Across the globe, women began filling in jobs typically reserved for men, inspiring change and contributing to the second wave of feminism. In France, Charles de Gaulle's provisional government granted complete women's suffrage following the conclusion of the war. 

The release of books such as Betty Friedan's “The Feminine Mystique" and Simone de Beauvoir's “The Second Sex” in the years leading up to the second-wave era helped push for an increase in global feminist movements. They created a political outreach and provided new perspectives that evolved into a growing feminist mindset.