Women In The Marine Marines: A Gender Analysis

Since 1918, women have answered the call to serve proudly in the United States Marines and the role of women in the Marines has evolved and expanded throughout history. The Marine Corps Women's Reserve was established in February 1943 and in June 1948 Congress passed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act and made women a permanent part of the regular Marine Corps (Fredriksen, J. C. 2011). By 1975, the Corps approved the assignment of women to all occupational fields except infantry, artillery, armor and pilot/air crew. Currently Women serve in 93 percent of all occupational fields and serve globally and proudly carry on the traditions of those first trailblazers as they continue to open doors for future Marines to follow (Fredriksen,

The Marines is a male dominated institution that has had clear-cut gender-roles for it members. The women in the Marine Corps have long battled these general-roles and stereotypes with being seen as inferior to males. When they were first allowed to serve they were relegated to gender specific occupational fields, such as secretaries (Fredriksen, J. C. 2011). These gender stereotypes make it hard for women to succeed due to the fact that the cultural hegemony of the Marines includes purely masculine traits as the basis for leadership and effectiveness. All female Marines, are subjected to their minority status in Marine Corps (Weatherill, Vogt, Taft, King, King, & Shipherd 2011), but it seems that women of color are more often subjected to both race and gender bias within the Marine Corps and overall harassment in the workplace (Foynes, M. M., Shipherd, J. C., & Harrington, E. F. 2013). These inequalities can have a profound effect on the mental and physical health of female Marines (Kessler, Mickelson, & Williams

765). Women Marines must be able to demonstrate that they are always will to put the mission first just as the males do. When a women is able to show confidence and capability and perform on par with the men, they are seen a part of the team. Once a female has become part of the team, she must continue to maintain focus, because any error in judgment can quickly lead questions of leadership abilities. For female Marines pregnancy also has the potential to “erode morale” in their units, but some are able to effectively navigate this area, by maintain their physicality, endurance, and willingness to stay with their unit as long as possible (Brownson 2014, pg. 776). Female Marines must always try to present themselves in the best possible manner, because otherwise they will be judged harshly, not only by the males, but also by their female colleagues. Female Marines hold themselves to a high esteem and since they make up such a small percentage of the Corps, that they feel the need to overcompensate when other females behavior poorly (Brownson