Lauren Bowling, Cara Lloyd, Clarissa Milligan and Lauren Mitchell

 

During World War I women took many commonplace and some dangerous jobs.  Some women became nurses to help the war effort and others did what they could at home.  When the United States entered World War II, all eligible men between the ages of 18-37 went off to fight for our country, resulting in a large amount of industrial jobs being open.  Women, minorities, teens and convicts were among the people left who could work these jobs.  This is when Rosie the Riveter began to develop into a role model for women of that period.  In 1948, Congress passed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act which allowed women to serve as permanent members of the military.  It was not until 1991 that women were allowed to fly in active combat, and it was two years later when they were allowed on active combat ships.  Women in the military are growing in numbers.  In 2008, there were 16,000 women serving in Iraq.  Currently, women make up 15.7% of the active military.  On December 3, 2015, Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the military to allow women to serve in all parts of the military beginning in January of 2016 - this was a giant step in the right direction.

Even though many years have passed, women in the military still get less respect than men.  They are ridiculed and are vulnerable to sexual assault and harassment.  Often the offender does not receive any consequences.  Even as women have gained the right to fight in active combat to help protect our country, there is still a lot that can be done to help women reach full equality with men and to enter higher ranks in the military.  Women are just as strong as men and can accomplish many things.  The artists hope that by creating this artwork people will realize how far women have come, even though there is more work to do for women to reach full equality with men.