Women in the Military Who Have Shattered the Glass Ceiling

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Shanda Michelle Williams ◽  
Michael H. McGivern
Keyword(s):  
Generation X ◽  
Glass Ceiling ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Military Women ◽  
Women In The Military ◽  
General Officers ◽  
Structural Descriptions ◽  
The Military

Military women in key positions, despite their notable facts, remain low. While initiatives have added chances, women still experience gaps in opportunities and notoriety. This phenomenological study explored the practices and accounts of military women who shattered the glass ceiling. The research question was: What are the personal experiences of retired military women who have broken through the glass ceiling and progressed into authoritative leadership positions? The populace sample included six retired female general officers. This article explores the textural and structural descriptions of the member's experiences, resulting in four themes each member valued as critical. The article concluded that a gap in literature does exist – a clear path is absent in order to break the glass ceiling. The article added to literature, offering a guide for military women to follow. Future research should include all branches of service; all ranks; a more diverse populace; information on women now serving to conclude a change in data since limits on position have been lifted; and a contrast with Generation X and Y.

I Am a Warrior: An Analysis of the Military Masculine-Warrior Narrative Among U.S. Air Force Officer Candidates

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-47
Author(s):  
James J. Do ◽  
Steven M. Samuels
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Air Force ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Fitness Testing ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Women In The Military ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Gender Biases ◽  
Vocal Minority ◽  
The Military

This qualitative study examines how cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy make sense of their experiences, form attitudes and beliefs, construct identities, and how a vocal minority of men create and perpetuate a biased gender norm. Despite an institutional intention of egalitarianism, cadets construct a highly masculinized culture. Focus group and interview analyses show how cadets perpetuate the military masculine-warrior narrative in sensemaking and the construction of gender differences. We argue that the narratives become an acceptable way to express gender biases, overriding the actual reason for the existence of fitness testing. We conclude by addressing the contradiction between policies promoting the inclusion of women in the military and the sexism described above. Acknowledging the lived experience of military personnel would allow for better perceptions of gender equality and suggests potential directions for policy, practice, and future research.

Family planning in the U.S. military: The gendered experiences of servicewomen

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie K. Erwin
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Military Family ◽  
Military Women ◽  
Women In The Military ◽  
Professional Careers ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Family And Work ◽  
The Military ◽  
The U.S

LAY SUMMARY Balancing family and work is always challenging for working women; however, military service presents especially nuanced and unique challenges to women serving in the U.S. military. Family planning, and in particular marriage and children, have distinct impacts on servicewomen’s professional careers. Their chosen professions often intersect and detract from their family planning choices. Within a larger study of gendered experiences, women from all four branches of the U.S. military, representing a variety of familial statuses and occupations, noted the complex and challenging intersections of family and work they encountered over the course of their military careers. As in other professions, military women bear disproportionate familial burdens compared with their male counterparts, and challenges pertaining to marriage and children regularly affect their professional careers. However, the military presents heightened professional demands on family planning, including marital status, marital partners’ professions, pregnancy, maternity, and parenthood. These additional challenges women in the military face regarding family planning often run counter to organizational efforts to encourage women’s participation, promotion, and retention in the military.

The Lived Experiences of Highly Mobile Military Adolescents in Search of Their Identity: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 074355842110064
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Thomas ◽  
Denise Smart ◽  
Billie Severtsen ◽  
Mel R. Haberman
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Identity Crises ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Phenomenological Design

The challenges that military adolescents face, including frequent relocations, pose potential risks to their identity development. The central aim of this study is to understand the impact that frequent relocations have on the identity development of highly mobile military adolescents. Military adolescents between the ages of 16 and 18 years were interviewed. An interpretive phenomenological design was employed to inform the interview and analytic approach. An inductive approach using humanistic interpretation through Hermeneutic circles was conducted. Four overarching themes were identified, including self-perception in the world, building relationships, overwhelming emotions, and fostering healthy transitions. Several subthemes developed and gave rise to common adolescent experiences. Military adolescents facing frequent relocations experience a series of identity crises that are often masked in daily life and kept secret from peers and family. Healthy transitions require the adolescent and family to openly and repeatedly explore the impact of relocations on the inner and social life of adolescents. This study calls for future research on the military adolescent-provider relationship to explore how to better help meet the needs of this population from a health care standpoint.

scholarly journals Military Spouses’ Perceptions of Suicide in the Military Spouse Community

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-217
Author(s):  
Rebekah F. Cole ◽  
Rebecca G. Cowan ◽  
Hayley Dunn ◽  
Taryn Lincoln
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Military Spouses ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Military Spouse ◽  
The Military ◽  
The U.S

Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Defense shows military spouse suicide to be an imminent concern for the U.S. military. Currently, there is an absence of research in the counseling profession related to suicide prevention and intervention for this population. Therefore, this qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceptions of military spouses regarding suicide within their community. Ten military spouses were interviewed twice and were asked to provide written responses to follow-up questions. Six main themes emerged: (a) loss of control, (b) loss of identity, (c) fear of seeking mental health services, (d) difficulty accessing mental health services, (e) the military spouse community as a protective factor, and (f) desire for better communication about available mental health resources. Implications for practicing counselors and military leadership in helping to prevent military spouse suicide as well as recommendations for future research regarding ways to support military spouse mental health and prevent suicide in this community are included.

scholarly journals Fit for fight – self-reported health in military women: a cross-sectional study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elin Anita Fadum ◽  
Leif Åge Strand ◽  
Monica Martinussen ◽  
Laila Breidvik ◽  
Nina Isaksen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Active Duty ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Military Women ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Active Duty Military ◽  
Reported Health ◽  
Civilian Women ◽  
The Military

Abstract Background Substantial research has found that women assess their health as poor relative to men, but the reasons for this are not fully understood. Military women are characterised by good health and the ability to work in an archetypically male culture. Thus, studies on the gender pattern of self-reported health in military personnel could generate hypotheses for future research on the possible associations between gender and health. However, such studies are rare and limited to a few countries. The aim of this study was to examine self-reported physical and mental health in Norwegian military women. Methods We compared responses on self-reported health of 1068 active duty military women in Norway to those of active duty military men (n = 8100). Further, we compared the military women to civilian women working in the Norwegian Armed Forces (n = 1081). Participants were stratified into three age groups: 20–29; 30–39; and 40–60 years. We used Pearson Chi-square tests, Students t-tests and regression models to assess differences between the groups. Results The military women in our study reported physical illness and injuries equal to those of military men, but more military women used pain relieving and psychotropic drugs. More military women aged 20–29 and 30–39 years reported mental health issues than military men of the same age. In the age group 30–39 years, twice as many military women assessed their health as poor compared to military men. In the age group 40–60 years, more military women than men reported musculoskeletal pain. Military women used less smokeless tobacco than military men, but there were few differences in alcohol consumption and smoking. Military women appeared to be more physically healthy than civilian women, but we found few differences in mental health between these two groups. Conclusion Most military women reported physical symptoms equal to those of military men, but there were differences between the genders in mental health and drug use. More favourable health compared to civilian women was most evident in the youngest age group and did not apply to mental health.

Religion and the Military

2018 ◽  
pp. 535-552
Author(s):  
Leana A. Bouffard ◽  
Haerim Jin
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Criminal Justice Policy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Period Effects ◽  
Offending Patterns ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter provides an overview of the literature examining the role of religion and military service in the desistance process. It also identifies outstanding issues and directions for future research. It first presents an overview of research examining the role of religion in desistance and highlights measurement issues, potential intervening mechanisms, and a consideration of faith-based programs as criminal justice policy. Next, this chapter covers the relationship between military service and offending patterns, including period effects that explain variation in the relationship, selection effects, and the incorporation of military factors in criminal justice policy and programming. The chapter concludes by highlighting general conclusions from these two bodies of research and questions to be considered in future research.

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