Contributions Of Women To Akron's Rubber Industry

Contributions Of Women To Akron's Rubber Industry. . , Prior to 1900, there were few positions for women at Akron factories that produced cereal, clay products, and farm machinery. Akron's first rubber factory, B.F. Goodrich, which opened in 1870, relied on women workers who made hundreds of products - everything from water bottles to rubber toys and the assembly of rubber boots and shoes - jobs that demanded dexterity., Skilled jobs, which were higher paying positions, were considered "men's work.” Women were often paid based on piecework, meaning their pay was significantly less than male workers. Before world war two, women made 60% of men's wages. The companies also paid married women less than single women. Many women worked 48 hours a week, and factories were open seven days a week., Working conditions were unhealthy because of the chemicals used in the processing of rubber. Many jobs required standing for long periods of time, and assembly line work was monotonous. Women played vital roles in the creation of the United Rubber Workers Union, which would seek improved pay and conditions. The only women managers were in all-female departments like boots and shoes. In 1941, when battalions of men went to war, many more Akron women went to work. Of Goodyear's wartime workforce of 30,000, more than half were women. Patriotic duty motivated some, but most women worked to support their families., During World War II, over 70,000 women were employed in Akron's rubber companies that turned out materiel for war. Gas masks, de-icers, barrage balloons, bullet-resistant gas tanks, life jackets, life boats, and anti-aircraft gun mounts were all items that needed the labor of "Rosies,” whose red bandanas were made famous in advertising produced by the war production board., Goodyear built 4,000 Corsair planes, which could take-off from aircraft carriers at sea. Women workers did much of the wiring, riveting, and drilling, and because of their generally slight build, could crawl into the narrow fuselage to connect instrument panels., At war's end, women workers were laid-off in droves. Women were not retained in "men's jobs” once the soldiers returned. Not until the 1960's would women find work in professional and management positions, although women's wages remained disparate from their male counterparts. A 2007 U.S. Supreme Court case considered pay inequality of women managers in the rubber industry and led to Congress enacting the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009., [Captions:] , Women worked at BF Goodrich during the War assembling life vests for GI's., This photo from Goodyear in 1918 shows women doing detailed work on tire inserts. Women were low-paid, often confined to being compensated through piece-work., Goodyear utilized women during World War II to build the Corsair aircraft. In addition to working on the engines, women were often called on to crawl into claustrophobic narrow spaces to drive rivets in the nose of the airplanes., Women assisted in the laboratories of Akron rubber companies to develop a substitute for natural rubber.