Keesler Air Force Base hosts 2021 Military Women Summit

The 2021 Military Women’s Summit started today in Biloxi, allowing women in uniform the chance to be heard.

With over 25 years in the Air Force, Brigadier General Laura Lenderman flew from San Antonio, Texas to speak at the Mississippi VA’s 2021 Women’s Military Summit at Keesler Air Force Base.

She is responsible for planning and programming a $7.6 billion annual budget that supports 60,000 personnel who recruit, train, and educate United State Air Force airmen and international partners across 22 bases. “Probably the best part of my life and career so far at this point and being able to be that support.”

A 1948 law made women a permanent part of the military services. “They wouldn’t have had the chance to fly, they wouldn’t have even had the chance to be in the Air Force.”

Opportunities for women have continued to open up from her first assignment in 1994 to undergraduate pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. “Almost every career field is open to women and every opportunity is there.”

Women make up only 21 percent of active-duty airmen in the U.S. Air Force. The Military Women’s Summit opens the door for women’s issues to be heard.

A major goal at the 2021 Military Women’s Summit at Keesler Air Force Base is to create a safe place to have conversations about inclusion and diversity.

Lt. General Tim Haugh jumped at the chance to support women’s issues. “We tell our airmen that we care about these issues. So, we want to be present and be able to endorse the idea.”

Conversations surrounding racial disparities, sexual assault, and women’s issues are all topics the U.S. military is working to improve.