Essential Facts
- Date Signed: June 12, 1948
- Signed By: President Harry S. Truman
- Sponsor: Representative Margaret Chase Smith of Maine
- Public Law Number: 80-625
- Significance: Allowed women to serve as permanent, regular members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force for the first time
- Initial Restrictions: Limited women to 2% of force strength; prohibited full combat participation; limited officer ranks.
References
Primary Legal Sources
National Archives and Records Administration. (n.d.). Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, Public Law 80-625 [Enrolled bill]. Records of the U.S. Government. https://recordsofrights.org/records/60/womens-armed-services-integration-act
U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. (1947). S. 1641, a bill to establish the Women’s Army Corps… [and] to authorize the enlistment and appointment of women in the… Navy and Marine Corps… (Women’s Armed Services Integration Act), July 16, 1947. https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/artifact/s-1641-bill-establish-womens-army-corps-and-authorize-enlistment-and-appointment-women
Government and Military Historical Sources
Morden, B. J. (1990). The Women’s Army Corps, 1945-1978. U.S. Army Center of Military History. https://history.army.mil/html/books/030/30-14-1/index.html
National Archives. (n.d.). Summer of 1948: A step forward for equality for all in the U.S. armed forces. https://visit.archives.gov/whats-on/explore-exhibits/summer-1948-step-forward-equality-all-us-armed-forces
Naval History and Heritage Command. (n.d.). 75th anniversary of Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. U.S. Navy. https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/diversity/women-in-the-navy/WASIA/WASIA-at-75.html
Naval History and Heritage Command. (n.d.). Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. U.S. Navy. https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/browse-by-topic/organization-and-administration/regulations-and-policy/WASIA.html
U.S. Marine Corps History Division. (1948). Public Law 625: The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 [Congressional act]. Marine Corps University. https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/People/Women-in-the-Marine-Corps/The-Womens-Armed-Services-Integration-Act-of-1948/
Museum and Educational Resources
The National WWII Museum. (2024, September 15). The 1948 Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/1948-womens-armed-services-integration-act
Pritzker Military Museum & Library. (2023). 75th anniversary of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. https://www.pritzkermilitary.org/resources/blog/75th-anniversary-womens-armed-services-integration-act
Reference Works
Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. (1999). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Womens-Armed-Services-Integration-Act
Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. (2025). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Armed_Services_Integration_Act