In this Report
Today, women comprise approximately 17 percent of military personnel and are a vital part ofmodern force structure. Women in the military provide numerous benefits to the Armed Forces, includingthe ability to provide an extra channel of intelligence gathering, reducing group think generated by male-dominated perspectives, and providing the means to better interact with women in foreign populations with differing cultural norms. Despite their importance, women face many structural and cultural challenges in their military experience. The ever-present issues of sexual harassment and assault, accessing medical care, and career advancement struggles are just some of the issues female service members face. The military must continuously work to improve conditions for women within its ranks, as women are vital to filling those ranks.
Considering the recruitment and retention problems across branches,addressing the issues women face will help to improve capabilities and readiness. The Department of Defense (DOD) needs to do a better job of protecting and promoting womenin the military. While some progress has been made, such as moving the prosecution of sexual assault outside the chain of command, more can be done to address the gender disparities prevalent in themilitar.
IN BRIEF•With women having a 28 percent higher attrition rate, addressing challenges facing women in themilitary could help address recruitment and retention issues.•Sexual assault is a key reason for women’s attrition, which despite policy developments remainsan issue that has led to a lack of trust in the military system.•Despite becoming an increasing percentage of service members and even officers, women remainsignificantly underrepresented at the highest levels of leadership, only making up seven percent of admirals and generals.•High fitness standards for non-combat positions disproportionately hold back women frompromotion and advancement.•Childcare for children of all service members is an increasing issue that is exacerbated for womenby societal expectations.•44 percent of women face equipment fitment challenges which impairs them from effectively performing their duties.•Female service members bring added intelligence gathering capability as they are able to interact with and inspect women in areas where those actions would be inappropriate for men.•Today’s military faces significant recruitment problems. Last year, the Army fell short of goals by 10,000 people and only met goals this year after significantly cutting those goals.•Sexual trauma and gender discrimination lead to higher instance of poor mental health outcomesamong female service members.
About the Author
Mia Smith is a recent graduate of George Washington University, where she studied international affairs with a focus onconflict resolution.