Grace Hopper joined the Navy in the WAVES program during World War II. WAVES stands for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. According to Wikipedia[1

Grace Hopper joined the Navy in the WAVES program during World War II. WAVES stands for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. According to Wikipedia[1] WAVES on 30 July 1942 was established as a World War II division of the U.S. Navy, that consisted entirely of women in the 1940s, but on 12 June 1948, women gained permanent status in the armed services of the United States. The name was the acronym for "Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service"[1] (as well as an allusion to ocean waves). The word "emergency" implied that the acceptance of women was due to the unusual circumstances of World War II, and at the end of the war the women would not be allowed to continue in Navy careers, but it or its successors continued for decades afterwards. Within their first year, the WAVES were 27,000 strong. A large proportion of the WAVES did clerical work, but some took positions in the aviation community, medical professions, communications, intelligence, storekeeper, science and technology. The WAVES could not serve aboard combat ships or aircraft, and initially were restricted to duty in the continental United States. Late in World War II, they were authorized to serve in certain U.S. possessions, and a number were sent to Hawaii. The war ended before any WAVES could be sent to other locations. It wasn't until six years after WAVES was formed on June 12 1948, women gained permanent status in the armed services. Grace Hopper absolutely wouldn't have been welcome in the Navy if it wasn't for World War II. After WWII they let woman continue in the armed services since they were already there, and they were providing some vital roles, and HEY THE WORLD DIDN'T END AFTER ALL. [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAVES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAVES