Overview
- A Sept. 17 memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the formal disestablishment of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, with the Pentagon publicly confirming the termination on Sept. 23 and initiating Federal Advisory Committee Act closeout steps including personnel reassignments, contract conclusions and record archiving.
- Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the panel pursued a "divisive feminist agenda" that hurt combat readiness, asserting Hegseth’s focus on uniform, sex‑neutral standards; Hegseth later posted "Gender neutral, color blind, merit based." on X.
- Established in 1951, DACOWITS submitted more than 1,100 recommendations with roughly 94% adopted in full or part, informing changes such as properly fitting gear, maternal and parental policies, and the integration of women into previously closed roles.
- The move follows a department-wide advisory committee review that proposed sunsetting 14 panels and reverses Lloyd Austin’s reinstatement of DACOWITS after a 2021 pause, with Military Times noting a Sept. 8 memo had briefly set reactivation in motion.
- Democratic lawmakers and former committee members warn the shutdown will create data and policy gaps affecting recruitment and retention of women, and congressional offices have pressed the Pentagon for answers on the decision.