20 vintage photos of women in the workplace

• Women have been unsung heroes of the worldwide workforce for centuries.
• More recently, they were vital in World War I and II, taking jobs on both sides of the Atlantic the world previously thought only men could hold such as in arms factories, steel mills, and on farms.
• Throughout the ensuing decades, they tackled many other occupations in the West like bookkeeping, switchboard operating, and eventually, stockbroking.

Around the world and throughout human history, women have always played some part in the workforce.

But women like the first female telephone operator, Emma Nutt, who took over the male-dominated job in 1878 and was immediately successful at it, paved the way for women to participate more in the western workforce, specifically. 

During World War I, women in the West farmed for soldiers' food. In World War II, they were instrumental in assembling airplane parts. And in the '60s and '70s, hidden figures like Mary Jackson emblazoned the trail for other women in the fields of science, mathematics, and technology.

Here are 20 vintage photos of women in the western workforce as they built their presence and fought for equality there.

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Throughout the Progressive Era in America (the early 20th century), women began to call for equality in the workforce.

America's Progressive Era, which took place in the early 20th century, marked a rise in industrialization and production. As a result, women trickled into the workforce, and their numbers spiked during World War I.

During World War I, employment opportunities for women in the West expanded to clerical positions and factories.

Many women in the West went to work in new fields, expanding their skillsets beyond more traditional occupations like teaching and homemaking to war-related factory production, transportation, and construction.

Over in England, the Women's Land Army (WLA), aka "Land Girls," was crucial in producing food for soldiers.

According to the BBC, "Britain's food imports made up around 50% of the country's requirements, so when Germany successfully mounted naval blockades in 1915, the country faced a problem." 

After a failed harvest in 1917, Britain was left with only a few weeks worth of food, so the Board of Agriculture created the Women's Land Army (WLA). Over 250,000 women flocked to join the cause, harvesting crops that were "vital in the Allies' victory."