Mel Bloom
More than Women’s Work: Redefining Gender Roles in the Armed Forces (1942- 1948)
When someone mentions women who served in World War II, generally people have a familiarity with the nurses, Rosie the Riveter, and occasionally the women pilots. Although by far the most iconic and well-known, those are all civilian roles, and the women who served in the military during World War II are largely forgotten. Other than combat, most other jobs previously held by a man (even ones considered feminine, like administration work) were now open to women. Additionally, in 1942, it wasn’t just the women’s roles that were changing, the military was evolving and adapting to new strategies and technologies, including things like radar and airpower. One of the more common misconceptions about women’s roles is that they were only doing women’s jobs: admin, nursing, clerical roles; but they were also some of the first Americans, regardless of gender, to train and utilize new technology for warfare. These women were pioneers in military technology in addition to paving the way for the military women who came after them. It was a whole new military in early 1942 — new technology, new weapons, new terrain, and a new workforce — that would continue to evolve throughout the war. The variety of jobs the women could do affected everything from recruiting and uniform design to their training and assignments. This lecture will talk about the women who served in the Armed Forces in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, and examine what “women’s work” truly looked like.
Mel Bloom, MS, is an Air Force veteran and highly-rated educational speaker with 3+ years of experience in public history with a focus on women’s topics. She has presented at the Naval War College Museum, Blackstone River National Historical Park, the Massachusetts State House, and the Veterans Affair Hospital. She has a BS in Architecture, an MArch, and a MS in Historic Preservation. She launched 3-5-0 Girls in 2022 to tell the stories of women who served in the military, stories that had previously gone unknown. In addition to public speaking, Bloom provides interpretive services at many local museums as well as research, feedback, and exhibit design for displays featuring women who served in the military.
