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Gender Integration in the Military

Featured

Report
Diversity Can Enhance Military Effectiveness
Embracing diversity in the military could bring significant operational and strategic advantages. For example, diversity is important in developing effective, ethical, and trustworthy AI systems. How can the UK and U.S. armed forces remove barriers to inclusion and attract more diverse workforces?
Aug 23, 2022
Tool
Addressing Disparities in the U.S. Military
Racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in military career success and representation are a long-standing problem. To help inform efforts to address this, researchers created the Military Demographic Equity Machine tool.
Sep 6, 2022

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Multimedia
Improving Gender Diversity in the U.S. Coast Guard
For active-duty women, many complex factors influence the decision to stay in or separate from the Coast Guard. In this video, RAND's Kimberly Curry Hall summarizes research on these factors and makes recommendations for improving female retention in the Coast Guard.
Sep 1, 2019
Periodical
RAND Review: July-August 2019
This issue spotlights a strategy to reduce roadway deaths to zero; a school principal initiative that yielded positive results for schools and students; and a data-driven effort to enhance equity in a major U.S. city.
Jul 1, 2019
Blog
Hong Kong, Education Reform, Baghdad: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on lessons for state education reform, retaining women in the U.S. Coast Guard, recounting the Battle for Baghdad, and more.
Jun 14, 2019
Commentary
Why Women Belong in Coast Guard Crews
The Coast Guard benefits from the heightened respect that colleagues show each other in mixed-gender units, allowing personnel to focus and excel at their tasks at hand. When the Coast Guard zeroes in on evidence-based and appropriate accommodations for women and their physical capacities, as well as with parenting and family life, it will benefit everyone in uniform.
Apr 18, 2019
Research Brief
Why Do Women Leave the Coast Guard, and What Could Encourage Them to Stay?
Women leave the Coast Guard at higher rates than men. Focus groups raised concerns about work environment, career issues, and personal life matters. More inclusive personnel policies could help the Coast Guard address these concerns and retain more women.
Mar 29, 2019
Report
Improving Gender Diversity in the U.S. Coast Guard: Identifying Barriers to Female Retention
This report documents the results of a study designed to help identify the root causes of female attrition in the active-duty Coast Guard and develop recommendations to help mitigate identified barriers to Coast Guard female retention.
Mar 29, 2019
News Release
Women Leave U.S. Coast Guard at Higher Rates Than Men; More Equitable Personnel Policies Could Help Narrow Gap
As at other military services, women leave the active-duty Coast Guard at higher rates than men. To retain a diverse workforce the Coast Guard should continue to pursue more inclusive personnel policies, such as augmenting workforce gaps during parental leave, minimizing the impact parental leave has on evaluations and promotion, and expanding opportunities for leadership development training.
Mar 29, 2019
Report
A Survey System to Assess Abuse and Misconduct Toward Air Force Students in Occupational Specialty Training
This report provides recommendations for how the Air Force's survey system for monitoring abuse and misconduct in Basic Military Training can best be adapted for use in technical training and flying training environments.
Mar 5, 2019
Multimedia
Why So Many Military Women Think About Suicide
In this episode of Veterans in America, we discuss why women in the military face a much higher risk of suicide than civilian women. We meet two women who attempted suicide and learn how they found help.
Nov 11, 2018
Periodical
RAND Review: November-December 2018
This issue spotlights RAND's research on how providers can better meet the health care needs of veterans; life as a U.S. Army private; and Air Force efforts to improve leadership opportunities for women.
Nov 6, 2018
Multimedia
Veterans in America Podcast
Veterans in America is a special limited-series podcast that journeys into the lives of veterans and their loved ones, and shares insights from RAND research on how to improve their lives.
Oct 29, 2018
Report
Evaluation of the Strength Aptitude Test and Other Fitness Tests to Qualify Air Force Recruits for Physically Demanding Specialties
This report evaluates the Strength Aptitude Test and related fitness tests to identify strategies for ensuring airmen can meet job-related physical requirements.
Aug 10, 2018
Commentary
The U.S. Air Force Is Working Harder to Retain Female Officers, and Here's How
Women are underrepresented among the U.S. Air Force's senior leadership. This could be robbing the service of the potential to improve innovation, agility, and performance. The Air Force is working to address diversity in the service, and it continues to work to improve representation of women within its ranks.
Aug 6, 2018
Report
Establishing Gender-Neutral Physical Standards for Ground Combat Occupations: Volume 2. A Review of the Military Services' Methods
This report (Volume 2) provides results of RAND's work reviewing and evaluating the U.S. military services' approaches to setting gender-neutral physical standards for combat occupations, using best practices described in Volume 1 as a framework.
Jun 19, 2018
Report
Establishing Gender-Neutral Physical Standards for Ground Combat Occupations: Volume 1. A Review of Best-Practice Methods
This report identifies and describes the best-practice methodologies for establishing valid, gender-neutral standards for physically demanding military jobs.
Jun 19, 2018
Report
How the U.S. Air Force Could Retain More Female Officers
Women are underrepresented among the Air Force's senior leadership compared with their representation among the lower ranks. Focus groups with female officers identified key retention factors and potential ways to improve Air Force policies and programs to address female officer retention.
Apr 10, 2018
Commentary
On RAND's Research Findings Regarding Transgender Military Personnel Policy
In September 2015, the Department of Defense asked RAND to initiate a study on the implications of allowing transgender personnel to serve openly. Since its publication, the research has been widely viewed as the most comprehensive and authoritative analysis on this topic. RAND stands by the study's research approach, analysis, and findings.
Mar 27, 2018
Report
How to Increase Gender Integration in Air Force Basic Training
Now that all positions in the Air Force are open to women, USAF leadership is looking for ways to better integrate them during basic training. There are five options that could increase gender-integrated training, but the best solution will depend on USAF priorities.
Mar 5, 2018
Report
Promising Approaches to Army Institutional Change
The U.S. Army is facing many challenges. These include behavioral health issues, misconduct, and adjustment to changing demographics. Long-term solutions will require changes in Army culture and climate. Such changes are difficult, but promising strategies do exist.
Dec 5, 2017
Periodical
RAND Review: November-December 2017
This issue highlights recent RAND research on post-9/11 military caregivers; RAND-Lex, a computer program built at RAND that can analyze huge data sets of text; and the implications of climate change on Arctic cooperation.
Oct 19, 2017

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Kayla M. Williams

Senior Policy Researcher

Kayla Williams (she/her) is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation; her focus areas include optimizing policies and programs to support veterans and military personnel. She was most recently Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Veterans…
Kyleanne M. Hunter

Senior Political Scientist

Kyleanne Hunter is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. She came to RAND from the United States Air Force Academy where she was director of the Strategy and Warfare Center, associate director of the Institute for Future Conflict, and a professor of military and strategic…

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