Ousting of Female Leaders May Have a Chilling Effect at the Pentagon
Originally published by Ellen Mitchell for The Hill
The unexplained removal of the first female head of the U.S. Naval Academy last week is the latest in a string of top military women who have either been fired or moved to largely invisible roles under the Trump administration.
The ousting of Vice Adm. Yvette Davids from her post as the first female superintendent of the academy in Annapolis, Md., makes her one of at least five senior female service members who have been moved out of their roles since January.
That trend, coupled with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s well-documented antipathy toward women in combat roles prior to becoming Pentagon chief, could have a chilling effect on women enlisting in the armed forces, experts say.