Pelosi, Huffman, Bay Area Members Meet with Rosie the Riveter Veterans
Contact: Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616
Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, along with members of the San Francisco Bay Area Congressional Delegation, met today with California women who had served in factories during World War II supporting the war effort. These women represent a generation of workers whose contributions gave rise to the image of "Rosie the Riveter," and paved the way for the greater participation of women in the workforce.
Earlier in the week, the women – Phyllis Gould, Marian Sousa, Priscilla Elder, Kay Morrison, Marian Wynn and Agnes Moore – toured the White House and the Pentagon, and met with President Obama and Vice President Biden.
"These trailblazing women helped build the arsenal of democracy that made victory in World War II possible," Leader Pelosi said. "In every state, on the factory floor and the assembly line, these pioneers gave life to the iconic portrait of ‘Rosie the Riveter.' Their work, in wartime and the years that followed, prove a great truth about our nation: when women succeed, America succeeds."
"Phyllis and the ‘Rosie the Riveters' played a pivotal role in our nation's history and proved that women can do anything a man can do," Congressman Huffman said. "These remarkable women – including my own grandmother who worked in the Martin bomber plant in Omaha, Nebraska – stepped up in a time of great need and helped win a war, all while building the foundation for future generations of American women to succeed. I'm very happy that they could be recognized for what they are: American heroes."
American women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers during World War II, as widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor force. "Rosie the Riveter," star of a government campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for the munitions industry, became perhaps the most enduring image of working women during the war.
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