More Women in US Military Academies, But Still a Lot More Men

 

The percentage of female students nominated by U.S. lawmakers for admission to U.S. military academies has been rising over the last 25 years. But men are still nearly three times more likely than women to get a nomination¹, says a study released Tuesday.

A member of Congress must nominate most applicants² to the Naval³ Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Military Academy at West Point. The schools provide a cost-free education, then require graduates to serve a number of years in the armed forces.

Currently, women represent about 27% of Naval Academy students, 22% of Air Force Academy cadets, and 22% of students at West Point. However, women are able to hold nearly all jobs in the armed forces.

Representatives of some lawmakers say the numbers of female students are low because only a small number of women apply.

But Lory Manning, director of government operations for the Service Women’s Action Network, says congressional offices should change their recruiting efforts. She believes the number of female students at the academies should agree more with the increased role for women in the military.

The report, called “Gatekeepers to Opportunity,” is the work of the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School. They reviewed documents on nominations⁴ made by members of the current Congress.

Using nearly 25 years of nominations from 1994 to the upcoming school year, researchers found 21% of their nominees⁵ overall have been women. That percentage increasingly has risen over the last ten years. It went from 17% in 2009 to 26% for the upcoming school year.

The study found that Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat⁶, was among senators who nominate women most often, at a rate of 38 percent. She said she makes sure her group includes at least one woman.

“We have a long way to go still before there is equality between men and women,” Hirono said. “But the fact that there are so many qualified⁷ young women applying, being nominated, and getting accepted is a positive trend and one that I hope will continue.”

I’m Anne Ball.

Words in This Story

graduate – n. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

cadet – n. a student at a military school who is preparing to be an officer

recruit – v. to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, etc.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

3 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

4 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

5 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

6 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

7 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。