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The bombing of pear harbor led to America's involvement in the war. Men were drafted to serve in the army, navy, and marine corps. So many men were drafted, and there was no men left to work in factories or other places. So, their wives and daughters began to fill their jobs.
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The WAAC was established by Edith Norse Rodgers, a congress woman from Massachusetts. They had five different training centers, and fought several times. Seeing as they were an auxiliary corps, they had no military status.
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The WAVES was a unit of the U.S. Naval Reserve. Their efforts were a great help to the war, and they proved that woman could be effective in the war. It was Eleanor Roosevelt who got the Navy to allow the women's navy reserve. However, even with such an important person influencing them, it took a bill signed by President Roosevelt himself to actually get the reserve going.
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The idea for the Wasps were started by Jacklyn Cochran and Nancy Love in 1941, however, for quite some time, their requests were denied, despite having Eleanor Roosevelt's support. However, they weren't discouraged, and in September, 1942, the Wasps were officially founded.
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Rosie the Riveter was a fictitious character, a campaign launched by the government to encourage women to take on men's jobs while they were away at war. Rosie served as an inspiration to all of the wives and women, and after the campaign was launched, the percent of working women increased from 27% to 37%.
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The WAC was the reformed WAAC, this time, they had full military status.
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The Wasps, unlike their male counterparts, did not receive military benefits. They were considered "Civil Service" and not a real part of the army. Jacklyn Cochran had been campaigning for the wasps to get full military status, but instead, they were disbanded.
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From jobs such as nurses, midwives, cleaners, teachers, and entertainers to jobs like engineers, clerical staff, and assembly work, 18 million of America's women had paying jobs. Though they earned a lot less money than men with the same jobs, it was a huge step for them.
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The war finally ends, and men come back to America, and are given their jobs back. The women who served in the war came back to, most of them with little or no recognition. With the support of the government, women continue their jobs, however, they get significantly less pay than the men with the same jobs.
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This act gave women who served as nurses in either the army or navy full military status, and gave them permanent commissioned officer status.
