Women of World War II When talking about the role of women, the first thought is the things done at home, their unpaid domestic labor. But women actually played a vital role in their country's success during World War II. The war ushered in a new era of opportunities for women to contribute to the country. In 1945, more than 2.2 million women worked in war industries, building ships, weapons and aircraft. Women also worked in factories, farms, munitions factories, drove trucks, and entered specialized work fields formerly reserved for men. Thousands of women had enlisted as nurses and messengers to help on the front lines. Although they contributed, women were not positively affected by World War II. For example, women's equality, stereotypes and women's employment. During World War II, no truly beneficial changes were made to the status of women. Women's opportunities and lifestyles were negatively affected due to the inequalities women faced in the work sphere. In the years after World War II, the pay gap was obviously lower than for men. This was in the 1980s, when women earned just 64 cents to the dollar for men. Although laws have come into force, such as the Equal Pay Act in 1963, inequities in pay remain. This changed the status of women very little, as they were still not considered on an equal footing with men. Women were kept as cheap labor because society believed that the insignificance of women's work would be threatened if women and men shared the same jobs. To ensure the maintenance of an inexpensive female workforce, they were confined to certain jobs which became known as "women's trades". This gender segregation further asserted that women's work was less important, therefore appropriate for the medium of paper, work, economic battles, and stereotypical lifestyles within the social order. After the war, women suffered unfair compensation, loss of post-war jobs, and demands to return to old ways unchanged by government propaganda. As a result, these statements confirm that women are capable of great things, but that their place in society was not positively affected by the end of the Second War. At the end of the war, there were 460,000 women in the military and 6.5 million in civilian life. Unfortunately, it wasn't until the 1960s that real, tangible change was seen for women. Without the contribution of women on the home front, there might be no chance of winning the war. Ultimately, it seems that the country has ignored the fact that there was a time when women were needed and were the main foundation of the country's triumph..