NASA's 1962 Shockingly Sexist Letter To An Aspiring Female Astronaut
Maybe this is why it took women so long to go where no man has gone before.
In NASA’s defense, it’s come a long way.
Last month NASA announced its new team of eight trainee astronauts, including four women. That means 50 percent are women — the highest percentage ever picked by NASA for a class of astronaut candidates.
This isn’t the first time NASA has benefited from the work of amazing women innovators, astronomers, and scientists. The trainees are following in the footsteps of inspiring women like Nancy Grace Roman, the first woman to hold an executive position at NASA. Or Judith Resnik, who received an AAUW fellowship and went on to become the second American woman in space. Or Mae Jemison, a physician and science mission specialist for the Endeavour and the first African American woman in space.These women not only succeeded in establishing themselves in a male-dominated field where women were not always welcome, but they also paved the way for the astronomers of today and tomorrow.
Under the combat exclusion policy, the 1994 Pentagon rule that restricted women from artillery, armor, infantry and other combat roles, women nonetheless served in combat, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, when they were “attached” to combat units. But the bureaucratic sidestep gave them no official credit for the combat experience that is required for advancing up the ranks of the military.
FINALLY: Elite Units in U.S. Military to Admit Women.
Hopefully this translates into lower numbers of sexual assault in the military, more recognition and career opportunities for women, and stronger equality for all.
Elaine Luthy and Michelle Turnovsky – two of the first women to be accepted into Harvard Business School in 1963. Eight women enrolled in the Business School that year, alongside 676 men.
Recalling the first group of women who entered in 1963, HBS Professor Wickham Skinner said, “The Admissions Department was told it had to be sure about them, there shouldn’t be more than a 5% chance of their failing. Those women were pretty darned good.”
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One year ago today, our country repealed “don’t ask, don’t tell”, allowing LGBTQ Americans to openly serve their country.
Women and minorities were disproportionately affected by DADT. In 2008, women accounted for more than one-third of all DADT discharges—even though they compromise less than 15 percent of the entire military—while minorities (30 percent of the entire military) accounted for nearly half percent of all DADT discharges in the same year.
Here’s to progress, and to all the men and women who serve in the military.