Stunning, Rare Photos of the Women Workers of WWII

These gorgeous color photos are…whoa. Taken by Alfred T. Palmer, a photographer for the US Office of War Information during World War II, these images are largely from the rubber, metal, and aircraft factories in Ohio, Kentucky, and California. And damn, they are rad.

Between 1940 and 1945, the amount of women in the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent. And although many went back home (or to lower paying/prestige jobs) after the war ended, their saved incomes helped jumpstart the economy, and we’ve all benefited greatly from their hard work. Thanks, ladies.