What the Army and Navy Can Learn From the Air Force’s Female Secretaries

The Air Force may soon welcome its third consecutive female secretary at a time when the nation has yet to see a woman as Army or Navy secretary or as secretary of defense.

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a Sept. 12 confirmation hearing for Barbara Barrett, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next Air Force secretary. Barrett is a former Federal Aviation Administration deputy administrator and former chairman of the board of trustees for the nonprofit Aerospace Corp., and a past member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) during George H.W. Bush’s presidency.

How the Air Force came to be the likeliest spot for female senior civilian leaders in the Department of Defense may be because it places a greater emphasis on technology and that women are more likely to have relevant backgrounds applicable to air and space than in the ground or maritime domains, some experts say. Others argue it’s simply a case of good timing.

Read the full story and more in Air Force Magazine.