Rosie the Riveter
Allegorical icon of women's wartime factory work.
Rosie the Riveter is a symbolic figure in the United States, standing for the women who labored in factories and shipyards during World War II, often making munitions and war materials. Many of these women stepped into entirely new roles, filling in for male workers who had entered the military. She has become a well-known emblem of the women’s empowerment movement. The concept of Rosie the Riveter started with a 1942 song by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb.
Because the world wars were total wars demanding that governments mobilize their entire populations to defeat their enemies, millions of women were urged to take industrial jobs previously held by men. During World War I, women across the U.S. had already worked in such roles. World War II mirrored this, as massive military conscription created labor shortages that only women could fill. Nearly 19 million women held jobs during the war, though many were already employed in low-paying work or returning after layoffs from the Great Depression; only about three million were entirely new to the workforce.
Women answered the country’s call by taking on traditionally male jobs. They operated heavy construction machinery, worked in lumber and steel mills, and performed physical labor like unloading freight, building airships, and making munitions. At LaGuardia airfield, Pan American Airways hired forty women to replace men in the repair and maintenance hangars, servicing and overhauling aircraft like the Boeing 314 Flying Boat. One male trainer recalled teaching them how to use rivet guns, drill holes, and work as a team. These “Rosies” placed rivets into the nacelles—the large aluminum rings covering B-17 bomber engines.
Many women found they enjoyed the independence these jobs gave them, broadening their views on what women could do. Yet this was often seen as unnatural, and when men started returning from war, the government launched another propaganda campaign urging women to “return to normalcy.” Although most women worked in male-dominated trades during the war, they were expected to go back to housework afterward. Government ads targeted housewives, likely because already-employed women would naturally shift to higher-paid essential jobs. One ad asked: “Can you use an electric mixer? If so, you can learn to operate a drill.” Propaganda also aimed at husbands, many of whom were reluctant to support such
- field
- Cultural icon, wartime labor symbol
- nationality
- United States
- known_for
- Representing women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II
- origin
- Song written in 1942 by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb
Lore & Background
The term 'Rosie the Riveter' was first used in 1942 in a song of the same name written by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb. The song was recorded by numerous artists, including the popular big band leader Kay Kyser, and became a national hit. It was also recorded by the R&B group The Four Vagabonds. The song portrays 'Rosie' as a tireless assembly line worker who earned a 'Production E' doing her part to help the American war effort.
The identity of the 'real' Rosie the Riveter is debated. Candidates include Rosina 'Rosie' Bonavita who worked for Convair in San Diego, California; Rosalind P. Walter, who came from old money and worked on the night shift building the F4U Corsair fighter; Adeline Rose O'Malley, a riveter at Boeing's Wichita plant; and Rose Will Monroe, a riveter at the Willow Run Aircraft Factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan, building B-24 bombers. Monroe was selected to portray Rosie in a promotional film after the song was already popular. Similar images of women war workers appeared in other countries such as Britain and Australia.
Images of women workers were widespread in the media in formats such as government posters, and commercial advertising was heavily used by the government to encourage women to volunteer for wartime service in factories. Rosie the Riveter became the subject of a Hollywood film in 1944, a drama starring Jane Frazee as Rosalind 'Rosie' Warren.
Reader's Guide
Rosie the Riveter emerged during World War II as a symbol of the millions of women who entered the industrial workforce to replace men who had joined the military. The song and subsequent imagery were part of a government propaganda campaign to encourage women to take on jobs in factories, shipyards, and other industries producing war supplies. Nearly 19 million women held jobs during World War II, though only three million were new female workers. The icon challenged contemporary ideas about 'men's work' and contributed to a social movement that increased the number of working American women from 12 million to 20 million by 1944. After the war, government propaganda shifted to urge women to return to domestic roles, and the overall percentage of women working fell from 36% to 28% in 1947. Despite this, Rosie the Riveter remains a lasting symbol of women's contributions to the war effort and is widely recognized in the women's empowerment movement. The Lanham Act of 1940, the first nearly universal federal child care system in the United States, was passed to support women in the workforce but ended six months after the war.
Did You Know?
- The idea of Rosie the Riveter originated in a song written in 1942 by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb.
- The identity of the 'real' Rosie the Riveter is debated, with several candidates including Rosina Bonavita, Rosalind P. Walter, Adeline Rose O'Malley, and Rose Will Monroe.
- In Canada, Veronica Foster became 'Ronnie, the Bren Gun Girl', a similar poster girl representing women in the war effort.
- The Lanham Act of 1940 was the first and only successful nearly universal federal child care system passed in the United States, ending six months after the war.
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