RAND research conducted in the late 1990s documented differences in rates of promotion and retention among male, female, white, and minority officers in the U.S. military. This volume updates the earlier RAND study, using data from January 1988 through September 2010. It also examines the career progression of women serving in military occupations that are partially closed to them.
Since the military draft ended in 1975, newly commissioned officers haveincluded increasing numbers of minorities and women. These officers must beretained and promoted for the senior officer ranks to become as diverse asthe junior officer ranks are today. This report examines whether minorityand women officers obtain these promotions and choose to continue in theircareers at the same rate as other officers. The authors conducted tworesearch efforts: analyzing personnel records and interviewing midcareerofficers, personnel managers, and promotion board members individually andin focus groups. Results for minorities other than blacks were limited dueto small sample sizes. White women were found to be less likely to reachhigher officer ranks than were men, mostly because they chose to leave themilitary between promotions. Black male and black female officers generallyfailed promotions in higher proportions than did white males, but were morelikely to stay in the military between promotions. The interviews and focusgroups revealed different perceptions about careers: Black officers seemedto have greater difficulty forming all-important peer and mentorrelationships and overcoming initial expectations of lower performance.Women's careers have been affected by limited occupational opportunities,inconsistent acceptance of their role as military officers, harassment, andfamily conflicts.
The report provides a quantitative analysis of the differences in the career progression of officers based on gender, as well as the factors that explain these differences. Gender differences in career progression can be partly explained by differences in job-related and individual characteristics, such as occupation and marital status, and partly by differences in the association between these characteristics and career progression.
Multiple Defense organizations have expressed concern about a "glass ceiling" effect in the military. They are concerned about the progression of women officers into senior leadership positions and if they face barriers to their continued success in the military. Women in the military are considered a minority population. Recent numbers reflect a 16% representation by women in the total Armed Forces population, with the Air Force displaying the largest proportion (17%), while the Marine Corps has the smallest proportion (6%). This thesis explores the "glass ceiling" effect and the officer career path experienced by women officers progressing through the ranks, primarily during the mid-level grades of Captain (0-3) through Lt Colonel (0-5). It specifically examines women in the United States Marine Corps and Air Force because these two branches of service currently maintain the smallest and largest proportion of women, respectively. The researchers examined the demographic composition of the individual service communities and conducted personal interviews with mid-level (0-3 to 0-5) and senior (0-6 and above) officers to investigate any commonalities paralleling the military to the civilian sector. Specifically, this inquiry looks at any strong similarities or differences that may exist in the "glass ceiling" effect between the Marine Corps and the Air Force. Resulting information is expected to reveal a better understanding of military women's career progression and factors that may exist in today's Armed Services, which influence their decision to continue or separate from the military.
The American Military is widely viewed as a pioneer in providing equal opportunity for its uniformed members. From the 1948 Executive Order signed by President Harry S. Truman that formally began the long process of racial integration to more recent admission of women into most military occupational specialties, the Military Services have compiled a record of providing equal opportunity that often exceeds the progress of civilian society. That record has been achieved only through constant effort and self-examination, and it will be maintained and improved only through continuing effort. It is in this spirit of self-examination and improvement that this study was undertaken. The study reviews the key stages of officer career progression: recruiting, commissioning, training, assignment, evaluation, promotion, and retention. It is limited to active duty commissioned officers in the four military branches of the Department of Defense, and examined data collected through 1997. The study employed several approaches to analyzing the career progression of minority and female officers, including trend analysis, statistical modeling, and focus groups and interviews. This report sets out the findings of the study and suggests a number of actions that could be taken to improve the process of providing equal opportunity to minority members and women in the officer corps. There were about 212,000 active-duty commissioned officers in 1997, with two-thirds of them in the Army and Air Force. The distribution of officers by grade shows that four out of five were at the level of 0-1 through 0-4 (2nd lieutenant/Navy ensign to major/Navy lieutenant commander), with the majority of these at 0-3 (captain/Navy lieutenant). Less than one-half of one percent were in the very highest grades of 0-7 through 0-10 -general and flag officers reflecting the pyramidal structure of the military organization.
"This report summarizes findings from the Spring 1995 Sample Survey Military Personnel (SSMP) which focused on soldier satisfaction with aspects of their Army life, jobs, and careers. A total of 15,113 soldiers responded to the survey. There were few if any differences between males and females in their responses to items on Stress, Promotion Potential, and Global Satisfaction (job/career/life). Females were more positive in their responses to items covering Benefits, Family, Equity, Basic Pay, Job Security (officers only), and Job Characteristics (enlisted only). Males were more positive in their responses to items covering Co-Workers. Supervisors, leeadership, Developmental Courses (more likely to have bad courses), and Absence from Duty Station for Military Reasons (more likely to be deployed/TDY/in training). Results from the survey did not identily any clear cut relationships between job satisfaction and career intent for males or females; however, it does appear that separation from family may be an important factor in why some female soldiers decide to leave the Army."--DTIC.
Women in the military are considered a minority population. Recent numbers reflect a 16% representation by women in the total Armed Forces population, with the Air Force displaying the largest proportion (17%), while the Marine Corps has the smallest proportion (6%). Multiple Defense organizations have expressed concern about the progression of women officers into senior leadership positions and the barriers they face to their continued success in the military. This thesis explores the officer career path experienced by women officers progressing through the ranks, primarily during the mid-level grades of Captain (O-3) through Lt Colonel (O-5). It specifically examines women in the United States Marine Corps and Air Force because these two branches of service currently maintain the smallest and largest proportion of women, respectively. The researchers examined the demographic composition of the individual service communities and conducted personal interviews with mid-level (O-3 to O-5) and senior (O-6 and above) officers to investigate any commonalities paralleling the military to the civilian sector. Specifically, this inquiry looks at the "glass ceiling" effect and any strong similarities or differences that may exist between the Marine Corps and the Air Force. Resulting information is expected to reveal a better understanding of military women's career progression and factors that may exist in today's Armed Services, which influence their decision to continue or separate from the military.
The U.S. military has been continuously engaged in foreign conflicts for over two decades. The strains that these deployments, the associated increases in operational tempo, and the general challenges of military life affect not only service members but also the people who depend on them and who support them as they support the nation â€" their families. Family members provide support to service members while they serve or when they have difficulties; family problems can interfere with the ability of service members to deploy or remain in theater; and family members are central influences on whether members continue to serve. In addition, rising family diversity and complexity will likely increase the difficulty of creating military policies, programs and practices that adequately support families in the performance of military duties. Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society examines the challenges and opportunities facing military families and what is known about effective strategies for supporting and protecting military children and families, as well as lessons to be learned from these experiences. This report offers recommendations regarding what is needed to strengthen the support system for military families.
