What happened
Lawmakers on Wednesday awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor from Congress, to real-life Rosie the Riveters, the roughly 6 million women who went to work during World War II. Twenty-seven "Rosies" flew to Washington for the ceremony.
Who said what
"World War II would not have been won if it weren't for the Rosies at home," said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), a sponsor of the 2020 legislation authorizing the medals. "Up until 1941, it was a man's world," said Mae Krier, 98, who built B-17 and B-29 bombers in Seattle during the war and was a driving force to get recognition for the Rosies. "They didn't know how capable us women were, did they?"
The commentary
"The Rosies went to work out of necessity," and many of them were "forced out of their jobs when the men returned after the war," The New York Times said. But the experience "shaped the rest of their lives and demonstrated that women could do work that had been traditionally reserved for men."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Congress has designated March 21 national Rosie the Riveter Day.
-
A fentanyl vaccine may be on the horizonUnder the radar Taking a serious jab at the opioid epidemic
-
The 8 best comedy TV series of 2025the week recommends From quarterlife crises to Hollywood satires, these were the funniest shows of 2025
-
Codeword: December 16, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
