Despite the strong opposition from several admirals who openly expressed their preference for “dogs or ducks or monkeys” over women in the military, President Roosevelt signed a bill allowing all three branches to enlist women.

In the early months of 1942, the Navy, initially hesitant, found itself compelled to explore unconventional sources of personnel. This shift arose particularly when the newly established War Manpower Commission admitted its inability to provide adequate men to meet the demands of the anticipated naval expansion. According to Dean Virginia C. Gildersleeve of Barnard College, looking back, “certain older admirals would likely have favored dogs or ducks or monkeys over women if the Navy could have viably utilized them.”

However, despite this resistance from senior naval officers, pressure came from Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts. She first sponsored a bill allowing women into the army and then directed her attention to advocating for their inclusion in the Navy.

Source: Williams, Kathleen Broome. “Women Ashore: The Contribution of Waves to US Naval Science And …” Canadian Nautical Research Society, The Northern Mariner, Apr. 1998, www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol08/nm_8_2_1-20.pdf.