NW New Mexico News

From March 29, 2023 post.

Women's History Month isn't over yet and would not be complete without a look into the past century of women's history in the National Park Service (NPS). We have come a long way from the early years of the NPS when women were excluded from service or relegated to “appropriate” jobs. Women today hold a variety of positions within the agency, but that wasn't always the case. Their fight for equality can be followed through something as simple as the park service uniforms.

The National Park Service was established August 25, 1916. The first female rangers were hired in 1918, but it wasn’t until 1947 that a standard uniform for women was authorized. Prior to this, women dressed in whatever they chose – some wore the standard men’s uniform, others wore “camping clothes,” hunting coats, sweaters. Some women were issued badges, others were not. After WWII, in 1947, the Park Service authorized an official uniform for women, recognizing the hard work they had been doing all along. Throughout the 60s and 70s, the uniform went through numerous changes, including the “stewardess uniform,” and the tan mini skirt or dress with go-go boots. Most of these were impractical for the work women were doing and didn’t give them the authority that came with a men’s uniform. At last, in 1977, a new uniform regulation declared there would be one uniform for both men and women, with the skirt still available for those who preferred it. Finally, women were provided with the functional and official uniforms needed to accomplish their duties as National Park Service employees.

Scientists, Educators, Administrators, Machine Operators, Planners, Rangers, Law Enforcement Officers, Mechanics, Resource Specialists, Archaeologists, Maintenance Personnel, Dispatchers, Data Analysts, Interpreters, Historians, Trail Crew, Pilots, First Responders, and many more. These are all titles women in the National Park Service hold. The women who came before shaped the National Park Service in many ways and women today continue to do the same. Happy Women’s History Month.

#WomensHistoryMonth #NPS #Uniforms #AZRU #YourParkStory 

Image description: Three men and three women pose in front of a kiva at Aztec Ruins National Monument. The women can be seen wearing an NPS shirt, skirt, and no flat hat. Photo likely taken sometime in the 1940s. Retrieved from https://npgallery.nps.gov/HFC/History/

Original source can be found here.