Images of women in coveralls with a scarf tied around their hair, smiling as they operated heavy machinery in aid of the war effort, projected a positive image to the large numbers of female workers that entered the work force in the early 1940s. This strong, capable woman became known as "Rosie the Riveter," and today is a recognizable symbol of wartime America.
Good-paying jobs in industry, business and agriculture offered a wide variety of new employment opportunities for women, and toward the end of the war an estimated 3 million women were working in defense plants, while another 15 million were employed in more traditional jobs.
Creator: Office of War Information
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society
Date: 1943
Identifer: location E448.19 a1
