Women in war industry: Women must keep 'em rolling
Photo-montage sheet of seven photographs of women at welding, drilling, press and assembly work, with red text panels and the base line 'Women must keep 'em rolling'. Captions cite a housewife turned welder, a 20-year watch-case maker and two 'Pearl Harbor widows'; the text panel gives labour figures. Named ordinary women stand as models (plain folks, testimonial), with an appeal to avenge war dead.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Photo News Display Corp., N.Y.C., in cooperation with the Photographic Section, Office of War Information
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Mixed
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Home front, Labor, War and the military
- 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)
Photo News Display Corp., in cooperation with the Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-239 (NAID 513681).
Text on the object
TRAINING FOR VICTORY: A HOUSEWIFE LEARNS WELDING AT A VOCATIONAL SCHOOL. FOR 20 YEARS SHE MADE WATCH CASES . . . NOW IT'S WAR PRODUCTION. WOMEN IN WAR INDUSTRY AS MEN MOVE TO THE FRONT LINES WOMEN MUST FILL THE GAP IN THE PRODUCTION LINES. 1,800,000 ARE WORKING IN WAR INDUSTRIES NOW. 4,000,000 MORE WILL BE NEEDED IN 1943 TO SMASH THE AXIS. THESE HANDS THAT ROCKED A CRADLE NOW OPERATE A PRESS IN AN AIRCRAFT PLANT WITH SUPERIOR SKILL AND SPEED. TWO PEARL HARBOR WIDOWS AVENGE THE DEATH OF THEIR HUSBANDS. THEY'RE A RIVETING TEAM ON RADIO SUPPORT ASSEMBLIES FOR BOMBERS. EFFICIENCY PLUS! FEMALE TAPPING MACHINE OPERATORS DO 400 MORE OPERA- TIONS ON THE 7½ HOUR SWING SHIFT THAN MEN ON THE 8 HOUR DAY SHIFT. BEAUTY LINE—ASSEMBLY LINE! THEY'RE MAKING ELEC- TRICAL SUB ASSEMBLIES IN CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION. WOMEN MUST KEEP 'EM ROLLING COMPILED AND EDITED IN COOPERATION WITH PHOTOGRAPHIC SECTION, OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION PHOTO NEWS DISPLAY CORP., 15 EAST 40th STREET, N. Y. C.
