Women in the Workforce

Many of us are familiar with this picture. I have seen it in many of my folklore classes discussing women and the workforce and how we have made such a comeback. Actually due to the lack of income from one partner, the need to have a double income is necessary to live. Perhaps if we were not so needy or should I say "wants." Here is the caption that was next to the picture found on www.nebraskastudies.org

A multitude of new jobs were created with the beginning of World War II. The tools of war had to be manufactured, and the defense factories were in desperate need of laborers. Women now had the opportunity to become part of the work force. Before the war, it was uncommon for women to work outside the home. During the war, about half of all American women worked outside their homes. The work of women during World War II proved that they could be trained to do the same industrial work as men. The number of working women rose from 14.6-million in 1941 to 19.4-million in 1944'