Tokenism In Military

Tokenism, Gender Roles, Harassment, and the Armed Forces

The United States Armed Forces are the federal military force of the United States and there are five service branches, the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard. As of 2012, women comprised 14.6 percent of the Department of Defense Active Duty force while men comprised 85.4 percent of the Department of Defense Active Duty force (Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, 2012). Given this skewed distribution in which men are considered the dominant type, they are able to control the group and its culture whereas women are called “tokens” (Kanter, 1993). Women may experience barriers in the workplace that may arise from their status

It is estimated that 80% of women employed in certain male-dominated professions may experience sexual harassment (Murdoch & Nichol, 1995). More women die from workplace violence than from job-related accidents, and 42% of women’s workplace injuries stem from nonfatal assaults (Sadler, Booth, Nielson, & Doebbeling, 2000). Military service a highly masculinized environment that may heighten the risk of workplace violence and women are twice more likely than men to be assaulted at work (Sadler, Booth, Cook, & Doebbeling, 2003). Acker (2008) argued that sexual domination of women is constructed and embedded within work organization, and sexual harassment is not a component of the work organization but instead it is a

In the armed forces, it is men who are in positions of political and administrative authority that are characterized by hegemonic masculinity and symbols of masculinity that work to express and reinforce divisions along lines of gender. Murdoch and Nichol (1995) conducted a questionnaire concerning women’s experience with sexual harassment in the military to a sample of 333 female veterans who had served in all branches of the United States military (Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force). Their results demonstrated that domestic violence and a history of sexual harassment while in the military was common. Forty percent of respondents 50 years or older and 90% of women under the age of 50 reported a history of sexual harassment. Results also demonstrated that 18% of the younger respondents reported said they had promotions or transfers blocked when they refused superior officers request for sexual favor. A range of types of sexual harassment by coworkers, supervisors, and superior or commander officer were reported including being offered favorable assignments or promotions for