The Effects of World War II on Racial and Gender Relations

KN Simon

The Effects of World War II on Racial and Gender Relations

The end of World War II marked a change in most nations. In 1943, there were pushes for equality regardless of race, or gender. The Executive Order No. 8802 was put into place on June 25, 1941, which was meant to make good use of all obtainable workforce and to eradicate biased occupation practices.[1] During the war, the country required the all-out engagement of all persons irrespective of color, creed, race, or origin.[2] Therefore, during this period they required the entire available workforce to ensure the prosecution of the war.

The Effects of World War II on Racial and Gender Relations

The President, Roosevelt declared that the country needed a lot of people for the war and thus they could not discriminate people based on race, color or originality. He declared that there would be no discernment in occupation in the war businesses of in the administration due to color, race, originality, creed, or any other kind of biases. During this period, he stated that all contracting agencies should include, in their contracts, a clause that is against any form of discrimination.[3] The time between 1941 and 1945 experienced a lot of transformation in gender relations. For example, some women moved from their homes to take advantage of the wartime opportunities, while a large number remained in their places, organizing home front initiatives so as to raise funds, raise morale, and fill in the jobs left by men.[4] This period helped women reshape and stretch their gender roles and norms and move past the prewar social and economic structure. Their services might have been needed temporary until the war was over, but they took advantage of these times and were considered crucial during emergencies and this period in general. There were contradicting ideas that they were only needed for a time and they had to oblige. However, their roles could not be understated because they filled in the shoes of men, they helped them in the battlefield, trying to motivate them, and look at them where possible.

Bibliography

McEuen, Melissa. “Women, Gender, and World War II.” Oxford Research Encyclopedias. Last modified June 2016. http://americanhistory.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-55.

Roosevelt, Franklin. “Executive Order 8802 (1941),”  Black Past. N.d. http://www.blackpast.org/primary/executive-order-9346-establishing-committee-fair-employment-practice.

[1] Franklin Roosevelt, “Executive Order 8802 (1941),”  Black Past, N.d., http://www.blackpast.org/primary/executive-order-9346-establishing-committee-fair-employment-practice.

[2] Roosevelt, “Executive Order 8802 (1941).” 

[3] Roosevelt, “Executive Order 8802 (1941).” 

[4] Melissa McEuen, “Women, Gender, and World War II,” Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Last modified June 2016, http://americanhistory.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-55.

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