Defense Department to disband decades-old advisory committee on women in the military

The Pentagon on Tuesday announced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was eliminating the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) for allegedly “advancing a divisive feminist agenda."

The decades-old panel hosts quarterly meetings to shed light on challenges that female service members may face that could be overlooked, including ill-fitting body armor and finding support for parental leave and childcare. It is composed of civilian men and women. 

"Secretary Hegseth has decided to terminate the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services," Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson posted on X. "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."

The move comes after Hegseth announced in March that he would review all the Defense Department advisory committees, The Hill reported. 

Supporters of the committee have argued that it does not serve a political purpose, and expressed concern that disbanding it would hurt women in the armed forces.

“Throughout its seventy-year history, approximately ninety-four percent (94%) of DACOWITS’ recommendations have either been fully or partially adopted by DOD,” senators wrote in a letter in May. “Most notably, we are concerned the disassembly of DACOWITS will exacerbate the gap in the collection of data regarding key policies to improve conditions for service women and reduce barriers to the recruitment and retention of women."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.