Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States, representing the American women who worked in factories during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who were in the military. Rosie the Riveter is commonly used as a symbol of feminism and women's economic power. Use of similar images of women war workers appeared in other countries such as Britain. Images of women workers were widespread in the media as government posters and commercial advertising was heavily used by the government to encourage women to volunteer for wartime service in factories.