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July 30, 2018

Pentagon Gender Gap Persists in Trump Era Even as Women Rise in Industry

At the Defense Department, 46 out of 52 positions confirmed or awaiting confirmation went to men

By Michèle Flournoy and Loren DeJonge Schulman

When Kathy Warden takes over as CEO of Northrop Grumman in January, women will run three of the primes, as the largest American defense firms are known.

Warden joins Marillyn Hewson at Lockheed Martin and Phebe Novakovic at General Dynamics as CEOs, while executive vice president Leanne Caret heads Boeing’s defense business.

Their rise coincides with a sharp uptick in women in influential security-related positions on Capitol Hill.

Texas Republican Kay Granger holds the gavel of the powerful House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, joining an elite club that has until now been open only to men. Meanwhile, women from both parties on the Senate Armed Services Committee have pushed into law dozens of new policies and regulations aimed at changing the military’s male-dominated culture.

However, the ascension to the top ranks of the boardroom and plum security committee assignments on Capitol Hill has not been matched in other parts of the defense apparatus. There has never been a female Defense secretary. There has never been a female member of the joint chiefs of staff.

What accounts for this discrepancy? While there are various theories, no single explanation seems to suffice.



Read the Full Article at Roll Call

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