Essay On Women's Role In Ww2

Much has been said about women on the homefront during WWII. The Make Do and Mend mentality and Victory Gardens hold a place of high esteem in history. Yet, left out of the narrative are the women who chose to take a more active role by joining the fight along with the men. Joining the military could have different outcomes depending on what your nationality was. In America, for instance, the likelihood of going into combat was unlikely for men even, logistical work being the most prevalent need. However, women in the USSR did not have the same options in front of them. They were, by necessity, fighting in the war in the most literal sense. Likewise, in Britain, women found a role as spies, with the recognition that a pretty young woman had far more success in putting people off their guard than any man would have.
In the United States there was a strong focus on the role women could play in the war effort. Aside from factory work, there was also a campaign to bring women into a role of promoting normalcy, thereby giving a distraction to the soldiers. Also necessary were the efforts at frugality. Rationing was prevalent and women worked diligently to come up with ingenious ways of making do with less. It was also during this period that women and African Americans made their presence felt in the workforce, both in factories and offices. However, these were not the only roles that women played during WWII, although most publicized. Women were also invaluable in their contributions to mindwork, namely in decoding. WWII was a war of secrets. There was a great need for decoding messages sent by the Axis powers. It was also this focus on covert operations that prompted the drafting of women into espionage work, particularly in