Tracey M. Wilson
Through the use of photographs of women in the work place in Connecticut during World War I, students will interpret what work was like and project changes in the work place over the past sixty years. These pictures are from the Connecticut State Library Collection “Pictures of Women in Industry” located in Record Group 20, Box 46. Questions follow.
Study the eight photographs taken of women working during World War I. Then answer the following questions.
-
1. Are there any examples of men and women working together? In which picture(s)?
-
2. What would you say is the average age of the workers?
-
3. What sex are the supervisors in the pictures?
-
4. What evidence is there that there is a patriotic fever in the air?
-
5. Do the jobs these women are doing look safe? Proof?
-
6. Do the jobs look like they would take a good deal of skill to perform? Evidence either way?
-
7. What evidence is there of the pace at which the women worked?
-
8. What are examples of women working in jobs not ordinarily expected of women?
-
9. The pictures were publicity photos taken for the newspapers. What about the pictures makes the work look interesting?
-
10. What do you see in these pictures that might make you feel uncomfortable at the job?
-
11. If you were a photographer in 1981 trying to shoot some publicity photos to get women working in factories and nontraditional jobs, what sequence of 3 pictures would you take?
(figure available in print form)
(figure available in print form)
(figure available in print form)
(figure available in print form)