Made with Men in Mind: The GI Bill and Its Reinforcement of Gendered Work after World War II
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Description
This chapter critically examines the GI Bill of 1944—perhaps the most well-known veterans’ benefits program in American history. The GI Bill of Rights, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, afforded enormous employment, educational, and financial benefits to veterans following World War II. Predicated solely on military service, GI Bill benefits were seen as the logical entitlement of those who had served their country during World War II. Feminist scholarship has identified the gendered nature of veterans’ benefits and preferences that privilege military service and, in so doing, disadvantage women, who as a group are less likely to have served in the military. The disparate impact of veterans’ benefits and preferences on women are only part of their gendered legacy. The relationship between work, gender, and military service in the post–World War II era presents a more disturbing picture. Although veterans’ benefits and preferences were facially gender-neutral, they were structured and implemented with particular gender roles firmly in mind, and were pursued with the intent of preserving and further entrenching these gender roles. Specifically the policies were aimed at helping veterans transition from their wartime role as soldiers to their civilian roles as workers. Because the military and the workforce were understood to be male institutions, these policies were socially understood to benefit men, who were expected to be economic providers for their wives and families. As such, veterans’ benefits and preferences not only disadvantaged women—they reflected, reinforced, and further embedded traditional gender norms that positioned men as protectors and providers, and women as their home-bound dependents.
Source Publication
Feminist Legal History: Essays on Women and Law
Source Editors/Authors
Tracy A. Thomas, Tracey Jean Boisseau
Publication Date
2011
Recommended Citation
Murray, Melissa, "Made with Men in Mind: The GI Bill and Its Reinforcement of Gendered Work after World War II" (2011). Faculty Chapters. 1973.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/1973
