"June 28, 2017"--Table of contents page. Includes bibliographical references (page 75).
Contents:
References. Summary -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- B. Introduction: Background on Women in Combat and Other Relevant Issues of Interest -- Study Approach -- Organization of This Report -- 2. Focus Group Methodology: Overarching Purpose, Design, and Protocol of Focus Groups -- Sampling of Focus Group Locations -- New Recruit Focus Group Procedures -- Recruiter Interviews and Focus Groups -- Leadership Interviews -- Recruitment -- Analysis -- Interpreting the Coding Results -- Putting the Focus Group Results in Context -- 3. Perceptions About and Attitudes Towards Women in the Military and in Combat: Attitudes Towards Women in the Military -- Interest in Combat Jobs -- Comments About Opening up Combat Jobs to Women -- Concerns About Women in Combat -- Perceived Benefits of Women in Combat -- Key Findings -- 4. Influences on Joining the Military: Perceived Impact of Allowing Women in Combat on Decisions to Join -- Recruits' Concerns About Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault -- Influencers' Concerns About Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault -- Recruiters as Influencers -- Importance of Female Recruiters and Female Events -- Key Findings -- Recruiting Policies and Strategies: Findings from the Recruiter and Recruit Discussions -- Findings from the Leadership Discussions -- Key Findings -- 6. Limitations, Key Findings, and Recommendations: Limitations -- Overall Findings -- Recommendations -- Caveats to Our Recommendations -- Closing Thoughts -- APPENDIXES: A. Focus Group and Interview Questions -- B. Themes from Focus Groups and Interviews -- References.
Summary:
"This study identifies approaches for bolstering recruiting of women into the armed services during the years in which ground combat jobs are transitioning to include women. RAND conducted in-depth interviews and focus groups with new recruits, recruiters, and recruiting leadership. Several themes emerged from these discussions. Many female recruits in our focus groups preferred female recruiters and female-specific events. Many male recruits in our focus groups reported not being influenced by the policy change to open combat jobs to women. Recruiters and recruits in our focus groups reported dissatisfaction with what they view as burdensome administrative requirements. Both recruiters and recruits recommended launching advertising campaigns showing women serving alongside men in a wide range of military jobs, and debunking stereotypes of military service. Finally, commanders of the recruiting services reported concern over resources available to them in the current environment. We recommend that resources be set aside to specifically target outreach to women, that the services increase the proportion of recruiters who are women and increase their visibility at recruiting events, and that the services work to reduce administrative burdens on recruiters and recruits."--Publisher's description.
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