Only one-quarter of nominees for service academies are female
HARTFORD, Conn. — The percentage of female students nominated by members of Congress for admission to U.S. service academies has been rising, but men are still put forward nearly three times as often as women, according to an analysis released Tuesday.
A nomination from a federal lawmaker is required for most applicants to the Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy, institutions where some advocates say female enrollment remains low, considering how gender barriers have been falling across the armed services.
Representatives of some congressional members say the low numbers reflect a correspondingly small number of female applicants.
The Connecticut Veterans Legal Center did the analysis with the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School by reviewing data obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests on nominations made by members of the current Congress.
From the 1994-1995 application cycle to the 2019-2020 cycle, it found 21 percent of their nominees overall have been women. That percentage has risen steadily over the last decade, from 17 percent in 2009-2010 to 26 percent for the upcoming academic year.
Lory Manning, director of government operations for the Service Women’s Action Network, said more congressional offices should update their recruiting efforts to reflect the repeal of rules excluding women from combat and other duties.
“It’s possible some of the procedures are sort of locked in and nobody has had the bright idea of ‘Oh, the law has changed, policies have changed, maybe we ought to take a new look at nomination procedures,’ ” she said.
The academies, which were required to admit women under a law signed by then-president Gerald
Ford, provide a cost-free education, and students upon graduation are commissioned as junior officers with requirements to serve a minimum number of years.
Currently, women represent about 22 percent of cadets at West Point, 27 percent of Naval Academy students and around 22 percent of Air Force Academy cadets. At the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, which does not require congressional nominations, the student body is 36 percent female.