Should World War III come knocking our door, American women are just as responsible to answer the call as men are. And if it’s America’s fault then it shouldn’t just be men cleaning up the nation’s mess on a global scale. Women have a shared responsibility for the plights of the nation and have just as much at stake in the matter.

It is illogical to argue for gender equality and then turn a blind eye to a system that lets women benefit off of a sexist gendered-exemption from conscription military service. Although men have a higher relative muscle strength than females, according to a study by the Journal of Exercise Psychology, that doesn’t stop women from entering the military and working as lawyers, engineers, doctors or dentists. These offices are just as vital to the success of the military as much as the people who have their boots on the ground and they also make up the highest paid members of the military, according to Military.com. Even the previous Secretary of Defense Ash Carter admitted that “Fully integrating women into all military positions will make the U.S. Armed Forces better and stronger” in a statement after declaring that all military jobs that had previously been closed to women would be opened Dec. 3, 2015.

Women who are currently in the military are for the most part thriving. In the Marines specifically, women are promoted on average a year faster than their male counterparts, according to a study by the Department of Defense. They also suggest that this upwards trend starts early in the female Marine’s career and continues upwards until retirement.

This isn’t a divisive issue for other military powers. There are many other countries that do not take gender into account when drafting such as Norway, Sweden, Israel, China, Eritrea, North Korea, Libya, Malaysia, Peru and Taiwan according to Vox.com.

Studies that have been conducted into the Israeli Defense Force show that the biggest challenge when working with an integrated military force was not due to any defects on the part of women, but rather the men that were causing problems. The male officers “Perceived the induction of female members as a dangerous blow to its social status quo,” according to a study on the psychological aspects of the integration of women into combat roles by the psychology department of the University of Tel Aviv Israel.

So if the only thing stopping women from taking a stance is the hurt egos of men then the problem doesn’t stem from the inherent differences between men and women, it’s the perceived ingrained injustice that promotes the maltreatment of women in and outside of the military.

If this is all about men and their hurt feelings over their all-boys club not being as ‘cool’ because a girl is there, then they should realize with more people in the draft they have less of a chance to actually be drafted. But they would rather go and die for a system of beliefs that is crumbling around them, with their foundation laying forgotten in the dirt, next to the glass from the shattered ceiling.

Gender doesn’t affect your ability to serve your country whether male, female or non-binary.