University of Kansas Scholars Assess the Status of Women in U.S. Army Special Forces

Scholars at the University of Kansas, in conjunction with the Women’s Foundation and Army Research Institute, have released the results of Project Diane, which assessed the status of women in the Special Operations units of the American military. The project included a large-scale survey and analyzed discussions of 24 focus groups of military personnel.

Alesha Doan, associate professor of political science and chair of the department of women, gender, and sexuality studies at the University of Kansas, stated that the research found “a great deal of resistance to gender integration in the military, particularly in the elite Special Operations units. While some of this is related to explicit policies regarding physical standards, many of the barriers are rooted in the traditional gender stereotypes that are often hidden and unexamined by military personnel in their everyday interactions with each other.”

Shannon Portillo, an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Kansas added that “by sharing the experiences of women and men within the organization, we highlight the obvious as well as covert ways traditional gender stereotypes permeate seemingly gender neutral policies and practices, reinforcing barriers to women’s leadership and full integration in the military.”

The Project Diane report may be downloaded by clicking here.