It was a rare moment in American history—unprecedented—when educated women were not only wanted but competed for. Up to now, many college leaders had hesitated to encourage women to major in math or science, because jobs for women were so scarce. Soon after Pearl Harbor, however, companies like Hercules Powder started recruiting at places like Wellesley, looking for chemists. The Office of Strategic Services was avidly recruiting women, as was the FBI. The jobs landscape for female college graduates changed even just between 1941 and 1942.
