Faculty Scholarship

 In the turn-of-the-century United States, women were among the first chiropractors. In a period when established medical schools barred women from entering because of their gender, chiropractic and other “irregular” medical practices provided a more welcoming home for women interested in health care and a professional career. Immediately before and during World War I, chiropractic schools increased their marketing to women students, as current and prospective male students enlisted in the military or returned to the workforce or the family farm.

Schools emphasized women’s duty to serve their country and to save the field of chiropractic while men were unable to practice. After the war, however, fewer women became chiropractors for a variety of reasons, including federal school funding for male veterans, the spread of licensing laws and required exams, and the rise of chiropractic assistant jobs.