The American Military branch with the most women.

Special Report

Published: November 23, 2023 12:25 pm

Women have been serving in the U.S. Armed Forces since 1775, as early as the Revolutionary War. Many of these roles were not the standard positions they hold today, ranging from nurses to cooks, and even seamstresses. Because women were able to move about relatively undetected in these roles, they also worked as spies, alerting troops on the movements of the enemy, carrying messages back and forth, and even as scouts who were able to gather information on British troops.

Debrah Sampson is one of the more well-known enlistees. Sampson disguised herself as a man to aid the cause and was considered a hero. She is also the only woman to earn a full military pension for her involvement with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Women kept these roles throughout history, from Dorothea L. Dix, who was appointed as superintendent of nurses for the Union Army during the Civil War, to Dr. Anita M. McGee, who drafted a bill that founded the Nurses Corp and became known as the ‘Founder of the Army Nurses Corp’.

Additionally, the service of women in World War I is what aided the move toward passing the 19th Amendment, a woman’s right to vote, in 1919. Although the presence of women in the Armed Forces had a significant impact on many early events, they still had not, and have yet to make up a large portion of the military.

Before the United States ended compulsory enrollment in the military in early 1973, women still only comprised about 1% of active-duty personnel. As of 2021, the share of women on active duty in the military had increased to 17.3%. The percentage of women serving as commissioned officers also rose accordingly, from 4% in 1973 to 20% in 2021. (A few nations have a much higher share of women service members. (These are the Female Veterans Who Changed US History)

Even as recently as the early 90s, women were only permitted to serve in certain roles. As they began establishing themselves in diverse roles and leadership positions in the ‘80s and ‘90s, there was still debate about women in combat. In 1994, President Clinton took a small step and rescinded a 1988 “Risk Rule,” which allowed women to serve in all roles except for direct ground combat. It took even longer for women to be permitted roles in combat.

On January 24, 2013, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta put an end to the historic ban on women serving in combat positions. While this opened the doors for them to serve in almost any military role, it took another three years before they were eligible for all combat roles. To find how many women serve in each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces today, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2021 Demographics, and Profile of the Military Community, a report published by the Department of Defense. All data is from the report.

The first Silver Star in United States history was awarded to Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester in 2005 for her actions in the Iraq War. According to the Department of Defence (DOD), as of 2021, women comprise 17.3% of active duty forces, which totals 231,741 members, and another 21.4% are enlisted in the National Guard, which totals 171,000 enlistees.

Women have been steadily integrating into a diversity of roles including combat positions. Although their percentage of senior leadership roles went from 4% in the early 70s to 16% as of today, the share of women in senior leadership positions still lags. Of the hundreds of military personnel that have attained the rank of general or admiral, only 10 of these have been women. (These are the greatest women in military history.)