I was a female Secret Service agent. Women can do the job just as well as men.

• Mary Beth Wilkas Janke was a federal agent in the Secret Service in the early 1990s.
• She entered without a law enforcement background but was just as qualified as her male colleagues.
• Although it requires sacrifices, Wilkas Janke says women shouldn't be afraid to enter the field.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mary Beth Wilkas Janke, a 59-year-old former Secret Service Agent. The following has been edited for length and clarity.