Code Girls

Code Girls is a 2017 historical survey of women in computing by American journalist Liza Mundy. Focusing on the field of cryptography (code-making and breaking) in the early twentieth century, it argues that women are the unsung heroes of America’s victory in World War II for their contributions to state intelligence. Mundy agrees that their work was rightfully hidden during wartime, but believes that the time has come to acknowledge their achievements as part of the ongoing struggle for women’s rights and gender equality in the United States. The book has been recognized for using rigorous historical analysis to make a compelling argument that ties together the political and social, and the past and present.

Code Girls is divided into three parts. The first part is called “In the Event of Total War Women Will Be Needed.” Here, Mundy backgrounds the cryptographic paradigm in the work of pioneering women. As the breakout of World War II grew imminent, traditional gender roles in work-life dissolved. Men were being deployed to the front lines en masse, making it necessary to staff certain roles with women. Many women relocated to Washington, D.C., and enlisted in efforts to decode enemy transmissions and develop stronger cryptographic security for the United States. Intelligence was one of the most critical domains in determining the war’s outcome: without it, many experts argue, we would have never gained control of the Pacific. Mundy illustrates that many women were eager to take on the challenge, expressing their desires to contribute to the defense of their friends and family.

The second part, “Over All This Vast Expanse of Waters Japan Was Supreme,” emphasizes the immense firepower that the Japanese army controlled on the open sea. Their fleets were so extensive that the United States’ critical weapon became cryptanalysis. Mundy outlines several different episodes in which teams of women raced against the clock to crack Japanese codes and preempt attacks on soldiers. At the same time, a huge silence hung over these women, because they were unable to speak of their work outside their immediate teams. Mundy also explores the historic competition between the Army and the Navy, which bled over even into cryptanalytic work.



Part 3, “The Tide Turns,” examines the later stages of the war. In particular, it explores how female cryptanalysts cracked German intelligence’s encryption schemes, scoring a decisive blow in the course of the war. Mundy contends that most historical narratives about the famous German Enigma project understate the roles women played. At the “Sugar Camp,” a cryptanalyst station in Ohio, scientist Joseph Desch worked on the WAVES project, which successfully encrypted many transmissions for the Naval forces leading up to the Allies’ successful invasion of France at Normandy, or “D-Day.” Though this day was a success, Mundy reminds her readers that the final phase of World War II was perhaps the most violent and tragic. She outlines the process that soldiers went through when they returned home, as well as the wrapping up of the intelligence jobs on home soil. Mundy commends the forgotten women whose feats of intelligence and collaboration saved countless lives. Many of them went on to become foremost scientists of the post-war era. At the end of the book, she includes short statements by some of these “code girls” who survived at the time of its publication. These include Dot Braden Bruce, one of the leaders of the cryptanalysis team in Arlington.

Ultimately, due to a combination of necessary secrecy and sexism, the achievements of the code girls have been under-recognized. Mundy’s historical analysis restores them to their rightful place in American history: at the front lines of intelligence during World War II.