Rosie the Riveter.

One popular image of the American woman in the 1940s was that of "Rosie the Riveter"—the strong, independent woman defense worker, wearing overalls and doing her part to help the United States win the war. Government posters featured women rolling up their sleeves and affirming that "We Can Do It." Newspapers and magazines were filled with photographs and drawings of women building bombers, tanks, and ships. Radio stations sponsored contests for "Working Women Win Wars Week." The woman wielding an acetylene torch became as common a media image as the soft and feminine girl in the Palmolive soap ad. American women followed Rosie the Riveter out of the kitchen and onto the shop floor. The number of workingwomen rose from 11,970,000 in 1940 to 18,610,000 in 1945. By the end of the war one in every four wives was employed. Women comprised 36.1 percent of the civilian workforce and were enjoying the increases in...