Women’s Work in WWII Millions of working women break down the barriers of gender discrimination

By vintageflyer on January 17th, 2013

Women’s Work in WWII is a book of little stories about personal struggles that melded into a revolution. It tells the chronological story about the zigzag social and political developments that enabled U.S. women to gain equal employment with the parallel story of WWII. It documents the history of millions of women working in thousands of roles with minimal training and no experience but fully confident that they were equal to filling the roles of men they replaced.

These women had a job to do. They were comfortable in their own skin and proved why you need to be who you are. They imagined success and achieved it. The book includes many photographs and stories of personal innovation like a former gift wrapper who increased B-17 aircraft production with the help of a tissue or women engineers working with advanced mathematics and science to revolutionize products. The political system changed; female juries, local union leadership and elected female officials became commonplace.

The war ended and so did female equality. But these women did not accept that outcome. The book concludes when after the war, these same women worked in and with Congress, with the president, the unions and across the courts. Their objective: restore equal pay for equal work and provide a workplace that would be free from gender discrimination.

Upon completing the book, readers reflect on their experience and gain new respect for the importance of making personal commitments to change. Available in softcover/January 2013 or hardcover February/2013.

Categories: Book Review
Tags: discrimination, Equality, human rights, liberty, wwii

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Letter from the Executive Director

Dear Friends –

Women Inspiring Innovation through Imagination, the theme for 2013 Women's History Month , recognizes American women's outstanding contributions to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We are proud to honor eighteen women whose pioneering work includes scientific breakthroughs, life-saving discoveries, invention of new technologies, creation of organizations, and the promotion of women and girls in STEM. For full description, visit our website www.nwhp.org.

A variety of information related to National Women’s History Month 2013 is available to download on our homepage www.nwhp.org where you can preview or order a copy of the 2013 Women’s History Gazette. Throughout the Gazette you will find information about women in the STEM fields. Also highlighted are many organizations and programs working to promote women's and girls’ interest and participation in STEM.

For National Women’s History Month 2013 as well as throughout the year, we invite you to explore the many women who have made extraordinary contributions to the STEM fields. We also encourage you to consider the ways in which you can promote women and girls in STEM.

Thanks for your support,

Molly Murphy MacGregor
Executive Director and Cofounder
National Women’s History Project