It's hard to argue that women are as well suited, physically and psycho-socially, for combat as men. But, I'm sure that, in the crunch, some women would prove themselves at least equal to their male counterparts. And "the crunch", as it were, would have spread to include many more people during a global, pseudo-nuclear war. I just can't see manpower-strapped militaries passing over young, healthy, fit females when their almost exclusively male militaries are being bled white. I agree that most women would take up support roles but I think that, over time, militaries would have little choice but to inject more and more women into combat roles.
I think the gender separated small unit is a viable alternative, given the risks associated with placing a woman in a unit made up mostly of men (overprotectiveness of men, sexual predations by men, hygiene issues, etc.). I'm not talking divisions here, maybe one platoon in a rifle company or one squad per platoon. I also think women would be effective as armor crewmen, although armor would be at a premium c. 2000.
Historically, there have been few instances of all-female combat forces. The Spartans, however, encouraged their young women to be physically fit, both to ensure strength for childbearing (and the mistaken belief that acquired traits could be passed on to the next generation), and to allow them to defend their polis when the men where on campaign.
The Scythians apparently had groups of women warriors (fighting mostly as horse archers) whose effectiveness and psychological impact may have given root to the legend of the Amazons.
As to women's strength, a teacher coworker of my wife used to be in the U.S.A.F. on a security detail. She's only 5'6" or so and can't weigh much more than 115lbs but she was her squad's M-60 gunner. I asked her why she got the job, instead of the unit's burliest guy, and she replied "smaller target". Makes some sense. Anyway, as U.S.A.F., they didn't walk a lot, but the fact that she could carry and fire the M-60 well enough speaks volumes about what women can do. She's currently a mother of two and still plays soccer to stay fit. Women are stronger than we think.
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