- “Rosie the Riveter.” Women’s place in the workforce was radically changed by WWII. New popular images in propaganda, like “Rosie the Riveter,” were used to recruit women to fill war-time defense jobs which suffered from the “man” power shortage caused by the war. Black women, along with older and married women, for the first time found exciting new opportunities open to them in non-traditional, skilled, and highly paid jobs. Nearly 20 million women were active in the workforce during the war, 6.5 million for the first time. The number of women in heavy manufacturing increased 460%. Overnight, women were trained to be shipbuilders, welders, riveters, and machine workers. In addition, they became the train conductors, bus drivers, lumberjacks and police which sustained the nation. When WWII came to an end, new propaganda was produced which encouraged women to leave the workforce so the returning soldiers could resume their old jobs. Although women were laid off in great numbers, 80% of them wanted to keep their skilled jobs, and many of the “Rosies” stayed in the workforce but were forced to return to their traditional unskilled positions.
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