These photographs, taken in factories manufacturing war materials between 1941 and 1945, depict some of the women who joined the workforce as a result of the massive war effort. Over the course of the war, the female work force grew by 50 percent. Increasingly, the women who were drawn into the wartime industries were married women whose employment continued to be controversial for many Americans once the war was over. These images of women working in wartime plants show some of the occupations, tools, and protective clothing worn by real-life "Rosie the Riveters." As you examine them, consider what skills and training women would have needed to perform these tasks.

Investigate the source using the zoom and navigational tools in the Flash player and then answer the questions below.

1			Examine these pictures. What is the mood of the women in these factories? How can you can tell?
2			Discuss the ways in which such achievements might have either contradicted or confirmed prevailing cultural stereotypes about what kind of work men and women were best suited to perform.
3			These pictures primarily depict women in factories which were directly involved in producing materials for the war effort. Discuss the ways in which pictures like these might be different than those of women in factories producing domestic items.
4			Discuss the ways in which photographs such as these might be effective political devices.