An 18-year-old female infantryman (where roles are now open in many nations) faces a similar paradox. She may outshoot 80% of her male peers in marksmanship, outscore them on ruck marches, and maintain higher medical readiness. But when promotions come due, subjective leadership evaluations often penalize her for being “too aggressive” (while a male is “driven”) or “too emotional” (while a male is “passionate”).

When these women return from war with torn ligaments, traumatic brain injuries, or reproductive damage (e.g., from IED blasts), the Veterans Affairs systems in most countries are ill-equipped to treat them. Female-specific injuries are often dismissed as “pre-existing” or “hormonal.”

The result? An 18-year-old who deploys, fights, and survives enemy fire may come home to a lousy medical system that refuses to acknowledge her pain. Even women who reach the top of military hierarchy—sergeant majors, generals, or special forces operators—describe a system designed to wear them down. A 2023 study by the RAND Corporation found that women officers leave the military at twice the rate of men, not because of family reasons, but because of “organizational friction”: unequal assignments, lack of mentorship, and hostile work environments.

The “lousy deal” begins the moment she signs on the dotted line. While male recruits are often celebrated as budding defenders of the nation, female recruits are met with suspicion, sexualization, or patronizing concern. “Are you sure you can carry a wounded soldier?” “What about your period on deployment?” “Won’t you distract the men?”