Air Force removes administrative burden, allows pregnant and postpartum women to attend PME
By Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs / Published July 29, 2020
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --
Pregnant and postpartum members may now attend professional military education without an exception to policy, and are also exempt from the requirement to have a passing fitness assessment prior to attending.
Previous policy prevented pregnant women and women within their one-year postpartum deferment period from attending PME, creating an unintended barrier to their developmental milestones.
“Empowering women to make a decision about the right time to attend PME, especially during or after pregnancy, is the right thing to do,†said Gwendolyn DeFilippi, assistant deputy director of Air Force manpower, personnel and services and strategic director of the Department of the Air Force Barrier Analysis Working Group. “These type of policy changes provide women flexibility to balance family planning and career progression; they help level the playing field. We’re committed to improving diversity, inclusion and belonging across the Department of the Air Force, and sometimes it’s hard to know what to do. Thanks to the Women’s Initiative Team and the work of the Diversity Task Force, we are able to implement meaningful changes that will help retain women in our ranks.â€
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2292821/air-force-removes-administrative-burden-allows-pregnant-and-postpartum-women-to/
