Scrapping discriminatory gender-biased rules can end certain deep-seated barriers to airmen’s success — particularly for women, whose roles in society have dramatically changed since the Air Force was founded in 1947.

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said when she was a young officer, there were real limitations on women flying combat aircraft. “Seats were designed to accommodate from the 10th to the 90th percentile for American men,” Wilson said during an event in January. “That’s just the way it was. Most equipment was designed that way as well.” Because this was the standard, the Air Force believed many women didn’t qualify to fly combat aircraft because they weren’t big enough to fit into that spectrum. “OK, well, why don’t we start designing equipment so that 90 percent of Americans can do the job?” Wilson said. “Well, that takes time. We all understand that, but it’s been a generation, folks.”