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Hero image for Weekly Review No 138 - Women Truck Drivers

Weekly Review No 138 - Women Truck Drivers

Short Film (Full Length) – 1944

While World War II caused heartbreak and economic pain for New Zealand, there was a positive effect for Kiwi women — more job opportunities. Thousands of women moved from homemaker to factory worker, truck driver and weapon maker, filling job vacancies left by the 200,000+ men serving in the armed forces. In this National Film unit report, women "do their bit" driving large trucks, as well as shifting bags of mail. The narrator reflects stereotypes of the time when he says: "They work like men but they’re women still when it comes to knocking back a cup of chatter-water.”

Women drivers were once a back seat joke. These drivers know their job.
– The narrator describes women truck drivers