Arms and the women help with defense
Photo-montage poster of nine captioned photographs of women at work on cartridges, shells, gas masks, wire harnesses and machine tools. Captions such as 'A comfortable job' and 'Keep 'em smiling' present war-plant work as pleasant and suited to women, a transfer of defence-work prestige onto the jobs shown.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Home front, Labor, Gender and suffrage
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-422 (NAID 513881).
Text on the object
[imprint: Women's Bureau, Department of Labor seal] ARMS AND THE WOMEN HELP WITH DEFENSE ARTILLERY AMMUNITION—WOMEN ARE DOING MANY JOBS HERE GAGING AND WEIGHING CAR- TRIDGES IN AN ENDLESS ROW A COMFORTABLE JOB—INSPECTING SMALL- ARMS CARTRIDGES KEEP 'EM SMILING—THE WORK GOES BETTER ASSEMBLING GAS MASKS ACCURACY IS HER WATCHWORD ASSEMBLING WIRE HARNESS FOR ARMY TRUCKS SPRAYING THE GARDEN? GUESS AGAIN. IT'S AN AUTOMOTIVE PROCESS SHE HELPS TO MAKE THE WHEELS OF WAR GO 'ROUND [imprint: For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., Price 10 cents] [imprint: U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1942 O - 469088]
