The Martine Corps Times recently came out with an article stating that they were in the midst of changing 19 of the 33 titles that include the word “man” in order to make them more gender neutral. Why? In January of this year the ban was lifted holding women back from particular occupations in the Marines. There are now no restrictions on any positions for women in the Marine Corps. This is huge! We are making strides towards being viewed as equals. It wasn’t always this way. If you think back on the history of the Marine Corps it is plain to see that women are taking a stand and proving to be successful in all capacities. The Women’s Marines Organization takes an in depth look at the role women have played in the Marines since inception in 1775. It wasn’t until 1918 that a woman was permitted to perform clerical duties for pay. That woman was Opha Mae Johnson. She paved the way for women to come. Then comes a roadblock. In 1948 women were prohibited from combat positions. Just under 20 years later Barbara Dulinsky was the first women to serve in Vietnam. Roadblock overcome! However, in 1994 another ban was issued stating no woman was permitted to engage in ground combat. Another roadblock. Now, 22 years later we are finally making progress! Not only have ALL positions been opened to women (making an addition 255,000 positions available) but the 7.1% of the Marine Corps that are women will now have titles that are gender neutral. I think it’s safe to say that roadblock has been overcome! Be sure to check out the article at Marine Titles and the complete history of women in the Marines at Marine Corps Women’s History .

There has been a lot of debate on changing the remaining 14 titles that include “man” because of the history of the Marines. The list of titles that will remain untouched can be found in the article above. What are your thoughts on whether or not the remaining titles should be changed? And how awesome is it that we’ve come this far!