During the initial phase of the war, women who joined the military, except for Army and Navy nurses, typically received superior pay or status compared to the nurses. When the WAAC was created in May 1942, its members received higher salaries than the Army Nurse Corps. Those who enlisted in the newly formed WAVES of the Navy and the Coast Guard SPARS had rank and compensation equal to their male counterparts. Even the lowest-ranked civilian employees in Army hospitals received $85 monthly, whereas Army nurses earned a meager $70.

The discrimination faced by the long-standing Army Nurse Corps, an integral part of the Army, in contrast to the unprecedented benefits granted to other auxiliary units, was puzzling. Many of these benefits were objectives the Army Nurse Corps had been striving to achieve for decades.

On June 16, 1942, Congress passed the Pay Readjustment Act, which increased the salaries of Army nurses across different service periods:

• Years 1-3: $1,082 annually
• Years 4-6: $1,260 annually
• Years 7-9: $1,440 annually
• Years 10-12: $1,620 annually
• Year 13 and beyond: $1,800 annually

In addition, chief nurses, assistant superintendents, and superintendents received supplementary earnings of $600, $1,500, and $2,500 per year.

In 1942, the average annual income for all Americans before taxes was $911, which increased to $1,106 by 1943. The pay raise brought even newly appointed Army nurses to a more stable financial position, while those with more experience surpassed the national average income.

Despite this increase, nurses’ pay remained unequal to that of men. However, the pay raise was among several steps taken to attract enough American women into the military to serve as Army nurses.

Source: Sarnecky, Mary T. “Challenges, Concerns and Administration.” A History of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1999, pp. 266”“267.