Military and Gender

The U.S. Armed Forces comprise five branches: (1) the Army, (2) the Navy, (3) the Marine Corps, (4) the Air Force, and (5) the Coast Guard. The Army comprises the Regular Army, the Army National Guard, and the U.S. Army Reserve. As of 2015, there were approximately 1.4 million active duty and 820,000 reservist military personnel. The active duty forces are now more than 15% female. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), female veterans are the fastest-growing group of veterans. There are 19.6 million veterans in the United States, with 1.6 million of those veterans being women.

While the number of women in the service and transitioning to veteran status continues to rise, the culture of the military is largely male focused, presenting ...