View of Girls Processing a Hydraulic Bridge Erecting Crane, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, 1944, Print & Photographs, Special Collections, Library of Virginia It was not uncommon for women were to be referred to as “girls” in the time period and this is reflected in the title of the photograph.Ĭitation: U.S. The women worked as part of a team manufacturing hydraulic bridge parts which were to be shipped overseas during WWII. The photograph shows women working in a plant on Januin Newport News, VA. Women were expected to return to their domestic roles. After the war ended, returning servicemen wanted to return to their previous employment and, in many cases, the women were replaced by men.
As men went off to fight and the job shortage caused by the Great Depression of the 1930’s coming to an end, women had new opportunities to fill positions that would have typically been held by men. As part of doing their part to support the war effort, thousands of Virginia women held potions in industry and other war- related jobs which would not have been open to them before the war. Many factories shifted from producing domestic products to manufacturing needed equipment to support the needs of the military. The roles of women shifted from domestic roles as caretakers and home makers to working in male- dominated fields like agriculture and manufacturing in factories. American society underwent changes during both WWI and WWII.
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