At a recent gathering of top military brass in Quantico, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called for the armed forces to abandon what he called “woke culture” and return to a rigid “warrior” ethos. He pledged sweeping changes to fitness, grooming, and disciplinary standards, changes that critics warn could push women out of roles they have fought for decades to earn.
Hegseth announced that all combat positions will be judged by the “highest male standard” for physical fitness, a shift that would erase gender-neutralized benchmarks designed to reflect the actual requirements of military jobs. In practice, this could exclude many women from combat specialties, regardless of their proven service and performance.
Women make up 17.3% of the total active-duty force, and more than 21% of the Guard and Reserves. They are represented in every branch:
- Air Force: ~21% women
- Navy: ~20% women
- Army: ~15–16% women
- Marine Corps: ~9–10% women
- Space Force: ~19–20% women
- Coast Guard: ~15–16% women
Far from being peripheral, women are central to military readiness. Women now serve in every combat role once barred to them. They also stay in service longer: in 2023, 33% of enlisted women in the Marine Corps reenlisted, compared to just 28% of men, while nearly 90% of female officers continued their service, surpassing men.
This presence is particularly striking given women’s long exclusion from the armed forces. Until 1948, women could not serve as permanent, regular members of the military. They were admitted only in segregated, auxiliary units such as the Women’s Army Corps or as nurses.
Even after integration with The 1948 Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, combat positions remained closed for decades: women were barred from flying combat aircraft until 1993, from serving on submarines until 2010, and from ground combat jobs until the ban was lifted in 2013.
Today, women are not just meeting the standards set before them, they are exceeding them and redefining what military excellence looks like. The future of warfare is less about brute strength and more about technology, intelligence, and strategy. Today’s armed forces rely on advanced systems, cyber defense, drones, artificial intelligence, and space operations, that require highly educated recruits.
Across the country, women are already outperforming men in educational attainment: they graduate from high school and college at higher rates and earn more advanced degrees. That means women are not just filling roles in the military, they are equipping the force with the intellectual and technical skills it needs to remain globally dominant.
“Successful militaries don’t use hand-to-hand combat anymore,” notes longtime feminist leader Ellie Smeal, pointing to the technological realities of modern warfare. “What the military really needs is intelligence and skill, and women are essential for a modern military.” says Smeal.
Hegseth’s framing of “woke versus warrior” is not a neutral cultural shift, it’s a rejection of the very programs that made women’s full participation in the military possible. Efforts toward equity and accountability have built a stronger, more capable force. Casting them aside not only threatens women’s gains but leaves unaddressed the systemic issues, like harassment and abuse, that undermine readiness.
One of the most pressing concerns is sexual assault and harassment, which remains disproportionately high for women in uniform. In 2023, nearly 7% of active-duty women and 1.3% of men reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact. Surveys show that more than half of female service members report persistent or serious harassment, and fewer than 40% trust the military to protect their privacy if they report an incident. Cutting or sidelining diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, which Hegseth has called “social justice distractions”, could weaken the military’s ability to prevent and respond to these abuses.
It’s no surprise, then, that Hegseth’s address has sparked widespread criticism. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned against Hegseth’s approach to politicize the military saying [the military] “should be entirely focused on protecting the country.” Senator Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran, condemned Hegseth’s leadership, labeling him unqualified, unethical, and unfit to be Secretary of Defense.
If the U.S. military is to remain the “strongest in the world,” it cannot afford to roll back inclusion or sideline half the population. Women are not a “woke distraction,” they are essential to the future of military leadership, innovation, and readiness. Hegseth’s vision of a warrior culture belongs to the past, not the battlefield of tomorrow.
