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1859: From 1859 to 1862 Maria Andreu (a.k.a. Maria Mestre de los Dolores) served as the Keeper of the St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida, becoming the first Hispanic-American woman to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard and the first Hispanic-American woman to oversee a federal shore installation. [27]
During World War I and World War II, the primary role of women shifted towards employment in munitions factories, agriculture and food rationing, and other areas to fill the gaps left by men who had been drafted into the military. One of the most notable changes during World War II was the inclusion of many of women in regular military units.
The first African-American woman sworn into the Navy Nurse Corps was Phyllis Mae Dailey, a Columbia University student from New York, on March 8, 1945. She was the first of only four African-American women to serve as a Navy nurse during World War II. [26] The first five African-American women entered the Coast Guard Women's Reserve (SPARs).
Canada: Over 2,800 women serve in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps during the war. Women also receive training in small arms, first aid and vehicle maintenance in anticipation of being used as home guards. [25] New Zealand: Nurses in the New Zealand Army Nursing Service serve on hospital ships and in hospitals at the front in France. [26]
World War I marked the first war in which American women were allowed to enlist in the armed forces. While thousands of women did join branches of the army in an official capacity, receiving veterans status and benefits after the war's close, the majority of female involvement was done through voluntary organizations of the war effort or ...
Commissioned as a captain, she was captured on April 10, 1864, becoming the first female prisoner of war; she was released on August 12, 1864, in exchange for a Confederate major who was being held as a POW by the Union Army. At war's end, she received the Medal of Honor for her service and for hardships endured as a POW. [30]
The first American women enlisted into the regular armed forces were 13,000 women admitted into active duty in the U.S. Navy during the war. They served stateside in jobs and received the same benefits and responsibilities as men, including identical pay (US$28.75 per month), and were treated as veterans after the war.
The first participation of a woman in combat occurred in 1823. Maria Quitéria de Jesus fought for the maintenance of the independence of Brazil, and is considered the first woman to enlist in a military unit. However, it was not until 1943, during World War II, that women officially entered the Brazilian Army.