Though most women did not serve as soldiers in WWII, over 6 million women took wartime jobs. Women stood in for jobs usually intended for the men, such as working in factories or farms. While working was not new to lower class women, WWII propaganda posters encouraged white middle class women to participate in the workforce. Images of "Rosie the Riveter" empowered women, showing a strong female helping in the war effort. As we had discussed in our gerontology class in the beginning of the semester, there is a lot of stress put on working women because they are earning money while still expected to take on the role of caretaker. The idea of daycare was invented to allow even young mothers to work. Unfortunately, after the war this change in image of a powerful woman seemed somewhat artificial as many were forced to return to being housewives. However this did open up the doors for women in the workforce.
As these women grew older having had the experience with work has been beneficial. The changing role of women at the time allowed women to feel useful and empowered compared to the generations before. However this generation of females did not really maintain this sense of independence as in the 50s, the consumerist culture and boom in advertisements encouraged women to stay home and serve their families. The majority of women who continued to work post WWII had already been working before the war. Aging women who have experienced both roles of working wife and house wife may feel a sense of bitterness. The elderly women's roles in the wwii workforce allowed them to be more accepting of future generations of working women.
Sources:
http://youtu.be/WhswqZh2Rc4 - propaganda
http://youtu.be/IVtgEgw15mQ - displacement of women workers after wwii
