The Workforce and Technology in the 1940s
Expectations and roles changed rapidly for women in the 1940s. In the earlier years, it was common that women had very little say in society and stereotypically stayed at home to be homemakers, good wives, and have babies. But in the 1940’s life for women began to change for the better. Life for women was expanding, it was around that time that when World War II broke out. Not only were men join the war effort, but women as well. In 1942, The Women’s Army Corps was established and congress allowed women to take their place among the men to fight. It was also in the 1940s that women were working in factories, contributing to labor intensive jobs, and becoming the attention of society in the entertainment industry. Throughout the 1940s, the amount of women in the workforce increased by 25-35 percent. Not only was it a turning point for women in history but it was also a prosperous time for technology. (Radek)
A few big technology advances that women used were such things as the colored television, the Jeep, a computer controlled by software, and the microwave oven. The colored television was invented by Peter Goldmark in 1940 but didn’t really start selling until 1954. Back then it started out as $1000 for one colored television. At the same time, Karl Pabst was inventing the Jeep which was used mainly for transportation and as well as in World War II. That, too, started at a selling point of $1000. Although, in 1941, Konrad Zuse invented the first computer controlled by software, it was just a year later that John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry built the first electronic digital computer. One of the most useful products invented for in the home was the microwave oven. It was invented by Percy Spencer in 1946 and was a lot larger then the microwaves that are seen in today’s world. Costing $5000, the microwave was very large and used mainly for heating up meals. (Technology from 1940-1980)
