Women moving bricks at South Works

This image came from a US Steel publication that sought to encourage women to enter manufacturing during World War II given the labor shortage. “Rosie the Riveter” images have tended to focus on white women. However, African-American and Mexican-American women also entered the steel mills during this era in the Calumet region. This photo is one of rare ones that acknowledged the role of black women workers as part of war-time mobilization. This image was donated by “Kitty” Kalwasinski Markovich who was a welder at Carnegie Illinois/US Steel.