Fight Like a Girl

February 1, 2018
A passionate account of a former Marine Corps officer's fight for equality and justice in a historically sexist system.When Lt. Col. Germano was hand-selected to take command of the 4th Recruit Training Battalion at Parris Island, a group that trains only female recruits, she was well-aware of the challenges ahead. The Marine Corps is the only service that still segregates men and women during basic training, and the biased strategy is a breeding ground of issues. Implemented after an outdated, inaccurate study that showed mixed-gender units performed worse than single-sex units, the training program holds women to lower standards and maintains the damaging assumption that women are inherently mean and emotional. This strategy results in poorer performances in female recruits as well as dangerous and destructive behavioral issues. When Germano took command of 4th Battalion for what was supposed to be the swan song of her 20-year career, she was determined to change things for the better and prove women could be just as effective as men. After a year in charge, Germano's recruits had markedly improved performance and fewer behavioral issues and injuries, and the overall quality of life at the training camp improved. Despite these achievements, the author's high expectations and no-nonsense command style shook up the status quo and the many Marines and leaders who wanted to protect it, and she was ultimately fired. Using her firsthand experience and anecdotal evidence from her year in command, Germano concludes that it was sexism, prejudice, and an overt opposition to women's success that ended her career. At times, the author is repetitive, and her prose can feel clumsy and awkward. Still, she provides a unique, powerful story of sexism and gender bias that will resonate with women across industries and experiences.A no-holds-barred condemnation of discriminatory training policies within the Marines and of systemic sexism facing women everywhere.

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March 15, 2018
Germano is a Marine Corps combat veteran with two decades of experience under her belt. When she was selected to command the all-female training battalion at Parris Island, she was prepared for a tough gig and felt sure that she could handle it. After all, she was a marine. But when she arrived at her new post, she was shocked by the systematic abuse of recruits and the women's chronic underperformance compared to men. The women scored lower in every area in which they were tested. Determined to raise the achievements of the women at Parris Island, Germano sought to change outdated procedures and encourage a more positive culture. In just one year, the women under her command improved their shooting, injuries decreased, and morale lifted. What was Germano's reward? The Marines fired her. Germano's biting memoir traces her time at Parris Island as she tackles the tough issues of gender bias and segregation in the military. This passionate and raw account resonates with the Me Too and Time's Up movements and is a powerful story of one woman's perseverance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)