Women were recruited into the Naval Reserve Force in the World War I era to meet severe clerical shortages at shore stations. Since the Naval Reserve Act of 1916 did not specify gender as a condition for service, in March 1917 Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels approved the enrollment of female yeomen in the Naval Reserves. The Yeomen (F), popularly known as "Yeomanettes," primarily served in secretarial and clerical positions, though some were translators, draftsmen, fingerprint experts, ship camouflage designers and recruiting agents. Nearly six hundred Yeomen (F) were on duty by the end of April 1917; this number increased to over eleven thousand by December 1918.
This photograph depicts a group of female yeomen at the Naval Training Station on the University of Washington campus, wearing their standard uniform of a “Norfolk” style jacket and matching skirt, white shirt with Navy neckerchief, and wide-brimmed, flat-crowned hat with a ribbon reading "U.S. Navy" or "U.S. Naval Reserve".
Caption information source: U.S. Navy Naval Historical Center website at http://www.history.navy.mil
Physical Description: 1 photographic print mounted on linen : b&w ; 7 x 9.5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. View the finding aid for this collection at https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv19210
Credit: MOHAI, U.S. Naval Training Station at University of Washington Photograph Albums, Lib1993.35.1.27
