March celebrates the contributions of women in history, culture and society and is observed ever year during March as International Women’s Month. Here, in the United States, this honor has been celebrated since 1987. Here, at Blindsgalore, we acclaim our CEO, Alissa, as she recreates the powerful symbol of “Rosie the Riveter” as a model of the rise of women in the workplace during WW II. Blindsgalore is a 100% owned and operated ecommerce site, guided by the mother and daughter team of Chelle and Alissa. Recently, we were certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council (WBENC), after a meticulous review process.
Alissa and myself feel a special connection to all women work tirelessly, however and wherever they choose. We take special pride in celebrating all women who are a dynamic, strong and powerful force etching our futures. Our own Rosie, Alissa, exemplifies this new time, our time.
To give you a little brush up, Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of all women factory workers in the U.S. during World War II. While many of the men were away at war, women stepped in and took over the assembly lines nationwide. Rosie became an emblem for all of these women, individually as a single worker and collectively as a movement in a time when working women were a novelty.
Rosie is a riveter because she constructs rivets, meaning at the factory she fits metal pieces together for a larger piece of machinery or appliance. Yet, Rosie is also a riveter because she is riveting in the juxtaposition of her denim factory oxford and slacks, hair pulled up and back, yet still boldly embracing her feminine identity.
In 1940, before the war, 12 million women were in the work force, and by 1944, when Rosies far and wide started punching the clock, 20 million women had entered the work force. A sea change occurred when 85% of jobs out there became “acceptable” for women, whereas before the war only 29% of jobs were fit for the ladies. After the war was over, many women returned to domestic roles, but they had already had a taste and satisfaction in a professional role which began to show its vivid colors in the 1970’s when women proudly streamed into all corners of the work place.
In fact, a song was written about Rosie, and I’ll leave you with the lyrics—an ode to all Rosies:
All the day long,
Whether rain or shine
She’s part of the assembly line.
She’s making history,
Working for victory
Rosie the Riveter