Women in the Air Force

Congress gave members of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), a branch of the U.S. Army, full service status during World War II. However, the legislation that did so was set to expire in 1948. As early as 1946, Army leaders requested that enlisted women be made a permanent part of the Army. Following two years of legislative debate, Congress passed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act in 1948. The act granted women the right to serve as permanent, regular members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and the recently formed Air Force.

In 1975, then President Ford, signed Public Law 94-106 requiring the services to open the hallowed halls of West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy to women. In the fall of 1976 female cadets began their education and military orientation as the "Class of '80" became the first coed class.

President Obama signed into law S. 614, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). WASP was established during World War II with the primary mission of flying non-combat military missions in the United States thus freeing their male counterparts for combat missions.

In 2015, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter announced the decision to open all combat jobs in the United States military to women. This meant that all military occupations and positions would be open to women, without exception.

Sharron Frontiero, a lieutenant in the United States Air Force, sought a dependent's allowance for her husband. Federal law provided that the wives of members of the military automatically became dependents; husbands of female members of the military, however, were not accepted as dependents unless they were dependent on their wives for over one-half of their support. Frontiero's request for dependent status for her husband was turned down.

After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in early 1980, President Jimmy Carter reactivated the draft registration process. Congress agreed with Carter's decision, but did not enact his recommendation that the Military Selective Service Act (MSSA) be amended to include the registration of females. A number of men challenged the constitutionality of the MSSA, and the challenge was sustained by a district court.

In March 2021, President Biden released Executive Order 14020, Establishment of the White House Gender Policy Council, which mandated a whole-of-government strategy to promote gender equality, and corresponding Department and Agency Action Plans within nine months of the Strategy’s release. The U.S. National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality was released in October 2021, with the aim of advancing gender equity and equality, including the importance of women’s meaningful participation across all facets of security, leadership, and development in our domestic and foreign policy. This year’s Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Congressional Report —the first full year of the Biden-Harris Administration—reflects a robust commitment to the application of WPS into our foreign policy and national security, as well as unparalleled commitments to enhancing gender equity and equality for women in the security sector in our own country.

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the treatment of women and minorities at the Air Force Academy, focusing on: (1) differences in performance indicators between men and women and whites and minorities; (2) cadets' perceptions of the fairness of treatment that female and minority cadets receive; and (3) actions the Academy has taken to enhance the success of women and minorities at the Academy.

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed whether the Air Force enlisted accession program was gender-neutral.

The military services and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) have opened selected positions and occupations to women since January 2013, as shown in the table below, and are determining whether to open the remaining closed positions and occupations. The services and SOCOM also are conducting studies to identify and mitigate potential integration challenges in areas such as unit cohesion, women's health, and facilities. As of May 2015, the Secretary of the Navy was the only military department Secretary to recommend an exception to policy to keep positions closed to women on three classes of ships that are scheduled to be decommissioned, due in part to high retrofit costs.

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed S. 581, a bill which would increase the combat support assignments open to women in the military services, focusing on the: (1) positions and units closed to women because of exclusionary laws and policies; (2) ongoing service reviews of positions and units currently closed to women; and (3) potential impact of the bill on those positions and units.

GAO surveyed Air Force personnel to determine the causes of differences between the attrition rates for women in positions traditionally held by females and for those in nontraditional jobs. The survey group included men and women in 10 Air Force specialty codes (AFSC) within four groups of occupations and men and women throughout the Air Force.

This paper establishes the need to retain more women Air Force officers longer, analyzes survey results revealing women's reasons for separating from the Air Force, and recommends specific retention measures applicable to all members, Demographic data prove that within the next 10 years women will become a larger percentage of the talent pool from which the Air Force draws its officers, Additionally, over that same time period, competition for the available talent will increase, making recruiting and retention harder and more important than they are now, The Air Force Personnel Center's statistics show that a greater percentage of Air Force women than men separate from the Air Force prior to retirement eligibility, As this paper proves, these trends negatively impact recruiting, mentoring, and the overall leadership capacity of the Air Force, A significant body of research also documents that women are effective leaders with different leadership styles than men; corporations and police departments recognize women's value and are actively recruiting them and designing retention programs to retain them Extrapolating from that research, this paper establishes the necessity for including women on the Air Force team, to include the highest ranks of leadership.

This report looks at the history of women in US military roles and combat since the 1990's. It also discusses critic's views of exclusionary policy as a civil rights issue.

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed whether the Air Force enlisted accession program was gender-neutral.

This report summarizes the history of women in the military and as Veterans, profiles the characteristics of women Veterans in 2015, illustrates how women Veterans in 2015 used some of the major benefits and services that are offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and discusses the future of women Veterans in relation to VA. The goal of this report is to communicate an understanding of who our women Veterans are, how their military service affects their post-military lives, and how they can be better served based on these insights.