“Top Secret Rosies” [The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Engineering FACTS]

Before the invention of electronic computers, “computer” was a job description, not a machine. There were a number of areas where large-scale, repetitive calculations were needed, including actuarial tables for the insurance industry and gunnery tables for the military. Despite the tradition of mathematics-based careers being male dominated and the male-oriented nature of the industries using such computers, women were prominent in the field.