English practice 30

Women at Work

World War II offered numerous employment opportunities for women in the United States. As the men headed to the war front, the work force retracted and diminished⁶¹ on the home front, and women begun⁶² to take over responsibilities traditionally assigned to men. These⁶³ responsibilities included work previously deemed inappropriate for women.

The government realized that participation in the war but⁶⁴ required the use of all national resources. American industrial facilities were turned into war production factories, and the government targeted the female population as an essential source of labor. Women worked in factories and shipyards as riveters, welders, and machinists making⁶⁵ everything from uniforms to munitions to airplanes, they directly contributed to the war effort. The number of women in the workforce⁶⁶ increased from 12 million in 1940 to 18 million in 1944. By 1945, 36% of the laborers were women.

Women's increased presence in wartime workforces were⁶⁷ not limited to factories and shipyards. Thousands moved to Washington D.C. to fill government jobs exclusively held by men before the war. Some women engaged in farm labor, and others joined the military as field nurses. The shortage of men also led to openings in non-traditional fields, such as day-care.⁶⁹ Since many players had been drafted into the armed services, Major League Baseball parks around the country were on the verge of collapse when a group of Midwestern businessmen devised a brilliant solution to the player shortage.

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was created in 1943 and offered a unique blend of baseball and softball suitable for female players. Founder, Philip K. Wrigley and League president,⁷⁰ Ken Sells promoted the new league with aggressive advertising campaigns that promoted the physical attractiveness of female athletes. Photographs displayed women players with pretty smiles on their faces and baseball mitts in their hands.⁷¹ Their silk shorts, fashionable knee-high socks, red lipstick, having⁷² flowing hair directly contrasted with the competitive, masculine nature of the game. These photographs are indicative of the delicate balance between feminine appeal and masculine labor that was expected of all women throughout World War II. Although its'⁷⁴ success lasted only a decade, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League's role in expanding opportunities for women during World War II and thereafter is everlasting.