The exercise of including women on the criminological agenda is still in its early stages. Within the field of criminology, the absence of research on female offenders is accounted for by traditional studies in terms of both women’s lower crime rates and the perception that the crimes in which they are involved are minor. The present work investigates the specifics of female crimes through the analysis of seven women’s trajectories as drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The main focus of the study is on the role played by gender in the construction of their identities as criminals and reformed women. The centrality of gender is attested by the influence of men in their decision to join and quit drug trafficking, the description of their subordinate roles as traffickers, and the elements presented as ‘markers of recovery’, such as becoming good mothers and dating hardworking men. The analysis should be relevant to researchers in the field of human sciences, specifically those in the field of gender, women studies, and criminology. The work should contribute to draw a more accurate picture of women involved in a typical male criminal activity such as drug trafficking.