More Than Women’s Work: Redefining Gender Roles in The Military

Grant supported by the Essex County Community Foundation’s Essex County Veterans Fund. 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 is an Air Force veteran, public historian, and highly rated educational speaker specializing in women’s military history. Since founding 3-5-0 Girls in 2022, she has developed and presented lectures, living-history programs, and traveling exhibits highlighting the experiences and service of women in the U.S. military, drawing on more than a decade of historical research. Bloom has presented at institutions including the Naval War College Museum, the Massachusetts State House, the University of North Carolina, American Legion posts, and other veterans’ organizations. She has also participated in major commemorations, including the 250th Birthday of the Marine Corps in Philadelphia and the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to a veteran of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Her programs combine historical research, storytelling, material culture, and firsthand experience as a veteran to make women’s military history engaging and accessible to public audiences. In addition to speaking, Bloom works with museums and historic sites on research, interpretation, programming, and exhibit development. She holds a master’s degree in Historic Preservation and maintains a collection of historic women’s military uniforms spanning World War II through the early 2000s, which she uses in lectures, exhibits, and living-history programs.