

Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front Park, Richmond California Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical ParkĢ - Ford Assembly Building/Visitor Center Sculptural elements representing features of a Liberty Ship are positioned along the walk and hold large panels depicting photographs, letters, and other memorabilia reflecting war work performed by women throughout the nation. A walk leading visitors to a lookout at the water's edge includes a timeline of facts related to the Home Front period, along with memories gathered from individual women about their wartime experience. At left, a shipfitter's helper, at right, a steel checker.Īt 441-feet long, the Memorial reflects the length of the Liberty Ships produced at the Kaiser Shipyards. They are working to create a list of women who worked at the Richmond Kaiser Shipyards and they currently have a database of over 200 names of women who worked as welders, drafters, truck drivers, first aid nurses and other jobs.įemale workers at Richmond Shipyard No. There are no remaining employment records of all of the Kaiser shipyard employees. In other industries, women made up to 80% of the workers.

How Many Women Worked at the Richmond Shipyards?Īt the height of the war, women made up approximately 27% of the 93,000-strong Richmond Kaiser shipyard workforce. Their labor on "Liberty" and "Victory" ships played a role in America's remarkable productivity during the war years. Women of all ages and ethnicities came to Richmond to find new, better-paying jobs throughout the war. To fill these industrial jobs, employers needed to hire a broader range of workers, including women and people of color. No city felt these effects more than Richmond, which went from a small town to a booming city hosting the largest number of defense industries and war housing projects in the country. Some historians have called the WWII-era California's "Second Gold Rush" for its role in transforming the population, economy and even physical landscape of the state. War-time upheaval affected all of the U.S., but changed California and the San Francisco Bay Area profoundly. Why is the Memorial in Richmond, California? Across the nation women worked in defense industries and support services including shipyards, steel mills, foundries, lumber mills, warehouses, offices, hospitals and daycare centers. The sight of women outfitted in overalls and wielding industrial tools became an icon that was popularized in the 1942 song, "Rosie the Riveter," providing a nickname for all women who worked in war-time industries. Over 6 million women from all backgrounds, and from all over the country, worked at jobs that challenged traditional notions of women's capabilities and ensured American productivity that helped to win the war. The Memorial commemorates and interprets the important contributions that women made to the war effort as increasing numbers of men joined the armed services. 747 ships were produced at Kaiser, Richmond, during World War II. the Kaiser Shipyards were the largest and most productive of World War II. It is located in Richmond, CA, in Rosie the Riveter Memorial Park at the site of the former Kaiser Shipyard number 2. The Rosie the Riveter Memorial: Honoring American Women's Labor During WWII, is the first national monument to celebrate and interpret women's crucial contributions to the World War Two Home Front. Rosie the Riveter National Historic Park, Richmond California
