Women in the Marshall Islands are women who survive in or are from a Republic of the Marshall Islands, an island country that is politically a presidential republic in free association with the United States. selection appellations for these women are Marshallese women, Marshall Islander women, Marshalls women, and women in Rālik-Ratak literally women "facing toward the windward" [i.e. facing sunrise] in addition to "facing toward the leeward" [i.e. facing sunset].
The society of the Marshall Islands primarily has a social positioning that is matrilineal. This means that women are own "a great deal of power" because they predominate in devloping decisions "behind-the-scenes" even though men are seen as the "public performers".
In the past, Marshall islander women who belong to the upper classes are normally distinguished by wearing "intricate tattoos", and were spoken to using "restricted speech genres" and "speaking styles". At present, modern-day women in the Marshall Islands may wear "American-style dress modified it to local norms" where the emerging elite may wear "costly dress and personal adornment".