Does the military continue to have sexual harassment and discrimination against women in the 90s? Yes, the military does have sexual harassment and discrimination against women in the 90s.
Firestone and co-researcher Richard J. Hurns analyzed a 1988 DOD Survey of men and women in the military and found that 51.8% of men and 74.6% of women reported either experiencing or knowing of sexual harassment. Among the women surveyed, 70%…
1% had experienced sexual talk or behavior at the workplace that created an offensive, hostile, or intimidating environment. Among the men, 36.9% gave the same answer. The percentage of women being sexually harassed is much higher than the percentage of men being harassed. Even though it is not tolerated, it still happens regardless of the consequences, even in the nineties. While some women’s experiences have been similar to those of black men, their integration into the military has also differed in several ways.
Because of our society’s fundamental belief that protecting the home and going to war are a man’s work, men from minority groups have often been accepted more readily in the military than women. Women have been viewed as outsiders in a male environment. Discrimination and harassment occur for women because they are entering an all-male dominated area. Some areas are still restricted because of this, such as serving in direct combat capacities like armor, infantry, and special forces – branches from which much of the senior leadership is drawn. In 1994, the annual Navywide Personnel Survey included questions on women’s roles for the first time.
Sixty-five percent of officers and almost 50 percent of enlisted respondents said they did not think women were fully accepted in combat roles. Approximately 80 percent said harassment was not tolerated at their command, but almost half of all respondents disagreed that everyone is treated equally in promotions and advancements. Some of this is based on the presumed physical and psychological characteristics of women that may interfere with their performance of some military jobs. For example, the physical strength of women. People believe that women are not strong enough to lift and carry heavy equipment or wounded fellow soldiers and that we lack endurance to perform these tasks over a lengthened period of time. Also, there is the idea that women cannot perform strenuous tasks quickly, like loading heavy shells into a weapon.
Combat is not for the weak and slow. Although allowing women in combat remains a top priority, women now serve in virtually every other occupational capacity in all four branches of the military. A large number of previously restricted areas to women have been opened in the Army and Marine Corps, and the Air Force has women training for all previously closed career fields. Even the Navy is improving. Despite increasing sexual harassment cases, the rising number of women being recruited is not due to any idealistic vision of the right of women to serve their country in uniform.
One might say this trend is driven by the need to recruit an increasingly intelligent, well-educated, and fit military in the face of data that reflects the shrinking amount of qualified male candidates. By current estimates, there are 191,399 women on active duty in all four branches of the US Armed Forces, accounting for approximately 12.7% of all active duty personnel. As of September 1995, women accounted for 13%.
2% of all officers and 12.6% of all enlisted personnel are women. Approximately 16% of all active duty Air Force personnel (officers and enlisted) are women, followed by 13% of the Army, 12% of the Navy, and about 4.6% of the Marines. Sexual harassment is believed to be increasing, but it is important to remember that a lot of sexual harassment goes unreported. It is a shame that women are afraid to report cases for fear of being thrown out of their job or lack of knowledge on where to go or what to do.
Women can easily feel like they can’t trust anyone in the military command more than men for two reasons. Firstly, 99% of commanding ranks are held by men. Secondly, men are more likely to help other men than women. A female commanding officer may not be able to provide assistance to a female soldier because she may be facing her own challenges. Therefore, women should unite and work together.
