Mary Suh

About the Author: Mary Suh is a writer for Ms., monthly women’s magazine.

Isabelle Gauthier just wanted a chance to drive a jeep. “I’ve got my license and all that,” she explained. “I was able to drive, you know, just like everybody else.” In 1981, she had fulfilled all the major requirements to be in the Regiment de Hull, a reserve armored division of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). During three months of training, she held her own in target practice, strength tests, and drills. But after the initial training ended, the men were tooling around in jeeps, and she was behind a desk, shifting papers.

Gauthier could never be in the driver’s seat, because rules preventing women from...