The Industrial Woman

Women who worked in aluminum mills during WWII were often designated the job of inspecting and testing the thickness of sheets with a gage test; this photo depicts an Alcoa woman doing so.

Among the abundance of roles that women were being asked to fill on the home front, the greatest demand resided in the workforce. The jobs that men had left behind in the manufacturing industry had to be filled, and women were called upon to fill them. Not only were women needed in the commercial manufacturing plants that produced goods for the average American, they were especially needed in the war production plants – the plants created to produce wartime materials like plane parts, bullets, vehicles, etc. Many women joined for the men and their homes; they weren’t receiving the same income any longer, and they had to ensure that their home and family were being taken care of. There were as many women, however, who saw joining the manufacturing plants as a productive financial opportunity – they could finally leave their lower paying job for a higher income, more benefits, and more job security. Women also began taking on the roles of men in the industrial workplace. They were handling heavier machinery and working longer hours, quickly becoming an integral part in the war production era. It quickly became known that production was essential to the war, and women were essential to production.

As with many of the industrial jobs that became available to women during WWII, working in shipyards was one of them, whether it "drafting to riveting." This article highlights the role of women in these shipyards and how women can begin their career in it to help the war effort.

The Monthly Labor Review released data about the increasing number of women working in petroleum refineries during WWII, along with thoughts regarding women's jobs, recruitment, training, and placement.

In 1943, Chrysler released an advertisement of women assembling parts for tank guns, including a message of women's influence on production during World War II.

American Magazine wrote an article following the daily routine of Dorothy Vogley, a war plant worker from Canton, Ohio, who also worked the "graveyard shift." This article helped illustrate the day-to-day routine that women in the production war were enduring during WWII, as well as highlighted the importance of women to the success of the war.

As the United States became more involved in WWII, so did women. The "Amazons of Aberdeen" were a group of women, of all walks of life, who were hired to test military weapons and artillery before sending them off to the front lines.

American Magazine highlighted the incredible career of Elinore Herrick, the Director of Labor Relations for Todd's Shipyards, who served as an emblem for the industrial woman, especially during World War II.