Today the Pentagon released the fateful order formally dissolving the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). This decision follows weeks of criticism that the committee was pushing a radical feminist agenda. The committee’s history goes back to 1951. Its mission is to collect data and make policy recommendations to the Defense Secretary on matters that affect women’s service in the military. Its recent focus on reproductive healthcare access, particularly after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, has drawn criticism from defense officials.
Kingsley Wilson, the Pentagon’s press secretary, declared the end of the committee. He said it targeted priorities that are at odds with military preparedness. He stated, “The Committee is focused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness, while Secretary Hegseth has focused on advancing uniform, sex-neutral standards across the Department.” This assertion underscores worries that the committee’s crusade was perceived as harmful to military readiness.
DACOWITS has had a strong history of influencing policy changes for women in the armed forces. According to the committee’s official website, the committee has been doing its work for over seventy years. Over 80% of its recommendations have been completely or mostly implemented in that time. This means taking measures to better integrate women into the military and removing systematic biases that lead to treating women differently in military ranks.
The committee’s recent outcry at increased reproductive healthcare access was pitched as one example of its alleged feminist agenda. Critics from conservative publications, including The Daily Signal, eagerly echoed this claim. Wilson even tweeted a CUTR article published in the publication on X. The contribution further validated assertions about the committee’s course and the corrosive effects of its influence on military norms.
Now, the Pentagon is apparently continuing to move ahead without DACOWITS. This landmark decision strikes down significant policy questions about what this means for women in the military going forward. That dissolution marks a change in their focus, officials say, from collaborative standards to entirely uniform standards. Yet it risks failing to address some of the most important concerns impacting women’s rights and healthcare within the armed forces.