Gender and the Military: Women in the Armed Forces of Western Democracies (Cass Military Studies)

284 Pages·2006·1.7 MB·English

by  H. Carreiras

Gender and the Military
Women in the military and their relationship with war are subjects that
often provoke controversial reactions that reveal entrenched stereotypes
and cultural values central to many societies.
This is the first comparative, cross-national study of the participation of
women in the armed forces of NATO countries. Besides an analysis of this
key topic stands a critique of existing theoretical models and the proposal
for a revised analytical framework.
This new study employs mixed-methodological research design.
Unlike previous works, it focuses on the interplay of various analytical
levels (general societal trends, organizational features, and individual
orientations) and combines quantitative and qualitative data: a large
N-analysis based on general policies and statistical information
concerning every country in the sample with more in-depth case studies.
The book includes original empirical data regarding the presence of
women in the armed forces of NATO countries. It proposes an index of
“gender inclusiveness” and assesses the factors (social, economic,
political, and military) that affect women’s military roles. It also presents
two new key case studies – Portugal and the Netherlands – based on both
documentary sources and in-depth interviews of both men and women
officers in the two countries.
This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of
strategic studies, gender and women studies, and military history.
Helena Carreiras is professor at the Department of Sociology of the
University Institute for Labor, Business, and Technologies (ISCTE) and
researcher at the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES) in
Lisbon. Her research interests include armed forces and society, gender
issues, and methodology of the social sciences. She has published
Mulheres nas Forças Armadas Portuguesas (Women in the Portuguese Armed
Forces) (1997) and Mulheres em Armas. A Participação Militar Feminina na
Europa do Sul (Women in Arms. The Military Participation of Women in
Southern Europe)(2002).
Cass Military Studies
Intelligence Activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the
Ancient Rome Second World War
Trust in the Gods, but verify Enver Redzic
Rose Mary Sheldon
Leaders in War
Clausewitz and African War West point remembers the 1991
Politics and strategy in Liberia Gulf War
and Somalia Frederick Kagan and
Isabelle Duyvesteyn Christian Kubik (eds)
Strategy and Politics in the Khedive Ismail’s Army
Middle East, 1954–60 John Dunn
Defending the Northern Tier
Michael Cohen Yugoslav Military Industry
1918–1991
The Cuban Intervention in Amadeo Watkins
Angola, 1965–1991
From Che Guevara to Corporal Hitler and the Great
Cuito Cuanavale War 1914–1918
Edward George The list regiment
John Williams
Military Leadership in the
British Civil Wars, 1642–1651 Rostóv in the Russian Civil War
‘The Genius of this Age’ 1917–1920
Stanley Carpenter The key to victory
Brian Murphy
Israel’s Reprisal Policy, 1953–1956
The dynamics of military The Tet Effect Intelligence and
retaliation the Public Perception of War
Ze’ev Drory Jake Blood
The US Military Profession into Warriors and Politicians
the 21st Century U.S. civil-military relations
War, peace and politics under stress
Sam C. Sarkesian and Robert E. Charles A. Stevenson
Connor, Jr. (eds)
Military Honour and the
Civil-Military Relations in Conduct of War
Europe From ancient Greece to Iraq
Learning from crisis and Paul Robinson
institutional change
Hans Born, Marina Caparini Military Industry and Regional
Karl Haltiner and Defense Policy
Jürgen Kuhlmann (eds) India, Iraq and Israel
Timothy D. Hoyt
Strategic Culture and Ways
of War Managing Defence in a Democracy
Lawrence Sondhaus Laura R. Cleary and
Teri McConville (eds)
Military Unionism in the
Post Cold War Era Gender and the Military
Afuture reality? Women in the armed forces of
Richard Bartle and western democracies
Lindy Heinecken (eds) Helena Carreiras

Gender and the Military
Women in the Armed Forces of
Western Democracies
Helena Carreiras
First published 2006
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USAand Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2006 Helena Carreiras
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Acatalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN10: 0–415–38358–7 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–96903–0 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–38358–5 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–96903–8 (ebk)
AOS MEUS PAIS

Contents
List of figures xi
List of tables xiii
Foreword xv
Acknowledgments xvii
List of abbreviations xix
Introduction 1
1 Women in the military: a global overview 5
Women and warfare in historical perspective 5
Factors affecting women’s military roles 12
Research design and techniques 23
2 Gender relations, gendered organizations, and
the military 25
Social structures and gender regimes 25
Gender relations in organizations 30
The military as a gendered organization 40
3 Social and political dilemmas of women’s
military service 55
Women, work, and the family 55
Citizens and soldiers: the political dilemmas of
female military service 59
4 The military institution and social change 72
The military in the post-Cold War period: redefining
strategic orientations 72