Before 1939, women were considered weak, incompetent, and incapable of doing a man's job. However, when World War II broke out, women were called upon to hold jobs that men once held, and it became apparent that America's best chance for success in World War II would have to include the efforts of American women. Women played a key role during World War II in the United States. More than six million women took wartime factory jobs, three million volunteered with the Red Cross, and over 200,000 served in the military. Through these jobs women were able to demonstrate to society that they were capable of doing bigger and better things. The women also realized that they appreciated this taste of freedom and wanted to continue this lifestyle even after the war. World War II kicked off the women's movement, as the important role they played and the contributions they made helped change the way women were viewed by society and created new opportunities for them. Before World War II, a woman's role was to be a woman. wife and mother. Most jobs were reserved for men, and some states prohibited married women from even doing certain jobs. There was extreme sexism that women didn't even acknowledge. Women and men were not seen as equal, and the need for women's rights went almost unnoticed until after World War II. The demand for women's participation in the war effort was so compelling that political leaders agreed that both sexes would need to change their view of the stereotypical roles of men and women at least for the duration of this national emergency. Women have been told that they must contribute in many different ways. Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27% to 37%. Women have gone from being discouraged by certain...... middle of paper......1. May 14th. 2014"Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID ..." 2011. May 14. 2014"Search Starts: American Women in World War II - The National..." 2012. April 16, 2014"1941 Women Take Control of Factory Work During World War II..." 2007. April 16, 2014" Continued employment after the war? - Does history matter." 2003. May 14. 2014"Record number of women in the workforce - WSJ.com." 2013. May 14. 2014