World War II reshaped the workforce in ways no one had anticipated before 1939. When millions of men shipped off to fight, entire industries suddenly faced a massive labor shortage. Governments on both sides of the Atlantic turned to women to fill those gaps — and women answered in extraordinary numbers. In the United States alone, approximately 350,000 women joined the military during the war. In the Soviet Union, more than 800,000 women served in the armed forces, making up roughly 3 percent of total military personnel. In Canada, over 1.2 million women held permanent jobs in the private sector by the war’s end.
The jobs women took on ranged far beyond what most people had considered “women’s work” before the war. They welded ships, assembled aircraft engines, packed mortar bombs, drove ambulances through bombed-out streets, and flew military planes across the country. Some worked as chemists and engineers. Thousands more contributed to the Manhattan Project, the secret program that developed the atomic bomb. To encourage American women to take up factory work, the U.S. government launched a recruitment campaign centered on the now-iconic figure known as “Rosie the Riveter.”
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt made it her mission to witness these changes firsthand. In 1942, she traveled to Great Britain on a goodwill tour and stopped to speak with women working on the factory floor.
British factories were running at full capacity throughout the war, and few products were more critical than the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. This powerful engine powered some of the most important aircraft of the war, including the Spitfire and the Hurricane. Women made up a significant portion of the workforce keeping those production lines moving.
Behind the front lines, women kept essential services running. Canteen workers, first aid volunteers, and ambulance drivers operated under difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions. In London, Women’s Voluntary Service members ran canteens that fed civilians and rescue workers during and after bombing raids.
The American Ambulance Great Britain was a volunteer unit staffed largely by American women living in or committed to supporting Britain during the Blitz and the later V1 flying bomb attacks. Between call-outs, they maintained their vehicles, studied maps, and stayed ready to respond at a moment’s notice.
When Germany’s V1 rockets began striking London’s suburbs in 1944, ambulance crews were often among the first on the scene. The Upper Norwood area of London was hit during one such attack, and American Ambulance Great Britain volunteers responded immediately — treating the wounded in the rubble and preparing stretchers for the injured.
Not all wartime work was directly tied to weapons or rescue. Textile mills across Britain continued operating throughout the war, supplying fabric for uniforms, parachutes, and other military needs. Women kept those mills running, operating complex machinery that required skill and physical endurance.
Even institutions like the BBC and the Royal Academy of Music kept functioning during wartime. Music and the arts were seen as vital to maintaining morale on the home front. Women continued to teach, perform, and inspire throughout the conflict.
First aid posts were set up in schools, community centers, and other civilian buildings across London to treat casualties from air raids. Women ran many of these stations, providing medical care to their neighbors under stressful and often chaotic conditions.
The Royal Naval Cordite Factory at Holton Heath was one of Britain’s key munitions production sites. Cordite — a smokeless propellant used to fire artillery and naval guns — was produced and packed by a largely female workforce. The work was meticulous and carried real risks, as cordite is a highly flammable explosive material.
Small factories across Britain played a surprisingly large role in the war effort. J & F Pool Ltd, a West Country arms factory, was staffed largely by women who operated lathes to manufacture mortar bombs. In 1943, the factory reached a major milestone — the production of its one millionth mortar bomb — a testament to the relentless pace of their work.
Workers from J & F Pool Ltd were taken to a coastal test range to watch their mortar bombs being fired — a rare chance to see the direct result of their labor. They arrived by Universal carrier, a tracked military vehicle, and lined up on the beach and surrounding hillsides as soldiers launched the bombs.
Back in the cities, women filled roles that kept civilian life functioning. On the London Underground, women took over ticketing and information desks. On the streets, they took up delivery routes that men had left behind, driving horse-drawn carts through central London.
Shipbuilding was one of the most physically demanding industries women entered during the war. At the Greenock shipyard in Scotland, female welders worked directly on merchant ships, using heavy equipment in loud, often dangerous conditions. One particularly notable figure was Agnes Smith, a 50-year-old mother of ten who served as forewoman of the yard.
Aviation manufacturing was another sector where women proved indispensable. At Hawker Aircraft, women worked directly on the production of the Hurricane fighter — one of Britain’s most critical warplanes during the Battle of Britain and beyond.
Women entering factory work for the first time went through dedicated training programs. At the Slough Training Centre, new recruits learned to operate industrial machinery under the guidance of female supervisors. Basic welfare provisions, including a medical room for minor injuries, were part of the facility’s setup.
Community services also depended heavily on women’s volunteer labor. In Norwood, London, the Women’s Voluntary Service ran a Children’s Clothing Exchange, helping families cope with wartime shortages and rationing. Meanwhile, ordnance depots employed women to inspect weapons arriving under the Lend-Lease program from the United States.
Around 72,000 women joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service — known as the Wrens — during the war. By taking on support roles on the home front, they freed up male sailors for active combat duty. Wrens worked in a wide variety of roles, including as armorers at Royal Air Force bases.
Women’s wartime service was not limited to Allied nations. In Italy, female anti-Fascist fighters actively supported Allied operations. In Finland, 242,000 women joined Lotta-Svärd, a female paramilitary organization named after a fictional Finnish battlefield heroine. It became the largest volunteer organization in the world at the time.
Entertainment also served a military function. Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich toured active military zones to perform for Allied troops, gaining a reputation for putting herself in real danger to boost soldiers’ morale. GIs stationed in Germany in 1945 held her in particularly high regard.
Women pilots made their mark in Britain through the Air Transport Auxiliary. Pauline Gower established the ATA’s Women’s Section at Hatfield, Berkshire, organizing female pilots into a team responsible for ferrying planes to training units. These women flew dozens of aircraft types, often without radios or instruments suited to the conditions.
Air defense on the British home front relied on observers and spotters who tracked enemy aircraft. Women took on these roles across the country, scanning the skies and reporting aircraft positions directly to gun crews. It was exacting work that demanded sharp attention and fast communication.
Women were present at some of the war’s most pivotal moments from the very beginning. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, women were among those who responded — working to fight fires and assist the wounded as the attack was still unfolding.
In the United States, the Women’s Flying Training Detachment trained female pilots at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. These women qualified to fly Army aircraft and supported the war effort by ferrying planes, towing targets for gunnery practice, and test-flying repaired aircraft. Their program eventually became the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP.
The U.S. Navy’s WAVES — Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service — numbered 90,000 members. They served exclusively on the home front but received full military training, including marksmanship. Their service freed male sailors for overseas deployment.
Britain’s Auxiliary Territorial Service barred women from direct combat but assigned them to nearly every other available role. ATS women operated anti-aircraft emplacements, tracking and targeting enemy aircraft even though they were not permitted to pull the trigger themselves. As the war continued, their responsibilities expanded further.
Women of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force supported Royal Air Force operations in a wide variety of roles, including operating clay pigeon traps at shooting ranges used by Spitfire pilots to maintain their aim. While their tasks may seem indirect, every support role freed a trained pilot for combat.
Britain’s Women’s Land Army replaced male agricultural workers who had gone to fight. Known as “Land Girls,” these volunteers took over farms and kept food production going during the war. At a 1939 parade in Hyde Park, 20,000 of them marched before King George VI — a massive show of organized civilian readiness before the fighting had even fully begun.
On the home front, some women prepared to defend their own communities if the fighting reached British soil. The Women’s Home Defence Corps drilled with rifles under the instruction of military sergeants. Across the world in China, 20,000 women had already received formal riflery training within the Chinese army by mid-war.
Even at sea, women faced wartime dangers. WAC officers were among the survivors pulled from the ocean after their transport ship was torpedoed near North Africa. They were rescued by a destroyer and brought aboard, having survived one of the most harrowing experiences of the war.
As the war in Europe ended, female Soviet soldiers were among those present at the historic meeting between Allied and Red Army troops in Germany. One Russian soldier proudly displayed her medals alongside a U.S. Army officer’s insignia following the fall of Berlin — a small but striking image of a war that had been fought by women as much as men.
Diplomacy and political leadership also had their female faces. Soong Mei-Ling, the American-educated wife of Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek, was a significant public figure throughout the war. She advocated for Chinese interests on the international stage and learned of Japan’s formal surrender to the Allies in August 1945.
The Women’s Land Army drew volunteers from all walks of life. Department store employees from Bourne and Hollingsworth in London joined up as auxiliary members and went into the fields to pick beans for the war effort. Similarly, the Women’s Timber Corps — nicknamed the “lumberjills” — recruited 4,900 women to work in timber camps across Britain, felling trees and supplying lumber needed for the war.
American heavy industry also opened its doors to women in ways that would have been unthinkable before the war. At the Gary Armor Plate Plant of Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation in Gary, Indiana, female steel workers welded armor plate — the same material used to protect tanks and warships. The work was skilled, physically demanding, and directly tied to the survival of soldiers in the field.
