How Men Should Help More Women Lead
There is a lack of women’s leadership in this country. In companies, Congress, Hollywood, tech and certainly in our field of national security, relatively few women have made it to the top. Just as...
View ArticleSend the Breast Pump With the Defense Attaché
I held the syringe up to the light above the bathroom mirror and flicked it a few times with my finger to make sure I had the exact dose of Lupron. I checked my watch to calculate the time in...
View ArticleGender Equality as a National Security Priority
The Obama administration made efforts to advance gender equality around the world one of its core national security and foreign policy priorities, based on the premise that countries are more stable,...
View ArticleThe Power of Example
When I chose a career in foreign policy and national security, I never considered the fact that I was entering a historically male-dominated profession. In a purely abstract way I was keenly aware of...
View ArticleMaternity and Paternity Leave: Implications for the National Security Workforce
One month into parenting our newborn, my wife and I, both national security officials, had an epiphany: No doubt some of the worst foreign policy decisions made by the United States must have been the...
View ArticleEnding Gender Shunning
Something is seriously wrong with U.S. national security. In this case, I am not talking about the policy itself but about how we develop and discuss policy. Despite the advances that women in national...
View ArticleMENtors: Men Must Continue to Step Up and Mentor the Women in Their Ranks
What do Joan of Arc and Eleanor Roosevelt have in common? They represent two of only 10 statues depicting women among the hundreds that grace the parks and squares of our nation’s capital. For little...
View ArticleWomen are the Most Visible Servicemembers, and the Most Invisible Veterans
One of the questions I’m most frequently asked when people find out I’m a veteran is, “But you didn’t go in harm’s way, did you?” I’ve been asked this question since I first joined the Navy. After...
View ArticleA Woman? No Way!
Who would have known that my commissioning in the U.S. Army would lead me to such an unthinkable assignment? I arrived in the Middle East as a country engagement officer. Although my rank was captain,...
View ArticleThe (Mostly) Good News on Women in Combat
Three years ago this month, 19 women from across the Army made history by reporting to Fort Benning, Georgia, to become the first women to attend U.S. Army Ranger School. As the women entered the...
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