<P> The individual who was the inspiration for the song was Rosalind P. Walter, who "came from old money and worked on the night shift building the F4U Corsair fighter ." Later in life Walter was a philanthropist, a board member of the WNET public television station in New York and an early and long - time supporter of the Charlie Rose interview show . </P> <P> Rosie the Riveter became most closely associated with another real woman, Rose Will Monroe, who was born in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 1920 and moved to Michigan during World War II . She worked as a riveter at the Willow Run Aircraft Factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan, building B - 24 bombers for the U.S. Army Air Forces . Monroe was asked to star in a promotional film about the war effort at home . The song "Rosie the Riveter" was popular at the time, and Monroe happened to best fit the description of the worker depicted in the song . "Rosie" went on to become perhaps the most widely recognized icon of that era . The films and posters she appeared in were used to encourage women to go to work in support of the war effort . At the age of 50, Monroe realized her dream of flying when she obtained a pilot's license . In 1978, she crashed in her small propeller plane when the engine failed during takeoff . The accident resulted in the loss of one kidney and the sight in her left eye, and ended her flying career . She died from kidney failure on May 31, 1997, in Clarksville, Indiana where she was a resident, at the age of 77 . </P> <P> A drama film, Rosie the Riveter, was released in 1944, borrowing from the Rosie theme . </P> <P> According to the Encyclopedia of American Economic History, "Rosie the Riveter" inspired a social movement that increased the number of working American women from 12 million to 20 million by 1944, a 57% increase from 1940 . By 1944 only 1.7 million unmarried men between the ages of 20 and 34 worked in the defense industry, while 4.1 million unmarried women between those ages did so . Although the image of "Rosie the Riveter" reflected the industrial work of welders and riveters during World War II, the majority of working women filled non-factory positions in every sector of the economy . What unified the experiences of these women was that they proved to themselves (and the country) that they could do a "man's job" and could do it well . In 1942, just between the months of January and July, the estimates of the proportion of jobs that would be "acceptable" for women was raised by employers from 29 to 85% . African American women were some of those most affected by the need for women workers . It has been said that it was the process of whites working along blacks during the time that encouraged a breaking down of social barriers and a healthy recognition of diversity . </P>

What symbol do you most associate with world war 2