Considering that it happened way before your time, too.
My fav {gutsy} aunt WAS that Rosie the Riveter - actually Flo(rence). And you are quite correct: their Sterling! performance SCARED THE SHIT outta the ever-so-traditional males, Then and Still.
(I recall a detailed analysis of the "wiring up of instrument panels" for bombers.) It was *common* for there to be NO ERRORS <<< Now *that* is an area I know something of, the frequent results of "wiring up" of various highly convoluted gadgets, pre-ICs and circuit boards.
This work was done almost exclusively by women, many of them grandmothers - thinking of little Johnny flying that plane into harm's way - and their work showed exactly "what motivated" this almost impossible level of consistent performance. No production line planner would ever have believed such yields possible: before Rosie. (Nor would they have believed their efficiency, time-to-perfection.)
I too agree that, since 1620 and the #*%&* Puritans landing to infect the place with their fear-based view of life, and on through slavery and "the little woman" - Rosie! Proved that it wasn't just some theoretical feel-good fantasy re "Womens' Abilities": it became unarguable demonstrated FACT.
Women nor MEN ever have forgotten this utter rout of the pop stereotypes of all prior days. Forced lately to emulate the inane male {ergo feudal} hierarchical BS that every 'Office' runs on -- have had to practice that which many women see {I aver} -- is a lousy way of managing people, a stupid method of encouraging say, as much cooperation as competition, yada & yada. Hell, the Sunday Comics echo this theme (perhaps the last bastion of semi-unfettered political speech that is ubiquitous in Murica '04).
And, gender aside - everybody here who has offered a vignette of their 'office' - demonstrates the utter shallowness of philosophy of these still male-dominated, traditional stand-offs between suits and actual workers.
As does today's 'merger' of YAN Giant Banking scam: designed solely to eliminate another 10,000 jobs as redundant and split the largesse with some out-of-work entrepreneurs of "merging". Time for another viewing of Brassed Off re that redundancy word.
We sure as fuck cannot lay That on the 'feminists', either.
Ashton