Women are the fastest-growing subpopulation of the military and veteran communities, and yet, they are under-represented or absent from clinical research used in developing medical presumptions due to exposure. The lack of fully developed presumptive medical issues for women veterans makes our jobs as advocates much more difficult.

This discussion put a spotlight on the inequities and barriers to proper care and service connection for our women veterans. It is imperative that we learn from our past and do not overlook a large portion of our veteran population when studying the impact of burn pits and other exposures.