Aircraft Workers of World War II

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt made his plea to American women to join the workforce during World War II, it was the aircraft industry that was the most open to hiring women. As a relatively new industry, it didn’t hold some of the prejudices as other male-dominated professions, and it was in the aircraft factories that “Rosie the Riveter” was born. Despite the strenuous and often hazardous manual labor involved in these jobs, the women excelled in their new roles and many wished to stay on even after the war was over. With the slowdown of military production coupled with the return of men from war, however, most of the women were laid off.

Photos of Aircraft Workers during World War II:
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