The U.S. Department of Defense is pushing its message on recognizing the achievements of women in U.S. national security during Women's History Month.
U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Gilbert Cisneros acknowledged to military personnel in a memo last month that the DoD wants to highlight the achievements of women as "important contributors" to the success of the U.S. military, the Defense Department said.
According to the Pentagon, by 1981 women made up 8.5% of military service members, a number that was up from 1% a decade earlier in 1971.
In 2021 women made up 17.3% of military active-duty force members, which is about 231,741 people, the DoD said.
Women made up about 21.4% of the National Guard and reserves in 2021.
The Defense Department says there have been instances of women serving in military roles in every United States war.
Congress declared March as National Women's History month in 1987, with a special presidential proclamation issued every year in perpetuity.
Patricia Montes Barron, deputy assistant secretary of defense said last year that military "demographics profile reports provide a lens on the ever-changing diversity of our armed forces, providing essential information for policymakers, researchers and other organizations who contribute to the readiness and well-being of the military community."
