The war poster, “Soldiers Without Guns” was created by Adolph Treidler in 1944 during end of World War II. Published by the U.S Government Printing Office, this poster is just one example of the propaganda used during this time period to implore more women to join the workforce. The three women in the advertisement all work for the war effort, as an office worker, a welder, and a factory worker.((Treidler, Adolph, Artist. Soldiers without guns / Adolph Treidler. United States, 1944. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002719121/.)) As millions of men quit their jobs to join the military and fight on the front lines, women now entered the work force in large numbers, taking the jobs that were more traditionally male, in order to fight the war effort at home.((Shi, David Emory. America: A Narrative History. 2. 11th ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 2019. 1075.)) “Soldiers without guns” highlights the key role of women during this time and the enormous impact they had on industrial production to allow the U.S to continue fighting in the second world war.

The War Production board, created by Roosevelt in 1942, led industries to focus on manufacturing goods for the war, instead of for the home.((Shi, David Emory. America: A Narrative History. 2. 11th ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 2019. 1074.)) For example, automobile plants were reorganized to produce tanks and warplanes instead of cars for the citizens at home. This also caused factories to need more workers to make these goods but with all of the men enlisting into the military to fight the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan), women rose up to the challenge. Thus, advertisements were created and tailored towards women to encourage them to join the war effort. Women, who were eager to escape domestic life, were recruited to take more traditionally male jobs in order to help the war production at home, therefore soldiers without arms.((Shi, David Emory. America: A Narrative History. 2. 11th ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 2019. 1076.)) Many women, in fact, had already been in the workforce but preformed traditionally female jobs that paid less than these male-dominated ones that they would soon control.

“Rosie the Riveter”, was prominent figure in women propaganda was created during World War II. Becoming a symbol for women, she is seen in many advertisements, including this one, wearing the red spotted bandana and a blue suit. Rosie sent a message to women that they could do a more masculine job but still keep their femininity.((Rupp, Leila J. 2004. “From Rosie the Riveter to the Global Assembly Line: American Women on the World Stage.” OAH Magazine of History 18 (4): 53–57. doi:10.1093/maghis/18.4.53.)) That together, they can confront the common problem of labor shortages in industrial production and other jobs previously held by men.

Not only do we see “Rosie the Riveter” in this advertisement, but we also see a clerical or office worker. The booming war economy and need for workers caused women to accept jobs formerly held by men like bank tellers, auditors, bookkeepers, accountants, or supervisors.((England, Kim, and Kate Boyer. 2009. “Women’s Work: The Feminization and Shifting Meanings of Clerical Work.” Journal of Social History 43 (2): 307–40. doi:10.1353/jsh.0.0284.)) 50% of all clerical jobs were held by women by 1940 and started a period of feminization in the work force.((England, Kim, and Kate Boyer. 2009. “Women’s Work: The Feminization and Shifting Meanings of Clerical Work.” Journal of Social History 43 (2): 307–40. doi:10.1353/jsh.0.0284.)) Women were not only working in various other industrial jobs but also as white-collar workers. Women, once again, were fighting and supporting the war, but back at home.

These advertisements, like “Soldiers Without Guns”, started to unravel the traditional patriarchal ideals that encompassed the United States.((Kimble, James J. “Mrs. Jekyll Meets Mrs. Hyde: The War Advertising Council, Rhetorical Norms, and the Gendered Home Front in World War II.” Western Journal of Communication 82, no. 1 (January 2018): 1–19. doi:10.1080/10570314.2017.1294707.)) Feminist viewpoints were becoming more abundant because of the many women who were accepting traditionally male jobs. Advertisements like this express the strength women had in order to overcome these ideals for the benefit of the war. Unfortunately, women would be encouraged to leave their jobs once the war ended, to make room for the influx of men coming back from war. Despite this, women excluded strength in their male dominated jobs, while the men were out fighting on the front lines. There efforts would lead to the success of the war, making them soldiers without guns.