Moments in Women's History | History - Life In The 40s | Club Dahlia

Does the whole "Rosie the Riveteer" thing count? Because I think that was pretty amazing-- women doing what was traditionally men's work! And then there were the women airforce service pilots! That was a pretty freaking' amazing thing.

Rosie the Riveter was a peach! 

There were a lot of "military firsts" for women in the 1940's…

If I were a woman in the '40s, I definitely would have been a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilot)! (You'll find a great deal of information on the history of the WASP here:  http://www.wingsacrossamerica……/index.htm).  Pretty thrilling!

The first woman to receive The Purple Heart was Annie G. Fox while serving at Hickam Field during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec 7 1941.

Lt Edith Greenwood was the first woman to be awarded The Soldiers Medal in 1943 for heroism during a fire at a military hospital in Yuma Arizona.

Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby, the first Director of the WAC, was the first woman to receive The U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal in 1945.

…and the All-American Girls Baseball League was also established in the '40s. 

Women really stepped up to the call to duty, serving their country on the homefront and overseas.  Those at home often managed to work swing shifts in the factories and maintain their roles as wives and mothers.  We salute them!

Here's what I found out: Congress authorized women to serve in the U.S. Navy in 1942. Eleanor Roosevelt was appointed as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. In 1948, Margaret Chase Smith was elected to both houses of Congress, making her the first woman to achieve such a position. 

empirestate said:

I think it's important to note that Rosie the Riveter was not really the start of women in an industrial role. Women in such a role occured earlier in England during WWI. When the men left, the women took their places. Unfortunately for us girls, when the men came back, we were thrown back into the house. Glad I wasn't alive then, or else there would have been a lot more different of a situation!

 

Sheesh, you Americans think you started everything :)

Yes, yes, Empirestate!!  We mustn't forget those confident, capable and resourceful ladies of England…after all, they pulled together to form the WLA (Women's Land Army), which was responsible for keeping up agriculture and farming while the men were on the battle front.  These women were ahead of Rosie the Riveter in replacing men in the workforce.  Cheers to the "Land Girls", as they were called.