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Rosie the Riveter, Vera the Volunteer: Sexism, Racism, and Female Enlistment in World War II

Artiles, Alexandra; Treneska, Joana; Fahey, Kevin; Atkinson, Douglas B.

Rosie the Riveter, Vera the Volunteer: Sexism, Racism, and Female Enlistment in World War II Thumbnail


Authors

Alexandra Artiles

Joana Treneska

KEVIN FAHEY KEVIN.FAHEY@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Assistant Professor in Political Science

Douglas B. Atkinson



Abstract

What influenced women to volunteer for service in the US military during World War II? Whereas previous literature focused on potential intrinsic and extrinsic individual-level motives, we consider the broader structural context that may have played a role in female volunteerism. We leverage original data containing information on all volunteers who served in the US Army during World War II, with detailed county-level economic, political, and demographic data, to explore patterns of female volunteerism in the military. Our findings suggest that racism and sexism played a role in female volunteerism in many parts of the country, which may have undermined the government's goals of mobilizing the entire country in support of the war effort.

Citation

Artiles, A., Treneska, J., Fahey, K., & Atkinson, D. B. (2023). Rosie the Riveter, Vera the Volunteer: Sexism, Racism, and Female Enlistment in World War II. PS: Political Science and Politics, 56(3), 383-389. https://doi.org/10.1017/S104909652300015X

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 17, 2023
Online Publication Date Mar 17, 2023
Publication Date 2023-07
Deposit Date Mar 17, 2023
Publicly Available Date Mar 17, 2023
Journal PS: Political Science and Politics
Print ISSN 1049-0965
Electronic ISSN 1537-5935
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 56
Issue 3
Pages 383-389
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/S104909652300015X
Keywords Sociology and Political Science
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/18528228
Publisher URL https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ps-political-science-and-politics/article/rosie-the-riveter-vera-the-volunteer-sexism-racism-and-female-enlistment-in-world-war-ii/B8C50BBD83B939770C31DAD809DA1D27

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