Above: Opening industrial jobs to women also meant teaching skills that many had previously been given little opportunity to acquire. These workers were being trained for precise aircraft-engine installation at Douglas Aircraft in 1942. Photo: Alfred T. Palmer, Library of Congress.
Opposite page: Wartime manufacturing depended on precision and quality as much as physical strength. This Vega Aircraft worker was photographed checking electrical assemblies in Burbank, California, in June 1942. Photo: David Bransby, Library of Congress.
32 WESTERN PALLET