Rep. Martha McSally shares her fight with sexism with Cosmopolitan

U.S. Rep. Martha McSally knows what it’s like to be sexually discriminated.

But instead of laying down and giving up, she pushed forward.

In an article with Cosmopolitan, McSally discussed how and when she encountered sexism and what she did to combat it.

Air Force Academy

McSally joined the Air Force Academy in hopes of flying, but was quickly turned down because she was a woman. It wasn’t just a preference in the military, it was the law.

That didn’t stop her.

In 1994, following a change to the law, McSally was in the air.

And while her accomplishment didn’t stop the jokes from the other members in her squadron, McSally continued to keep her head down and be the best she could be.

Not only did she become the first female fighter pilot in U.S. history, but she was also the first woman to command a fighter squadron in combat. The squadron was made up of all-male fighter pilots. At the end of her 26-year career, she deployed six times and flew 325 combat hours in an A-10. She retired as a colonel.

Still, she was discriminated against because of her gender.

In 1995, she reached her tipping point. A military policy that called for all female troops to not only sit in the back seat when traveling off base but they were also required to wear an abaya and head scarf. McSally, who tried to resolve the issue internally, ended up suing the Pentagon. She successfully overturned it in 2002, eight years after she had found out about it.

U.S. House of Representatives

McSally’s work wasn’t finished after her military career.

In March, it came to McSally’s attention that a military Facebook group was sharing personal photos and information of female Marines without consent.

McSally was quick to jump in, writing the PRIVATE Act, which defines when private photo sharing becomes a military criminal act.

She has also been an advocate in expanding opportunities in the workplace for women. In 2016, began holding hearings to get a detailed look at the challenges women face.

Sure, she has been the target of death threats while in office, but being from a military background, McSally has not wavered. She knows not to brush it off, but she won’t allow that to stop her from doing her work.

McSally encourages women to run for office but wants them to know that sexism is still alive. She doesn’t want them to just hope for change, she wants them to be the change.

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