March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate and honor the important achievements and struggles by women throughout U.S. history.
Originally celebrated in 1978 as Women’s History Week by the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women, the month of March was officially proclaimed Women’s History Month by the U.S. Congress in 1987.
To celebrate Women’s History Month, the United States Navy created an infographic to highlight the milestones and accomplishments of women in the Navy.
From the women who served aboard the first Navy hospital ship in 1862 to the first woman 4-star admiral in 2014, women have served on both sea and land.
Today women make up 17 percent of the Navy’s active and Reserve members, with 59,000 active duty members and more than 9,000 Reserve personnel.
Sadly, the infographic is no longer available online. The Wayback Machine has an archive of the 2015 Women’s History Month celebration.
However, you can still check out my key takeaways from the infographic.
Key Takeaways
Since 1987, Women’s National History Month has commemorated the diverse contributions women have made, and continue to make, to our nation.
- 1862: Sisters of the Holy Cross served aboard USS Red Rover, the Navy’s first hospital ship
- 1908: Women officially began serving in the Navy with the establishment of the Nurse Corps in 1908. They were called
The Sacred Twenty
and served as the first Navy nurses. - 1917: To fill severe clerical shortages caused by World War I, the U.S. Navy approved the enlistment of women in 1917. The Navy’s first enlisted women more commonly referred to as Yeomanettes, served in clerical positions, translators, draftsmen, fingerprint experts, ship camouflage designers and recruiting agents.
- 1942: After a 23 year absence, women returned to general Navy service as Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) in early August 1942 for World War II
- 1974: The sky is not the limit: six women earned their wings and became the first naval aviators
- 1978: In 1978, Congress approved a change to Section 6015 of Title 1, U.S. Code, which allowed women to begin filling sea duty billets on selected non-combatant ships.
- 1994: Opportunities were later expanded in 1994 to include service on combatant ships and squadrons following the repeal of the Risk Rule which had been in place since 1988
- 2012: Submarine warfare officeres earn their
dolphins.
- 2014: The first set of 4-start shoulder boards for women made for Vice Admiral Michelle Howard following confirmation as the first woman 4-star admiral
- 2015: Enlisted women can serve on submarines. Today, women in our Navy make up 17 percent of the active and Reserve forces
