Women played a crucial role during World War II, both with the production of war materials and in preventing our country from falling back into depression. Since the 1940s, women have continued to fight to prove that they can do the same jobs that a male worker can do and that they should be paid for it. Equal pay for women has continued to be an intensely debated topic since World War II, when women stepped up to fill the void in the workforce left by men when they bravely fought to defend our country. left behind huge gaps in the U.S. workforce. The government noticed this problem and drafted the infamous Rosie the Riveter posters (A&E Television Networks). Rosie the Riveter immediately became famous. The poster depicted a muscular, independent woman. US government posters showed the need for women to work in the absence of men (A&E Television Networks). That being said, Rosie the Riveter became the biggest advertisement for the war materials industry (A&E Television Networks). As more and more women joined the working class, the press worked to persuade them that they could do work typically considered men's work and still be considered feminine (A&E Television Networks). It may seem like a silly idea, but women were still generally considered the weaker sex. Until the Second World War, they had not yet had the chance to prove themselves to society. But not only the US government has drawn up a poster of Rosie the Riveter. Renowned artist Norman Rockwell also featured a painting of his own (A&E Television Networks). In his painting, Rockwell portrayed a robust and independent woman. In her version, Rosie i...... middle of paper ...... pauses to thank the women who worked during World War II, because they laid the cornerstone for equitable work environments and, in complex, for our country. it has made so much progress since the 1940s. Works Cited A&E Television Networks, LLC. "American Women in World War II". History. 2014. Web. May 5, 2014.Chafe, William H. The American Woman Her Changing Social, Economic, and Political Roles, 1920-1970. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1972. Print.Hawkes, Sarah. "Who Was Rosie the Riveter?: America's Factory Women of World War II." 2014. Web. 8 May 2014. National Museum of Women's History. “A history of women in industry”. nwhm. 2007. Network. May 5, 2014. Rodek, Kimberly M. “Women in Literature: Women in the Twentieth Century and Beyond.” ivcc. May 30, 2006. Web. May 5, 2014. Smuts, Robert W. Women and Work in America. New York: Columbia University Press, 1959. Print.