Discusses a neglected area of U.S. history: the impact of World War II on the role and status of women. Shows how women's work in the home and in the community assisted the national defense effort, and examined the way that changes in employment opportunities affected traditional ideas about women's roles and fostered the modern women's movement.…

Covers women's labor history in the United States and in industrialized nations from the early 1800s to the present. Provides primary source documents from New England workers in the 1830s and 1840s and from women workers on global assembly lines in the 1980s. Includes discussion questions. (LS)