Breaking Barriers: Women in the Military and Male-Dominated Professions
In honor of Women’s History Month, we conclude our four-part series, Her-Story: Women and the Law in the USA, with this final installment. Over the past three entries, we've explored the early struggles for legal equality, the pursuit of financial independence, and the fight for bodily autonomy. Now, we turn our focus to another critical frontier in the fight for gender equality: women’s hard-won inclusion in the military and other traditionally male-dominated professions.
Beyond legal battles for homeownership and bodily autonomy, women have also fought tirelessly for access to opportunities in institutions and occupations historically closed to them. One such fight was for inclusion in the U.S. military. Until June 12, 1948, women were not permitted to serve as regular members of the armed forces. That changed when President Harry S. Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, officially allowing women to enlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Even so, it would take nearly five more decades before women could serve in nearly all military roles. In 1994, President Bill Clinton rescinded the “Risk Rule,” lifting many of the remaining restrictions—though direct ground combat roles remained off-limits until later.
The battle for professional inclusion extended far beyond the military. Women faced widespread discrimination in prestigious fields like medicine and law. A stark example came in Bradwell v. State of Illinois (1873), when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Illinois law denying a woman the right to practice law. The Court ruled that the 14th Amendment’s Privileges and Immunities Clause did not extend to the legal profession, a decision that underscored the systemic barriers women faced in entering male-dominated careers. This case stands as one of the earliest legal challenges to sex discrimination in the United States.
Progress, however, has continued. Women were not admitted to the American Bar Association until 1918, when Judge Mary Belle Grossman and Mary Florence Lathrop broke that barrier. Since then, the landscape has changed dramatically. As of August 1, 2024, one-third of U.S. judges were women, and women now outnumber men in law school enrollment. There are now approximately 500,000 female attorneys practicing in the United States.
The medical field has seen similar strides. In 2024, women made up around 38% of all physicians nationwide—a significant increase over previous decades. Despite these gains, gender disparities persist. In 2024, the percentage of female CEOs in the global mid-market dropped from 28% in 2023 to just 19%, highlighting that leadership roles still lag behind in gender parity.
The journey toward full equality is ongoing. While women in the United States have made monumental legal and professional strides over the past 150 years, the fight continues to ensure equal opportunity, representation, and respect in every field.
Kristin M. Gummoe is a senior associate at Hoagland Longo. As a first-generation attorney, she was named the first Planning Board Chairwoman in her town’s 108-year history in 2024. She focuses her practice on litigation of general and automobile liability cases and has experience in the litigation of environmental and toxic tort matters. She is also a member of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee.