Tradition, Technology and the Changing Roles of Women in the Navy

The attitudes of the population at large and the expectations of young men and women about appropriate gender roles have undergone a major transformation over the past three decades. Reflecting this transformation, public opinion about the propriety of women serving in the armed forces has also shifted over time. In this paper, we review traditions that have fostered the exclusion of women from military service and explore how technological change and the nature of modern warfare will affect that tradition of exclusion. We consider some of the advantages and disadvantage of enlarging the proportion of women in the Navy. We also consider the implications of these changes on the traditional division of labor in the society at large.