Jump to navigation

Picture This:
California Perspectives on American History
  • Home
  • Browse Pictures
  • Picture Map
  • Log In
  • Activities
  • Teaching Resources
  • About the Website

Search form

World War II Homefront Era: 1940s: Women Replace Men in the Workforce

Click image to zoom in.
Or view larger version.
NYC 6th Ave. EL. c 1943. Dorothea Lange, photographer. Gelatin silver print. Collection of the Oakland Museum of California. Gift of Paul S. Taylor.

This photograph shows wartime workers exiting a streetcar on their way to work. The street car was brought to Richmond from the east coast and used to transport workers living in Oakland to the shipyards in Richmond. Throughout the war, women from all backgrounds, and from all over the country, worked at jobs such as welding, riveting and operating cranes while maintaining their traditional duties as mothers and homemakers.

  • More information about this Topic

Picture Location

Browse the Picture Map »

Timeline: World War II Homefront Era: 1940s
« previous picture
next picture »

Browse By Timeline

  • Early California: pre-1769–1840s
  • Gold Rush: 1848–1860
  • Early Statehood: 1850 – 1880s
  • Progressive Era: 1890–1920s
  • Depression Era: 1930s
  • World War II Homefront Era: 1940s
  • Homogenization, Protests & Outright Rebellion: 1950s
  • Unforgettable Change: 1960s
  • Cultural Realignment & Economic Recession: 1970s
  • The Reagan Years: 1980s
  • 1990s to Present

Also, browse by Theme or by Most Useful

California.  Many Voices.  Many Stories.  Oakland Museum of California
Picture This is a project of the Oakland Museum of California