Connection Across Time- Women of WWII

In this day and age, it is not common for a woman to be working in a factory or fighting alongside men in the military, but it had not always been that way. Although there have been women like Joan of Arc who have made military contributions, before World War II women did not get actively involved with the war effort. Once America got involved with WWII, millions of people (mostly men) were sent off for war, leaving many jobs empty back home. In order for America to stay strong with the war effort, these jobs plus more needed to be filled. With most of the men gone off to war, women were left to make their mark in the American workforce. Thus, 6 million women took wartime jobs in factories or filling in for men on farms. They kept the country working while the people that used to were gone, bringing the "Rosie the Riveter" idea to life. Also, over 200,000 women served the military while 3 million women volunteered with the Red Cross.
These days, despite dispute over inferiority to men, women play a very active role in the workforce, as well as in the military. They make up at least 20% of the United States military (215,243 women as of 2009 to give you an idea). Of that total, 34,796 women are officers, 178,428 are enlisted and 2,019 are enrolled in military academies. Also, as of 2009, 1.7 million women are military veterans. (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/003897.html). Though it may seem like that the number of women in the military has not increased much since WWII, keep in mind that we are not in a World War, and it is now socially acceptable in American for women to join any part of the U.S. Military.