds encouraging factory work shows just how important factory workers were
to the country. As Honey states, the media shaped the audience's attitudes through presenting values in
attractive packages.23
Even still, women in factories were subjected to prejudice. As noted Collin's notes, [b]y going off to sling
rivets...middle-class women lost their status. 24 But the growing acceptance of women in the workplace through
the agenda propagated in the news media attempted to change the values of the United States during the era of
WWII. This (although perhaps temporary) shift demonstrates that women in factories were seen as much more
useful to the war cause in the eyes of the governing elite. Honey points out, propagandists found in women the
personification of vulnerability they were looking for to concrectize [sic] and make...the message that civilians
must help soldiers protect American interests. 25 So this being the goal of the propaganda effort, and the
propaganda effort in turn praising women workers more than women in the military or housewives, the efforts of
propagandists during the time, if nothing else, illustrates the vast importance of women in defense factories.
This seems true, even if there was still a bias towards women factory workers. Donovan describes this in 1942
when she writes that, the...manufacture of armaments, as never before in [American] history is today a woman's
job.26
And this leads to one of the most important reasons that women in the factories were so important: the
change that it had on women themselves. By war's end, when the men of the country returned and the women
factory workers were stripped of their occupation, women still felt as though [a] whole new world [had] opened
up, because they realized that they were capable of doing something more than cook a meal. 27 Although this
wasn't what the propagandists had in mind when they called women into factories. Honey points out that
women were manipulated by the media...[about] their roles...a logical direction for capitalist ideology to take
22 Price Control Panel Wants Two Women to Investigate Local Retail Ceiling Prices, Reading Chronicle, August 13,
1943, from America on the Homefront, Accessed April 10, 2015.
http://www.archives.gov/boston/exhibits/homefront/1.08-women-investigate-prices.pdf.
23 Honey, Creating Rosie the Riveter, 9.
24 Collins, 385.
25 Honey, Creating Rosie the Riveter, 6,7.
26 Donovan Bay Street.
27 Collins, America's Women, 396.

[because it] reinforced women's inferior position 28 But even though women in the WWII era didn't fully see
liberation it helped to open up ideas which would eventually catch on in later decades, like the embers of a
wildfire.
In conclusion, the role of the women in the factories was the most influential role that women played during
WWII. Not only is this observable through the massive propaganda campaigns that the government and news
media (not to mention other forms of media such as film, radio, magazines) engaged in, but also in the lasting
impact that women factory workers had on the consciousness of women. Millions of women entered the field
between WWII's declaration and climax, and countless millions of dollars of war materials were produced in
factories where women served a prominent rolein 1943 there were up to 500,000 women workers in
Massachusetts war plants, and one-quarter of the workers at the Watertown plant were women. 29 But perhaps
Milton E. Connolley puts it best, [w]hen the saga of World War II is finally written, there will be chapters about
civilian women on the production front.30 And this essay, is but a humble chapter in that saga.

28 Honey, Creating Rosie the Riveter, 4,5.

29 Donovan, Bay Street.; Connelly, Women Playing Big Role.
30 Connelly, Women Playing Big Role.