Perhaps the most iconic image of feminism and arguably one of the most effective propaganda images in American history, Rosie the Riveter continues to signify hope in the global fight for women’s rights.

The icon first appeared in a painting by artist Norman Rockwell in 1943 for the Saturday Evening Post, in an image where a woman candidly poses against an American flag, resting her feet on one of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” booklets. Rosie was created to stir women to join the workforce in preparation for the impending World War, as millions of men were being sent overseas in the draft.

Following this painting, an unprecedented amount of women participated in the workforce in lieu of their husbands’ presences, handling labor jobs in industries such as munition and aviation. In 1943, more than 65 percent of the total aviation workforce was made up of women, with a staggering 310,000 women employed by the U.S. aircraft industry.

World War I allowed women the opportunity to step up to the plate and help the country’s workforce. The commitment shown by women during the war helped push President Woodrow Wilson and Congress to pass the 19th Amendment in 1920, which finally gave women equal voting rights in elections.

Since then, Rosie the Riveter has been used on countless occasions to promote women’s rights, and has become a dominant symbol of feminism in pop culture. Various stars have dressed up as the character, including Kendall Jenner and Beyoncé. In 2016, Jenner dressed up as the figure as part of a Rock the Vote campaign to encourage millennials to vote in the presidential elections. Beyoncé’s June 2014 Instagram post picturing her donning a blue jean shirt and flexing her muscles, embodying Rosie, racked up millions of likes. While the character may have started as a form of war propaganda, Rosie’s message for female empowerment is as necessary now as it was then, especially in areas of the world where women’s rights have been limited, such as Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. Current-day Rosie the Riveters thrive across the world in the form of strong female leaders like activist Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, movie star Gal Gadot of Israel, and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

If one thing is clear, it’s that it is up to us to make sure the determination and hopefulness Rosie exhibited never fades. In her words, we can do it.

Photo Credit: J. Howard Miller’s “We Can Do It!” poster (left) and Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter on the Saturday Evening Post from May 1943. Left, © J. Howard Miller/Courtesy of The National Museum of American History.