Business Challenges for Women in the US Military - Essay Example

Business Challenges for Women in the US Military Introduction Women have been dedicated to aid military forces since 1775 as nurses that assist the wounded individual and cook for them. They played a significant role in committing their voluntary service in helping the armies during the era of war. However, women are slowly evolving into modernization. They chose to serve as a military woman despite of the peril or danger that constituted in it. The United States is now allowing women to serve in the US forces, but they are restricted to direct combat.

Many women volunteered to Iraq and Afghanistan wherein there is no front line. In other words, they must be cognizant of the incoming presence of danger for their lives. Some women have died during the battle in Iraq; some were wounded, and others were taken as prisoners. They constantly battle against the terrorist and within the military forces. This paper aims to analyze the business challenges or issues that women faced in the military service. Gender Equality Women are perceived as weak both physically and emotionally compared to men.

The ancient view of men varies on the traditional role of women to stay at home to take care of their family. However, women are striving to be equal with men. One proof is their will to join the military -- particularly the US Navy. In the US Navy, men do not trust women to handle physical pressure and their ability to fight. Owens indicates the limitation of women from “ground combat” (as cited in Smith, n.d.). Despite of the extensive physical training of women in preparation for war, they are still discriminated because of their gender.

Men believe that women cannot carry heavy loads of ammunition and armaments. They should only limit these views to women who have proven their abilities to perform the task similar to their counterparts. Women should be acknowledged that they have the strength and potential to be in the military service. They should trust on the ability of women to adapt on dangerous situation and to react on certain events. Nauert (2011) stresses that women can handle pressure in ground combat similar to men.

Thus, men should accept that women are changing its course into modernization of their role. In addition, women prove that with extensive training, they could combat against male. Jennifer Jones of the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division joined the combative competitions wherein she was recognized as the champion (Branch, 2011). Sexual Harassment One of the challenges that women faced is sexual trauma. Sexual trauma may be in the form of assault, rape, and harassment. There are many cases that women are harassed by higher officials; however, only few were reported.

The reported cases are ignored by the military; hence, female soldiers sued the military for ignoring the case of sexual assault. Other women used their gender for promotion. They manipulate high ranking officials to advance in ranking which agitate the male because of the special privilege for women resulting to the violent treatment for them. The military should not play a misogynous being that hates the presence of women in their field. They should stop acting like a chauvinist that thinks military is exclusively for men.

Based on Nauert’s (2011) article, the source of women’s depression is sexual harassment and “deployment.” Depression can initiate suicide among the military women. The United States Veteran Affairs provides free health care for women who suffered from this traumatic state. This response of the government is a huge favor for women, whereas, military officials should cater to the primary problems of militant women. They must punish those assailants and malefactors to generate justice to those women who were assaulted without their will.

The problem in the US Military forces is the unequal treatment for women and their hatred for women. Thus, they should resolve their own issue of committing violent acts to their counterpart. Conclusion Modern women continue to strive to be recognized as worthy in military service, although they are regarded by men as weak -- physically and emotionally. Study has been conducted, and it found a significant answer to the issues being debated. It proves that women are capable of handling stress or traumatic events such as seeing dead bodies and killing terrorists.

Although the restrictions posted on women are based on the American public decision, the government must consider the skills of women in fighting. Moreover, they are not emotionally prepared for the sexual assaults of their military officials. Women gained an inadequate response on their problem. Men are highly favored and treated equally because of their gender. Thus, these issues must be resolved by the authorities to ensure that every right is protected. References Branch, J. (2011, May 12).

Female soldiers prove dominant in hand-to-hand combat. Retrieved from http://www.army.mil/article/56468/ Female_Soldier_proves_dominant_in_hand_to_hand_combat/ Nauert, R. (2011, June 8). Women seem to handle war stress as well as men. Retrieved from http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/06/08/women-seem-to-handle-war- stress-as-well-as-men/267 Smith, N. (2010). Contemporary issues facing women in the military. Retrieved from http://www.articlemyriad.com/39.htm