International Men’s Day is recognized annually on November 19th to bring awareness to men’s health issues, improved gender relations, and gender equality. It is most mentioned, according to Twitter, on March 8th and 9th, otherwise known as International Women’s Day. This week, Melissa Glaze interviewed former Marine Corps Lieutenant Corporal, Jay Kopelman to get his thoughts on the topic of International Men’s Day and his personal experiences observing gender equality in the workplace.
Jay shares how the opportunities for women in the military have made fairly significant progress over the last several years. He stated that in his time in the military it was not common for women to have any sort of combat-related positions but he has seen this change over the last several years. In fact, just this past September, a female Marine Officer made history by being the first woman to complete the Infantry Officer Course in Quantico, Virginia. According to Military.com, 32 other women have previously attempted to pass the grueling 13-week course. The marine, who asked to remain anonymous is paving the way for women to serve in more leadership and combat-focused positions.
Jay’s mother was the first woman entrepreneur in his life and ran her own business for almost 30 years. Even now that Jay is out of the military he has seen more and more women in positions of leadership in industries that have been primarily male dominant. He thinks it is great that there are becoming more and more equal opportunities for women.
Watch the full interview below.
Jay Kopelman is a retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Corporal, New York Times Best Selling Author and is currently the Senior Health Technology Leader and Strategist at AirStrip Technologies.
Check out his book – From Baghdad with Love: A Marine, the War and a Dog Named Lava