The Army Personnel Services Detachment (APSD) does not present any form glass ceiling for women. This is primarily due to the nature and make up of the organization. The APSD is a military organization and the highest ranking officer in its composition is a captain. Currently, the US Army is having tremendous success in keeping equitable promotion opportunities in the junior officer ranks. The APSD has no current equal opportunity (EO) issues based on unfair treatment among the sexes, but female Soldiers have dealt with severe gender discrimination over the past 65 years.(Living the Legacy of Women’s Rights, n.d.)…
Throughout the United States, sexism is a defining role in the choices that are made concerning who can and cannot perform a certain task the most efficient and safe. Fighting on the front line, in a Combat Unit, is one of those tasks that certainly takes special skills and integrity that not many people possess. Throughout reading and analyzing Coed Combat Units—A Bad Idea on All Counts, many informative, thought-provoking, and straight forward points were addressed concerning women working along-side of men on the front line in the United States Military. While growing up and still to this day, I have always believed that men should be the only ones fighting for our great country, no because a woman cannot keep up, but because men were basically built to fight in the military.…
The Writer. This source is written by a syndicated columnist who served in the Commission on the Assignment of women in the Armed Forces. The Publication. The publication that the author…
Some may argue that the societal built environment of abuse of power may be one of the main causes of most disputes within the military. Stark et. al, mentions how within armed groups, sexual violence and rape have been affiliated into norms of machismo and expressed though means of sexual domination of females. Men have been reported to engage in sexual activities such as gang rape to fully display their authority in the branch. This research shows how sexual violence in the armed forces shows an issue of power asymmetry, patriarchy, masculinity, and devaluation of women soldiers (2012). Lamentably, power struggle is mostly noticed between male and female in a military branch. Psychologically, rape is stated to occur as means of a dominant-submissive…
Collins’ appeals to ethics and emotion, answering to cynics’ fear of women’s safety in military combat, and assuring that an equalization of genders is the best thing to do. She references to the stereotypical woman in the military with a quote from Wilma Vaught who retired from active duty in 1985, “I wore my skirts.” This old political correctness seems absurd, looking at women in the military today who wear the same uniforms as men. Collins shows how much has already changed, but suggests that although men and women in the military look the same, there’s still more to it. Collins uses pathos when she brings up a terrible hardship that women in the military have to face, no matter where they stand in combat. “Sexual attacks from fellow members of their own service” are unfortunately common toward military women. Collins argues that putting more women at the top of the military will bring more attention to women’s issues, therefore ending these sickening incidences.…
McGregor reported mistreatment and crimes for Women in Combat and people are noticing it. For women in combat, there are constantly problems for women to perform on the frontline. “In 1994 the Department of Defense officially banned women from serving in combat, but, on January 24, 2013, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta removed the military's ban on women serving in combat. Lawsuits and new restrictions began to happen.” (Jurist report by Jerry Votava)…
Gender and race have become the dividing line in many aspects of everyday life to include the division of labor, physical space, and power (Burrell, 1980). In the Military, most successful officers are usually described as forceful, decisive and rational. These qualities have been typically associated with the picture of masculinity. On the other hand, unsuccessful officers are usually defined as weak and indecisive. These terms are usually associated with femininity (Burrell,…
Having a woman cadet was seen as a challenge to The Citadel’s firm traditions. One of the cadets said- “she would be destroying a long and proud tradition”(Faludi 82). The Citadel’s administration and cadets simply follow the traditions and reject her. According to their beliefs, strength and bravery is men’s territory. They thought they were teaching men to protect women, because women needed protection from the rest of the world. But in reality they were teaching them to hold power over women, to beat them and overreact if these women didn’t do exactly what they wanted. One of the cadets admits, “the great majority of guys here are very misogynistic…all they talk about is how girls are pigs and sluts” (Faludi 82). This showcases the student’s need for domination, and over-empowering of anything they feel is beneath them. Their egos are also under attack. The President of the Citadel admits if women were enrolled there would be “a different form of intimidation- not wanting to be embarrassed in front of a girl”(Faludi 83). Bringing women in will further these hidden insecurities of the cadets, and it is seen as a threat to the men’s power.…
In the early 20th century feminism and the formation of the suffragettes swept across the nation giving more right to women. With more freedom women began serving in the U.S. military. Women started serving in the army as nurses as early as 1901 and soon the navy followed suit in 1908. During WWII, women’s roles in the military expanded as congress approved the Women’s Army Corps in 1942 (Bell). The roles of women in the military had started to open up especially with the ratification of the Equal Right Amendment. In January of 2013, the Secretary of Defense lifted the ban on women in combat, allowing women to apply for infantry and front-line units starting…
Robert Wood’s opinion piece ‘Just Joking’ is no excuse for sexist behaviour at work (The Age) is judgmental and critical of sexist behaviour in the workplace. Wood contends in a reasonable tone that it is necessary for employers to banish sexism in order to create equality and good working conditions for females. Wood appeals to his readers, especially female readers, by asserting that a ‘review into the treatment of women in the Australian Defence Force’ as well as ‘the Centre for Ethical Leadership’ are looking for ‘possible solutions’ to gender inequality, which has the potential to encourage readers to see that there is a problem and that this problem is being taken seriously by both the Defence Force and other organisations.…
Times are changing; Today’s military is facing its own internal battle. This fight is called equality to all men and women. Today these organizations find themselves face to face with a lingering decision that has been looming over its head for decades. Should the military allow women in combat arms units? There are many people who feel that this will create problems such as gender roles confusion, woman are not physically or mentally built for these jobs, and that men will not be able to control themselves around women in a combat setting. While others feel that there should not be any limitations set on women because of their genetic makeup; however there are some women who are stronger than some men. Also, that men should know how to conduct themselves around women and saying so is outrageous because there are many women who are serving in a support occupation are on the front line with men every day in today’s conflicts.…
All men are created equal; this includes women as well. Over a decade of years, women certainly have come a long way to gain the same kind of equal equality as men, such as being able to vote and being able to join the armed forces and fight alongside men. As growing up I was always told that playing dolls is a girl’s toy and playing a car is a boy’s toy. In my cultural, I was taught that girl couldn’t work in a male job, and I was taught to do housework while the men did nothing around the house. In my house/culture, the men are the provider while the women in my opinion are the servant in which caters to every male in the household. If people were to think about combat in the army many just picture a male behind the military ACU (advanced…
As a leader in the United States Military, you are faced with situations or problems almost daily. Most problems we are confronted with do not take much to assess and act upon. Although there is one problem not only the Military faces but Society in general faces. The problem the Military is attempting to solve or eliminate is Sexual Assault and harassments across the forces.…
While there are no restriction on what a woman can be, women in the United States have difficult "phantoms" and mental barricades to overcome on their journey to the workplace such as the illusion that there is rampant sexism in the workplace, the wage-gap between men and women myth, and the belief that they have to care for their children.…
The military has a patriarchal structure influenced by values such as formality, rank, leadership, loyalty, camaraderie, and emotional control. Priority is placed on masculine ideals, encouraging notions of dominance, aggression, self-sufficiency, and risk-taking. (Honor 2007) The power differential between men and women in the military, owing to its male-dominated leadership and structure, plays an important role in sexual assault. (Turchik 2010) Hyper-masculine men can feel threatened by competent women and men considered weak or effeminate. Women in the military report feeling scrutinized and watched by men, judged as less competent and victimized by their jealousy and anger. (Katz…