As women dominate U.S. college campuses and more start running their own businesses, they may very well be the solution for rebuilding U.S. prosperity.

Before World War II raged, 12 million women comprised a quarter of America’s workforce. Conflagration drew another 6 million into the war effort. Many became Rosie the Riveter at factories, ably replacing men sent abroad. Women didn’t just fire rivet guns. They ran farms and 3 million worked for the Red Cross. Another 200,000 served in uniform.

When peace reigned, the old order returned, sending millions of women back home or to lower paying jobs. Many wanted careers, but middle class families seemed determined to carry on with one breadwinner. During the 1950s, one woman in three entered the workforce.