As explained in my last column, the War Department was responsible for industrial mobilization and gave the Army Service Forces (ASF) responsibility for supervising and coordinating the placement of civilian workers throughout the country.  ASF commander Lieutenant General Brehon Somervell issued this guide on November 10, 1943, to provide authoritative guidance over female civilian employment during the war.  Within this context, the Army’s documented prejudices against women made it clear that their employment was only a temporary (and reluctant) measure taken to fill jobs in American industry caused by widespread manpower shortages.  From the outset, the guide emphasizes women as a secondary and problem-ridden workforce being used only as emergency filler for positions vacated by men who had, in the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “the supreme job of beating the Axis.”

The Placement Schedule was designed to help companies prioritize estimates of both the quantity and immediacy of needed women workers. Previous pages of this guide (see July II 2008 column) reveal that the United States Army considered women a workplace gamble because they caused workplace health and efficiency problems, required unique treatment and possessed unfavorable feminine peculiarities.  For these reasons, the Placement Schedule urges managers to first consider “men on payroll or available from outside sources” and “upgrading male employees”, and only afterward to consider women to replace personnel losses (caused by the male draft) or fill additional jobs (caused by industrial expansion).

Recruitment of Women is addressed in the next three pages.  The discriminatory climate of the United States in the mid-40s is clearly revealed. As a source of female recruitment, “women from minority groups” are in sixth place – to be recruited only after all Civil Service; US Employment Service; Labor Union; company employees, families and friends, and women married to servicemen are exhausted.  Only unsolicited applicants and those recommended by community groups are ranked lower than minority female workers.

The Army Service Forces inserted a favorable service-connection clause, “In recruiting women, special effort should be made to enlist the interest of women whose husbands are in the armed forces. Their employment will serve as a stimulus to production and an inspiration to other employees.”  Note that this did not cover mothers, sisters or women engaged to servicemen (much less girlfriends), and technically excluded the “interest” of young war widows as well (whose husbands were, not are, in the armed forces).

The most blatant anti-female prejudice in this portion of the guide is the Army’s judgment regarding the inability of most women to understand a wartime emergency:  “In most women the desire to work at an installation is not created or built up automatically, simply because the country is at war. The effects of being at war must be brought to their attention. It should be pointed out that the acute labor shortage may have terrible consequences unless more women prepare for and engage in war work” (see Page 6). 

Interestingly, the Qualifications (Page 7) recommend giving “full consideration to women over 40.”  Unfortunately, this age-friendly statement is explained by another prejudice later on the same page, “There is a growing trend toward employing women over 40 years of age because she is less likely to have small children or other home responsibilities which lead to absenteeism and turnover”.  The supposed inability of the dutiful housewife or young mother to also hold a job responsibly is a recurring theme throughout the Army mindset and thus the guide.

On the other hand, the Recruitment section has several redeeming features. The reassurance that “it is the policy of the War Department to give to physically handicapped persons and members of minority groups full opportunity for employment” remains a tribute to the righteousness of conflict being waged against enemies seeking to eliminate people with physical defects and destruction of racial minorities. The fact that American women served industry to insure Victory, in spite of officially sanctioned prejudices, is testament to their great contribution to the nation and humanity.
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Page 4: Placement Schedule click to enlarge

Page 5: Recruitment: Sources click to enlarge

Page 6: Recruitment: Publicity click to enlarge

Page 7: Selection and Placement click to enlarge