Recruiting Policies and Practices for Women in the Military: Views from the Field

Factors Related to Exclusion in the U.S. Army

“…The U.S. Army, and military at large, recognizes that women are essential to the future of the U.S. Armed Forces and strides have been made in recognizing changes needed within the U.S. Army to be more inclusive of women. Much attention has been given to the recruitment and retention of women, with recommendations for meeting recruitment goals available to military leaders (Yeung et al, 2017). Although there is more to do, U.S. Army policies that are more inclusive to women have been studied and implemented (Carreiras, 2006).…”

Military Subsidization of Human Capital and Gender Stratification in the US Economy

“…This disparity reinforces the gender inequality in the experience of military service and in the value of benefits received from military service. The increased likelihood of having a traumatic experience and having to live with its aftereffects also functions as a greater deterrent for women to join the military (Yeung et al 2017), but women may also have greater difficulty taking full advantage of the economic benefits of their service if they are more likely to suffer from PTSD (McCrone, Knapp, and Cawkill 2003).…”

The Achilles Heel of Recruiting Women: Perceived Gender Equality as a Key Determinant of the Military’s Employer Attractiveness Among Women

“…From a theoretical point of view, these two groups of factors reflect Charles Moskos’ I/O theory of military professionalism, which distinguishes between institutional (intrinsic or “soft”) and occupational (extrinsic or “hard”) factors (Moskos, 1977, 1986). Commonly identified extrinsic factors are economic variables such as employment status, income, duration of unemployment, job safety or the military’s institutional presence (Dale & Gilroy, 1983; Kilburn & Klerman, 1999; Kleykamp, 2006), whereas intrinsic factors commonly address ideational motivations such as patriotism, the desire to serve, altruism, and self-enhancement goals (Griffith, 2008; Woodruff, 2017; Woodruff et al, 2006; Yeung et al, 2017).…”

“…For instance, Segal’s macro-level analysis of women’s participation in the armed forces points to the important role of cultural change in support of gender equality among other factors (Segal, 1995; see also Iskra et al, 2002). At the individual level of analysis, a recent study by the RAND Corporation provides anecdotal evidence that women’s perception of the level of gender equality in the military might actually affect their decision to join the military (Yeung et al, 2017). Following the end of the United States military’s ban on women in combat in 2016, the RAND Corporation conducted a review of recruitment policies in an effort to identify best-practices for recruiting specifically women.…”

“…Following the end of the United States military’s ban on women in combat in 2016, the RAND Corporation conducted a review of recruitment policies in an effort to identify best-practices for recruiting specifically women. Based on a series of focus groups with female active-duty military personnel, the study concludes that “women would even be more willing to apply because of the greater sense of equality that the policy change would afford them” (Yeung et al, 2017, p. 51).…”