Women in Combat

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/us/for-3-women-combat-option-came-a-bit-late.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

For 3 Women, Combat Option Came a Bit Late by Elisabeth Bumiller and James Dao

For the three women talked about in this article, and many more, the ban on women in combat was limiting to their careers and their dreams. Even though this ban on women in combat has been recently lifted, it came a little too late for these three women, who thought they had gained all they could from the military and have already moved on. This article discusses how their lives could be different now and their experiences improved if they had equal opportunities as men in their military careers.

Ms. Melki could have had an opportunity to join the Night Stalkers, a Special Operations aviation regiment and elite Army unit if she were allowed to be in combat. Seeing her friends and peers, some of which she "considered no better or more experienced then she was" (2) be accepted into the regiment while one of her only choices was to become a commander for basic training. She left the army in 2011.

Captain Bedell and General Reynolds made great accomplishments in the military, but also experienced similar limitations due to the ban on women in combat. And like Ms. Melki, Captain Bedell already gave up on her military career before the ban, so it's too late for her to take advantage of the lift of the ban on women in combat.

This article is not only a great example of unequal opportunities within employment opportunities for men and women, but also contains some similarities with what we've been talking about in concern to the wage gap. Women with equal skills and training, even women who might have more training, didn't get to participate in the same jobs as men within the military. Not only that, but women were discredited for things they did within the military as well. Cases that would count as combat experience for men and gain them opportunities, didn't count as combat experience for women.

Luckily, changes have been made and combat is now an option for women in the military. This success for women's equal opportunities in the military will hopefully be mirrored in other US jobs as well. This example of women with equal skills, training and education receiving the same opportunities as men with the same qualifications will hopefully get people thinking.