Gender Issues: Perceptions of Readiness of Selected Units (Letter Report,
05/13/99, GAO/NSIAD-99-120).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on
military servicemembers' perceptions regarding the impact women have had
on selected combat-oriented units, focusing on: (1) the perceptions of
men and women on their personal readiness; (2) the readiness of men and
women in their unit; and (3) unit readiness.

GAO noted that: (1) the majority of men and women that GAO surveyed
about their personal readiness said they were well or very well prepared
to perform their wartime jobs considering their training, physical, and
mental preparedness; (2) over 70 percent of men and women said they
could deploy on short notice with no problems or only minor problems;
(3) GAO also asked servicemembers about their perceptions regarding the
readiness of men and women in their units; (4) GAO's questions dealt
with training and job performance, willingness and availability to
deploy, and physical preparedness to deploy; (5) men and women agreed
that they were trained equally to complete their wartime missions and
would perform their wartime jobs equally well; (6) generally, men
believed that they were more physically prepared and were more willing
to deploy; (7) women believed that men and women were equally prepared
physically and equally willing to deploy; (8) since these units have
only recently opened to women, GAO also asked about the impact women
have on the readiness on their unit; and (9) although men tended to view
the impact of women on unit readiness less positively than women, more
than half the men indicated that women affect readiness either no
differently from men or in a positive way.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  NSIAD-99-120
     TITLE:  Gender Issues: Perceptions of Readiness of Selected Units
      DATE:  05/13/99
   SUBJECT:  Military training
	     Military personnel
	     Women
	     Mobilization
	     Combat readiness
	     Surveys

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NS99120.book GAO United States General Accounting Office

Report to the Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Readiness
and Management Support, Committee on Armed Services, U. S. Senate

May 1999 GENDER ISSUES Perceptions of Readiness in Selected Units

GAO/NSIAD-99-120

  GAO/NSIAD-99-120

United States General Accounting Office Washington, D. C. 20548
Lett er

Page 1 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

GAO

National Security and International Affairs Division

B-282402 Letter May 13, 1999 The Honorable Charles S. Robb Ranking
Minority Member Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
Committee on Armed Services United States Senate

Dear Senator Robb: Opportunities for women in the military have
increased in the last several decades. About 14 percent of the
total force is women. 1 In 1993 and 1994, significant legislative
and policy changes were made that allowed women to serve in many
combat- oriented positions previously closed to them. 2 Following
these changes, the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps opened

over 550 additional units to women. More than 13, 000 women have
joined these units. 3 Among the units that have opened to women
are Army smoke and chemical companies, forward support battalions,
air defense artillery headquarters' units, military police units,
and engineer companies; Navy combat ships, including aircraft
carriers and amphibious assault ships; and Marine Corps air wings
and many of its units that deploy on ships.

As you know, readiness is an extremely difficult concept to
measure because of the many factors that impact it. Generally,
these factors are categorized into three types: training,
equipment, and personnel and GAO has done work in all three areas.
As you requested, this report focuses on personnel, specifically,
on the perceptions of men and women on their personal readiness,
the readiness of men and women in their unit, and unit readiness
(defined as the unit's ability to undertake its wartime mission).

You also asked us to identify issues that servicemembers believe
the services need to consider as more women join the military.
Last, you asked us to review other studies of gender issues to
determine whether the perceptions we gathered were similar.

1 The percentages of women vary among the active services. As of
September 30, 1998, about 6 percent of the Marine Corps, 13
percent of the Navy, 15 percent of the Army, and 18 percent of the
Air Force were women.

2 Gender Issues: Information on DOD's Assignment Policy and Direct
Ground Combat Definition (GAO/NSIAD-99-7, Oct. 19, 1998). 3 For
this report, the term unit is used in a generic sense. For
example, an Army unit opened to women could be a forward support
battalion, whereas for the Navy, a combat ship could represent a
unit.

B-282402 Page 2 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Our review included selected units in the Army, the Navy and the
Marine Corps that have opened to women since 1993. We did not
include the Air Force in our review because most Air Force units
have been open to women since the late 1980s. To determine
servicemembers' perceptions, we administered surveys to 378 men
and 351 women in 40 units. 4 To supplement the survey results and
obtain a more complete picture of readiness issues, we conducted
75 discussion groups with over 500 of the

men and women that had participated in the survey. We also
interviewed unit commanders or their representatives from most of
the units we visited.

Because we did not randomly select the units or respondents, our
survey and discussion group results reflect the perceptions of the
personnel we surveyed and are not projectable to the larger
population. Our scope and

methodology are discussed in appendix I. Appendix II contains the
complete results of our survey and appendix III includes a list of
the units we visited.

Results in Brief The majority of men and women that we surveyed
about their personal readiness said they were well or very well
prepared to perform their wartime jobs considering their training
and their physical and mental preparedness. Table 1 summarizes
these perceptions.

Table 1: Survey Respondents That Reported They Were Well or Very
Well Prepared to Perform Their Wartime Missions

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues. In addition, over 70
percent of men and women said they could deploy on short notice
with no problems or only minor problems. We also asked
servicemembers about their perceptions regarding the readiness of
men and women in their units. Our questions dealt with 4 There
were at least 7,000 men and 1,400 women in the units we surveyed.

Gender Training (percent)

Physical preparedness

(percent) Mental

preparedness (percent)

Men 77 90 81 Women 63 72 67

Lett er

B-282402 Page 3 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

training and job performance, willingness and availability to
deploy, and physical preparedness to deploy. Men and women agreed
that they were trained equally to complete their wartime missions
and would perform their wartime jobs equally well. Generally, men
believed that they were more physically prepared and were more
willing to deploy. Women believed that men and women were equally
prepared physically and equally willing to deploy. Since these
units had only recently opened to women, we also asked about the
impact women have had on the readiness of their unit. Although men
tended to view the impact of women on unit readiness less
positively than women, more than half the men indicated that women

affect readiness either no differently from men or in a positive
way (see fig. 1).

Figure 1: Perceived Impact of Women on Unit Readiness

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

We also asked men and women to tell us which factors affect
readiness positively and negatively. Men and women agreed on the
top three positive factors and the top three negative factors.
According to the men and

0 10

20 30

40 50

60 10

27 47

53 43

20

Percent

Positive or very positive

No differently than men

Negative or very negative

Men Women

B-282402 Page 4 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

women we surveyed, training at the unit level, command leadership,
and necessary equipment were the three positive impacts on
readiness. Survey respondents cited the number of personnel,
condition of equipment, and funding as the top three negative
impacts.

Finally, both men and women perceived their units to be ready to
perform their wartime missions. For example, 86 percent of the men
and 80 percent of the women surveyed were moderately or very
confident about their units' ability to perform their wartime
missions effectively.

Gender stereotyping was an issue frequently raised during our
discussion groups with women. They spoke about negative
stereotyping regarding pregnancy, physical strength, and job
performance. Women also said that they believed that they need to
prove themselves repeatedly. In other

discussion groups, men frequently mentioned the issue of
preferential treatment for women. Servicemembers both men and
women said in our discussion groups that managing the impact of
pregnancies on individual units was the primary gender- related
issue the services needed to address. At the unit level, the
impact of pregnancies on readiness depends on the concentration of
women in a unit, the criticality of their jobs, the unit's ability
to find

replacements, and whether the unit was undermanned. Service
personnel said that the impact of unplanned losses, even in
critical positions, would not affect them as much if they were
fully manned to begin with or if the services would replace those
that were lost.

The perceptions from our survey and discussion groups are similar
to the views expressed by servicemembers in other studies of
gender issues. For example, during a study of readiness, RAND 5
asked male and female respondents to rate the readiness of their
units for a combat mission as high, medium, or low. Over 80
percent of men and women rated their

readiness as medium or high. Discussion group themes were similar
as well. In 1997, men told members of an Army panel studying
sexual harassment that they feared being falsely accused of sexual
harassment and that they believed women received preferential
treatment, particularly in the areas of fitness standards and
pregnancy. Women told the same panel

5 Margaret C. Harrell and Laura L. Miller, New Opportunities for
Military Women, Effects Upon Readiness, Cohesion, and Morale
(Washington, D. C.: RAND, 1997). Like our survey, the results of
this study are not projectable.

B-282402 Page 5 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

that they believed they were treated differently because of their
gender and they were often stereotyped based on the actions of a
few women, particularly on the issue of pregnancy. Perceptions on

Readiness Generally Positive

Our survey on the perceptions of readiness of units opened to
women since 1993 showed that both men and women had a positive
view of their own readiness. Furthermore, most men and women
agreed that women either affected readiness no differently from
men or affected readiness positively

or very positively. In addition, despite concerns about equipment
and personnel levels, men and women were confident in their units'
ability to complete their wartime missions.

Both Men and Women Reported Positively on Their Personal Readiness

We asked respondents for their perceptions of their personal
readiness in terms of their training, physical, and mental
preparedness, and ability to deploy on short notice. We found that
the majority of both men and women viewed their personal readiness
positively in all areas, and indicated they could deploy on short
notice with no or few problems. Regarding training they had
received, 77 percent of the men and 63 percent

of the women we surveyed said that they were either well prepared
or very well prepared to perform their wartime jobs. These
percentages are close to male and female responses to a similar
question in the 1995 Department of Defense (DOD) Status of Armed
Forces Surveys. 6 In those surveys, 86 percent of men and 70
percent of women responded that, when considering their training
and experience, they were well prepared or very

well prepared to perform their wartime missions. When asked how
prepared they were physically to perform their wartime job, 90
percent of male respondents and 72 percent of female respondents
reported that they were well prepared or very well prepared. These
results were also similar to the results of a question in the DOD
survey. In DOD's survey, 88 percent of men and 77 percent of women
said that they were

physically well prepared or very well prepared to perform their
wartime missions. 6 Status of Armed Forces Surveys, 1995 Form B
Gender Issues, Defense Manpower Data Center. This survey was
administered to a non- proportional stratified random sample of
active duty personnel with at least 6 months of service. We have
factored out the responses attributable to Air Force and Coast
Guard personnel to make the DOD data we cite comparable to the
population we surveyed.

B-282402 Page 6 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Our survey also revealed that most of the men and women we
surveyed believed that they were mentally prepared to perform
their wartime jobs. More than 80 percent of the male respondents
and 67 percent of the female respondents said they were well
prepared or very well prepared. The results from our questions on
training, physical, and mental preparedness are shown in figure 2.

Figure 2: Perceptions of Personal Readiness to Perform Wartime
Missions Note: Figure depicts the percent of those who said that
they were well prepared or very well prepared. Source: 1998 GAO
Survey on Readiness Issues.

Men and women responded similarly when asked about their personal
ability to deploy on short notice (see fig. 3). Specifically, 75
percent of the male respondents and 71 percent of the female
respondents answered that they could deploy with no problems or
minor problems. Moreover,

20 percent of the men and 23 percent of the women reported they
would have moderate problems. Only 5 percent of men and women
indicated they would have major problems deploying or problems so
large they would not

be able to deploy.

0 1 0

2 0 3 0

4 0 5 0

6 0 7 0

8 0 9 0

1 0 0 Training Physical

Preparedness Mental

Preparedness 77

90 81

63 72

67

Percent

Men Women

B-282402 Page 7 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 3: Perceptions of Personal Ability to Deploy on Short
Notice

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

Servicemembers' Perceptions of the Readiness of Men and Women in
Their Units

We asked men and women about several components of readiness.
Specifically, we asked them whom they perceived was (1) more
physically prepared to complete their mission, (2) more willing to
deploy, and

(3) better trained to complete their missions. Men and women in
our survey responded differently. The majority of the men we
surveyed believed men were better physically prepared to complete
their missions and more willing to deploy than women. A majority
of the men thought that men and women were trained equally to
complete their current mission and would perform their wartime
jobs equally well. The majority of the women we surveyed believed
that men and women were equally prepared physically to complete
their mission. A majority of the women also believed that they
were as willing to deploy as men, were as well trained as men, and
would

perform their wartime jobs as well as men. Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7
compare the views of men and women we surveyed.

0 10

20 30

40 50

60 70

80 No Problems or Minor Problems

Moderate Problems

Major Problems or Problems that Would Prevent Me from Deploying 75

20 5

Percent

71 23

5 Men

Women

B-282402 Page 8 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 4: Perceptions of Relative Physical Preparation to Complete
Current Missions

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues. 0 1 0

2 0 3 0

4 0 5 0

6 0 7 0

8 0 Men More Prepared

Men and Women Equally Prepared

Women More Prepared 72

33 29

66 0 1 Men

Women

Percent

B-282402 Page 9 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 5: Perceptions of Relative Willingness to Deploy

Note: Does not include those surveys with responses do not know or
never deployed. Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues. 0

1 0 2 0

3 0 4 0

5 0 6 0

7 0 8 0

Men More Willing

Men and Women Equally Willing

Women More Willing 54

31 46

67 0

Percent

2 Men

Women

B-282402 Page 10 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 6: Perceptions of Relative Degree of Training to Complete
Current Missions

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues. 0

1 0 2 0

3 0 4 0

5 0 6 0

7 0 8 0

9 0 1 0 0

Men Better Trained Men and Women

Equally Trained Women Better Trained

34 12

66 87

0 Men

Women

Percent

1

B-282402 Page 11 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 7: Perceptions of Relative Ability to Perform Wartime Jobs

Note: Does not include the survey response do not know. Source:
1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

We later asked men and women a summary question about their
perceptions regarding the impact of women on readiness compared to
men. Figure 8 shows the response to this question by gender.
Although men tended to view the impact of women on unit readiness
less positively than women, more than half the men indicated that
women affect readiness either no differently from men or in a
positive way.

0 1 0

2 0 3 0

4 0 5 0

6 0 7 0

8 0 9 0

1 0 0 44

13 56

0 Men Perform Wartime Jobs Better

Men and Women Perform Equally

Women Perform Wartime Jobs Better 85

2 Men

Women

Percent

B-282402 Page 12 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 8: Perceived Impact of Women on Unit Readiness

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

Figure 9 shows, by service, male responses to the question of
perceived impact of women on unit readiness. A majority of the
Army respondents believed that women either affected readiness no
differently from men or

affected readiness positively or very positively. In the Navy, the
majority of the men we surveyed believed that women affected
readiness negatively or very negatively.

0 1 0

2 0 3 0

4 0 5 0

6 0 10

27 47

53 43

20

Negative or Very Negative Positive or Very Positive No Differently

than Men

Men Women

Percent

B-282402 Page 13 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 9: Views of Men Regarding the Impact of Women on Readiness
by Service

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

From a list of eight readiness factors, we also asked men and
women to tell us which factors most positively and negatively
affect readiness. Men and women agreed on the top three factors
that positively affect readiness and the top three factors that
negatively impact readiness (see tables 2 and 3). Training at the
unit level, command leadership, and necessary equipment were the
three most frequently selected factors positively affecting

readiness. The number of personnel, condition of equipment, and
funding were the three most often selected negative factors.

0 1 0

2 0 3 0

4 0 5 0

6 0

Army Navy Marine Corps

13 51

36 8

39 53

3 50

48 Positive or Very Positive No Difference

Percent

B-282402 Page 14 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Table 2: Perceptions of Men and Women Regarding Factors That
Positively Impact Readiness

Table 3: Perceptions of Men and Women Regarding Factors That
Negatively Impact Readiness

Men cited gender mix as the fifth most cited factor having a
negative impact on unit readiness, whereas women cited it as the
sixth.

The results of our survey on this question are similar to the
results of the 1997 RAND report. RAND asked servicemembers to
suggest reasons for their readiness level and that of their units.
Out of 934 surveys, only 2 respondents indicated that gender
issues had an effect on readiness, which according to the study,
indicated a general perception that gender

integration played a minor role in individual or unit readiness.

Readiness factors Men Frequency Readiness factors

Women Frequency

Training at the unit level 182 Training at the unit level 153
Command leadership 152 Command leadership 100 Necessary equipment
105 Necessary equipment 98 Training at the command level 86 Mix of
men and women 90 Number of personnel 81 Number of personnel 88
Condition of equipment 78 Training at the command level 78 Mix of
men and women 48 Condition of equipment 74 Funding 32 Funding 43

Readiness factors Men Frequency Readiness factors

Women Frequency

Number of personnel 200 Number of personnel 174 Condition of
equipment 142 Condition of equipment 143 Funding 125 Funding 104
Necessary equipment 85 Command leadership 78 Mix of men and women
72 Necessary equipment 68 Command leadership 63 Mix of men and
women 46 Training at the unit level 45 Training at the unit level
44 Training at the command level 33 Training at the command level
38

B-282402 Page 15 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Male and Female Views on Unit Readiness

Both men and women reported high levels of confidence in their
units' ability to perform their wartime missions effectively. The
majority of the men and women surveyed reported that they were
moderately confident or very confident of their units' ability to
perform their wartime missions. Figure 10 illustrates these
responses by gender.

Figure 10: Degree of Confidence in Units' Ability to Perform
Wartime Missions Effectively

Note: Does not include the survey response no basis to judge.
Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

The responses to this question are similar to a question in the
1997 RAND study on new opportunities for women in the military.
RAND asked men and women to rate the readiness of their units for
a combat mission as high, medium, or low. Regardless of rank, over
80 percent of men and

women rated their units' readiness as medium or high. We also
asked respondents to provide their perceptions of their units'
readiness with regard to several different aspects, including
training,

0 1 0

2 0 3 0

4 0 5 0

6 0 7 0

8 0 9 0

1 0 0 No or Little Confidence

Moderate or Very Confident 15

86 20

80 Men

Women

Percent

B-282402 Page 16 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

equipment, and changes in the number of personnel. Male and female
responses were similar on these three aspects.

Both men and women in our survey indicated that their units'
readiness had suffered because of changes in the number of
personnel available for duty (see fig. 11). Over 80 percent of the
servicemembers we surveyed said that personnel changes had a
moderate or major impact on the readiness of their units. In our
survey, we defined moderate impact as the number of

personnel available is somewhat short of the number required,
whereas we defined major impact as the number of personnel is very
short of the number required.

Figure 11: Perceptions of the Impact of Personnel Shortages on the
Readiness of Units

Note: Does not include survey response no basis to judge. Source:
1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

Slightly more than half of the men and women responded that their
units were well trained or very well trained to perform their
wartime mission

0 5

10 15

20 25

30 35

40 45

50

No Impact Minor Impact Moderate

Impact Major Impact

12 39

45 47

39 2 2

14 Men

Women

Percent

B-282402 Page 17 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

(see fig. 12). And approximately 20 percent of the men and women
said that their units were poorly or very poorly prepared.

Figure 12: Perceptions of How Well Trained Units Are to Perform
Their Wartime Missions

Note: Does not include the survey response do not know. Source:
1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues. Both male and female
respondents reported that if they included

equipment in their consideration of preparedness, their units were
less prepared (see fig. 13). Specifically, regarding equipment,
less than half of the respondents said their units were well or
very well prepared. Additionally, approximately one- third of the
male and female respondents reported that their units were poorly
or very poorly prepared to perform their wartime missions.

0 1 0

2 0 3 0

4 0 5 0

6 0

Very Poorly or Poorly Prepared

Neither Well nor Poorly Prepared

Well Prepared or Very Well Prepared 20

28 53

17 27

56 Men

Women

Percent

B-282402 Page 18 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 13: Perceptions of Units' Ability to Perform Their Wartime
Missions Considering Their Equipment

Note: Does not include the survey response do not know. Source:
1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

Gender Issues That Servicemembers Believed Require Additional
Service Consideration

In our discussions with servicemembers, we asked participants what
issues they believed the services needed to address as the number
of women in the military increases. The issues that surfaced
tended to vary according to gender and indicated that some
significant gender integration challenges remain. The female
discussion groups raised concerns that many men in the military
view women in a stereotypical manner. The male discussion groups,
on the other hand, raised concerns about what they perceived to be
a pattern of preferential treatment of women and concerns about
sexual harassment accusations. Both men and women raised the issue
of

managing the impact of pregnancy on unit operations. A prominent
issue among the women in our discussion groups involved gender
stereotyping. Many of the women we talked with indicated that men
lack confidence in a woman's ability to do her job. Women told us
that 0 5

1 0 1 5

2 0 2 5

3 0 3 5

4 0 Very Poorly Prepared

Poorly Prepared

Neither Well nor Poorly Prepared

Well Prepared

Very Well Prepared 8 8

23 28

35 6 5 28

34 24

Men Women

Percent

B-282402 Page 19 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

when a man arrives in a unit, everyone assumes that the man can do
his job, but a woman has to prove herself repeatedly before she is
accepted. For example, a female mechanic in the Army said that she
had to overcome a belief among the men in her unit that women
could not be good mechanics. She also said that she had to prove
her abilities more than a man would have had to. In another
example, a Navy woman said that the men on her team tried to
discourage her from participating with the team when they were
assisting another ship that was on fire. The men did not think she
had the physical strength to handle a fire hose. She participated
with her team, proved she could do the job, and won the acceptance
of her team. Many women also believed that they are scrutinized
much more closely than men and that the failure of one woman is
generalized to all women. Women also provided examples of men
attempting to provide them with unwanted assistance.

An issue of concern that arose frequently in our discussion groups
with men involved what they perceived to be preferential treatment
of women. For example, some Navy men said that women tend to
receive better bunking arrangements on ships, while men have to
endure more crowding. Another area of perceived preferential
treatment involved discipline. Some men cited situations in which
a man would be disciplined for particular behavior, but a woman
that did the same thing would not be disciplined.

Finally, some men said that they would often help women that did
not have the physical strength to do their jobs and that this took
them away from their own duties.

Another concern raised in our discussion groups with men was what
they perceived to be a rush to judgment in cases where men are
accused of sexual harassment. They perceived that men were removed
from their

units as soon as they were charged, before any investigation. Many
men were concerned that the mere charge was enough to ruin a man's
career, whether he was found guilty or not. Men frequently
mentioned that they believed that many charges of sexual
harassment were unfounded and that false accusers did not seem to
suffer any consequences.

An issue raised in both the male and female discussion groups was
the impact of pregnancy on units. Depending on the nature of the
job and the existence of environmental hazards, a commander may
immediately remove a pregnant woman from her job. In addition,
pregnant women are

essentially unavailable for deployment for about a year counting
their pregnancies and the 4 months following the birth of their
children. Because pregnancy is not a permanent medical condition,
the services do not always replace pregnant women. This can place
additional burdens on the

B-282402 Page 20 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

remaining personnel in the unit, particularly if the unit is
already undermanned. Overwhelmingly, the men and women in our
discussion groups said that the readiness impact of unplanned
losses due to pregnancy or other medical or disciplinary reasons
would be minimized if replacements were made available.

Agency Comments We provided a draft of this report to the Office
of the Secretary of Defense for review. The Department did not
provide any comments.

We are sending copies of this report to Senator John Warner and
Senator Carl Levin and Representative Floyd D. Spence and
Representative Ike Skelton in their capacities as Chairman and
Ranking Minority Member of the Senate and House Committees on
Armed Services. We are sending

copies to Senator Wayne Allard and Senator Max Cleland and to
Representative Steven Buyer and Representative Neil Abercrombie in
their capacities as Chairman or Ranking Minority Member of the
Senate and House Committees on Armed Services, Subcommittees on
Military Personnel. We are also sending copies of this report to
the Honorable William Cohen, Secretary of Defense; the Honorable
Louis Caldera, Secretary of the Army; the Honorable Richard
Danzig, Secretary of the Navy; and General Charles C. Krulack,
Commandant of the Marine Corps. Copies will also be made available
to others upon request.

If you or your staff have questions concerning this report, please
call me at (202) 512- 5140. The major contributors to this report
are listed in appendix IV.

Sincerely yours, Mark E. Gebicke Director, National Security
Preparedness

Issue Area

Page 21 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Page 22 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Contents Letter 1 Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

24 Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

27 Appendix III Locations Visited and Units Surveyed 37

Appendix IV Major Contributors to This Report

40 Figures Figure 1: Perceived Impact of Women on Unit Readiness 3

Figure 2: Perceptions of Personal Readiness to Perform Wartime
Mission 6 Figure 3: Perceptions of Personal Ability to Deploy on
Short Notice 7 Figure 4: Perceptions of Relative Physical
Preparation to Complete Current Missions 8

Figure 5: Perceptions of Relative Willingness to Deploy 9 Figure
6: Perceptions of Relative Degree of Training to Complete Current
Missions 10

Figure 7: Perceptions of Relative Ability to Perform Wartime Jobs
11 Figure 8: Perceived Impact of Women on Unit Readiness 12 Figure
9: Views of Men Regarding the Impact of Women on

Readiness by Service 13 Figure 10: Degree of Confidence in Units'
Ability to Perform Wartime Missions Effectively 15

Figure 11: Perceptions of the Impact of Personnel Shortages on the
Readiness of Units 16

Contents Page 23 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 12: Perceptions of How Well Trained Units Are to Perform
Their Wartime Missions 17 Figure 13: Perceptions of Units' Ability
to Perform Their Wartime Missions Considering Their Equipment 18

Tables Table 1: Survey Respondents That Reported They Were Well or
Very Well Prepared to Perform Their Wartime Missions 2 Table 2:
Perceptions of Men and Women Regarding Factors

That Positively Impact Readiness 14 Table 3: Perceptions of Men
and Women Regarding Factors

That Negatively Impact Readiness 14

Abbreviations

DOD Department of Defense MOS military occupational specialty

Page 24 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology Appendi x I

Our objectives were to obtain the perceptions of men and women
regarding the impact women have had on units opened to them since
1993. Specifically, we obtained the perceptions of men and women
on their personal readiness, the readiness of men and women in
their unit, and unit readiness. We also identified issues that
servicemembers believed the

services need to consider as more women join the military and we
reviewed other studies of gender issues to determine whether the
perceptions we gathered were similar.

The scope of our review included units opened to women since 1993
in the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps. We did not include
the Air Force in our review because the majority of its units have
been open to women

since the late 1980s. We excluded Air Force statistics when we
compared our survey results to Department of Defense (DOD) data.

To determine servicemembers' perceptions, we administered 737
questionnaires 1 and led 75 discussion groups with over 500 men
and women in 40 selected units opened to women since 1993. Data
that the services provided showed the Army, the Navy, and the
Marine Corps units we visited contained at least 7,000 men and
1,400 women.

We selected units based on their availability, the number of women
in the units, and location. Using criteria that we established,
service officials at each location selected the units we visited.
These officials notified the

units, and based on their availability, at least 5 to 10 men and
women completed our survey and attended our discussion groups.
Because we did not randomly select the units or the survey
respondents, our survey results reflect only the perceptions of
the personnel we surveyed and are not projectable.

In the survey, we asked respondents to give us their perceptions
of their personal readiness, the readiness of women and men in
their units, and unit readiness. In asking for perceptions, we
asked respondents to consider a

wide range of issues that could affect readiness. For example, we
asked respondents to consider their training, equipment, and
changes in the number of personnel available for duty when
evaluating their unit readiness. In asking respondents about the
readiness of men and women in 1 The total number of surveys is
eight more than the sum of the men and women that completed our
survey because eight respondents did not check either male or
female when asked about their gender.

Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Page 25 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

their unit, we asked them to take into account training, physical
preparedness, and availability for deployment, among other
factors.

We held discussion groups to identify issues that servicemembers
believed the services need to consider as more women join the
military. Our discussion groups ranged from 1 to 20
servicemembers. We met with men and women separately and met with
junior enlisted, senior enlisted, and officer personnel separately
as well. To promote a candid discussion, group moderators were the
same gender as the group participants. We asked personnel to
discuss the impact of introducing women into their units and to
identify issues the services needed to address as more women
entered the military. We included the most frequently mentioned
topics in this report. We obtained and reviewed studies done by
DOD and others to determine whether our survey respondents and
discussion group participants'

perceptions were similar to those gathered by other researchers.
To obtain the perceptions of Army servicemembers, we visited 20
Army units located at Fort Hood, Texas, and 13 units located at 5
installations in Germany. Personnel completed 411 surveys 215 men,
193 women, and

3 that did not indicate gender. The Army units we visited included
chemical companies, forward support battalions, military police
units, and engineering units. Based on data provided by the Army,
the percentage of women in the 20 Army units located at Fort Hood,
Texas, ranged from

8 percent to 52 percent. The number of women in these units ranged
from 8 to 36. Also, at Fort Hood, we interviewed 14 unit
commanders or their representatives and conducted 4 group
discussions. At the 5 Army bases in Germany, we surveyed 13 units.
The percentage of women in the units varied from 3 percent to 45
percent; the number of women ranged from 5 to 34. We held 30
discussion groups in Germany and interviewed

12 unit commanders. We visited four Navy units: a fixed- wing
fighter squadron, an aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault ship,
and a dock- landing ship. Units were selected based on their
deployment schedules. The percent of women in these units ranged
from 8 percent to 34 percent, and the number of women in the units
varied from 17 to 297. We administered 246 surveys to 121 men, 123
women, and 2 that did not indicate gender. We conducted 29 group
discussions.

Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Page 26 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

We visited three Marine Corps aviation units that were opened to
women when the Navy opened combatant ships to women. We
administered 77 surveys-- 42 men and 35 women-- interviewed 3 unit
commanders, and conducted 12 group discussions. Data provided by
the Marine Corps showed that the percent of women in the three
units we visited ranged from 5 percent to 9 percent. The number of
women ranged from 38 to 155.

We performed our work between July 1998 and March 1999 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Page 27 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender Appendi x I I

1. Taking into account your training, how prepared are you to
perform your wartime job?

2. How prepared are you physically to perform your wartime job? 3.
How prepared are you mentally to perform your wartime job?

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Very poorly 9 2. 4 7 2. 0 Poorly prepared 19 5.0 38 10.8 Neither
well nor poorly prepared 60 15. 9 85 24. 2 Well prepared 187 49. 6
158 45. 0 Very well prepared 102 27.1 63 18.0

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Very poorly 3 0. 8 8 2. 3 Poorly prepared 4 1. 1 22 6.3 Neither
well nor poorly prepared 31 8. 2 68 19. 4 Well prepared 195 51. 6
179 51. 0 Very well prepared 145 38.4 74 21.1

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Very poorly 2 0. 5 6 1. 7 Poorly prepared 14 3.7 29 8. 3 Neither
well nor poorly prepared 55 14. 6 81 23. 1 Well prepared 173 45. 9
161 45. 9 Very well prepared 133 35.3 74 21.1

Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 28 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

4. If you were required to deploy on short notice, how many
problems would you have deploying?

5. If you were required to deploy on short notice, which issue( s)
if any would you require assistance with?

6. Taking into account the training of personnel in your unit, how
prepared is your unit to perform its wartime mission?

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

No problems 105 27. 8 92 26. 2 Minor problems 179 47. 4 158 45. 0
Moderate problems 76 20. 1 82 23. 4 Major problems 16 4.2 15 4. 3
Problems so large they would prevent me from deploying 2 0. 5 4 1.
1

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Would not require any assistance 134 26. 7 95 18. 9 Family 135
26.9 139 27. 7 Medical condition/ physical fitness 19 3. 6 41 8. 2
Financial situation 88 17.5 86 17.1 Personal property 108 21. 5
126 25. 1 Other 18 3. 6 15 3.0

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Very poorly 13 3. 4 11 3. 1 Poorly prepared 56 14. 8 45 12. 8
Neither well nor poorly prepared 99 26. 2 89 25. 4 Well prepared
147 38. 9 141 40. 2 Very well prepared 40 10. 6 40 11. 4 Don't
know 23 6.1 25 7. 1

Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 29 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

7. Taking into account the equipment in your unit, how prepared is
your unit to perform its wartime mission?

8. If your unit was deployed to a potential war zone, how much
confidence do you have in your unit's ability to perform its
mission effectively? 9. How has your unit's wartime readiness been
impacted by changes in the number of personnel available for duty?

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Very poorly 30 8. 0 28 8. 0 Poorly prepared 83 22. 0 94 26. 8
Neither well nor poorly prepared 102 27. 1 81 23. 1 Well prepared
126 33. 4 114 32. 5 Very well prepared 23 6.1 17 4. 8 Don't know
13 3.5 17 4. 8

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

No confidence at all 8 2. 1 7 2. 0 Little confidence 44 11. 6 58
16. 5 Moderately confident 171 45. 2 153 43. 6 Very confident 136
36. 0 108 30. 8 No basis to judge 19 5. 0 25 7. 1

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

No impact, the number of personnel available is the number
required

6 1. 6 7 2. 0 Minor impact, the number of personnel available is
adequate 44 11. 6 40 11. 5 Moderate impact, the number of
personnel available is somewhat short of the number required

137 36.2 134 38. 6 Major impact, the number of personnel available
is very short of the number required

167 44.2 115 33. 1 No basis to judge 24 6. 4 51 14. 7

Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 30 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

10a. In your unit, which gender is better trained to complete the
current mission? 10b. In your unit, which gender is better
prepared physically to complete the current mission?

10c. In your unit, which gender is assigned outside the unit more
often? 11a. In your unit, which gender is more often unavailable
to deploy due to disciplinary reasons?

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Men 127 34. 0 43 12. 3 Both are equally trained 246 65. 8 304 86.
9 Women 1 0. 3 3 0. 9

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Men 266 71. 5 116 33. 4 Both are equally prepared physically 106
28.5 229 66. 0

Women 0 0.0 2 0.6

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Men 133 36. 0 115 33. 6 Both are assigned equally often 179 48. 5
187 54. 7 Women 57 15. 5 40 11. 7

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Men 162 43. 9 214 62. 4 Both are equally unavailable 174 47.2 116
33. 8 Women 33 8. 9 13 3.8

Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 31 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

11b. In your unit, which gender is more often unavailable to
deploy due to medical reasons?

11c. In your unit, which gender is more often unavailable to
deploy due to family reasons? 12. What are the other reasons why
members of your unit are unavailable to deploy? 13a. In your unit,
which gender is more willing to deploy?

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Men 13 3. 5 30 8.8 Both are equally unavailable 104 28.0 171 50. 2
Women 254 68. 5 140 41. 1

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Men 25 6. 8 28 8.1 Both are equally unavailable 182 49.2 196 56. 7
Women 163 44. 1 122 35. 3

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Men 169 45. 0 83 23. 7 Both are equally willing 144 38. 3 182 52.0
Women 1 0.3 6 1.7 Don't know or have never deployed 62 16. 5 79
22. 6

Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 32 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

13b. In your unit, which gender has more problems deploying? 13c.
In your unit, which gender performs their wartime job better? 14.
Overall, compared to men, how do women impact the readiness of
your unit? Women impact readiness

15. Please describe the reasons that most influenced your answer
to question 14? Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Men 8 2.1 10 2. 9 Both have the same number of problems 157 41.9
166 47. 6

Women 150 40. 0 78 22. 4 Don't know or have never deployed 60 16.
0 95 27. 2

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Men 133 35. 5 34 9.7 Both perform equally well 169 45. 1 217 61. 8
Women 1 0.3 5 1.4 Don't know or have never deployed 72 19. 2 95
27. 1

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Very positively 6 1. 6 26 7. 6 Positively 32 8.6 67 19.5 No
differently than men 175 47. 2 183 53. 2 Negatively 148 39.9 66
19.2 Very negatively 10 2.7 2 0.6

Let t er

Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 33 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

16. Which of the following factors most affect the readiness of
your unit? 17. To what extent are you performing work that uses
your MOS a /rating/ code skills?

a Mos is military occupational specialty.

Male Female No response  + No

response  + No response  + No

response  +

Number of personnel 97 200 81 25. 7 52. 9 21. 4 90 174 88 25. 6
49. 4 25. 0 Mix of men and women 258 72 48 68. 3 19. 0 12. 7 216
46 90 61. 4 13. 1 25. 6 Necessary equipment 188 85 105 49.7 22.5
27.8 186 68 98 52. 8 19. 3 27. 8 Condition of equipment 158 142 78
41. 8 37. 6 20. 6 135 143 74 38. 4 40. 6 21. 0 Training at the
command level 259 33 86 68. 5 8. 7 22. 8 236 38 78 67. 0 10. 8 22.
2 Training at the unit level 151 45 182 39.9 11.9 48.1 155 44 153
44.0 12.5 43.5 Command leadership 163 63 152 43.1 16.7 40.2 173 78
100 49.3 22.2 28.5 Funding 221 125 32 58. 5 33. 1 8. 5 205 104 43
58. 2 29. 5 12. 2 Other 344 14 18 91. 5 3.7 4. 8 324 10 18 92.0 2.
8 5.1

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Not at all 26 6. 9 27 7. 7 Small extent 57 15. 2 72 20. 6 Moderate
extent 81 21. 5 57 16. 3 Large extent 91 24. 2 75 21. 4 Very large
extent 121 32.2 119 34. 0

Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 34 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

18. In your unit, to what extent are most men in your MOS/ rating/
code performing work that uses their occupational skills?

19. In your unit, to what extent are most women in your MOS/
rating/ code performing work that uses their occupational skills?
20. If you believe that most women and/ or men in your MOS/
rating/ code are not performing work that uses their MOS skills,
please explain why you believe this is happening.

21. How old were you on your most recent birthday? Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Not at all 8 2. 1 8 2. 3 Small extent 44 11. 7 34 9. 8 Moderate
extent 87 23. 2 70 20. 2 Large extent 164 43.7 128 37. 0 Very
large extent 72 19. 2 106 30.6

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Not at all 19 5. 2 7 2. 0 Small extent 88 24. 1 66 19. 2 Moderate
extent 110 30.1 97 28.3 Large extent 103 28.2 106 30. 9 Very large
extent 45 12. 3 67 19. 5

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

18- 20 29 7. 7 47 13. 4 21- 24 91 24.1 115 32. 8 25- 30 129 34. 1
85 24. 2 31- 34 60 15.9 44 12.5 35- 40 54 14.3 47 13.4 41 or older
15 4. 0 13 3.7

Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 35 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

22. What is your pay grade group? 23. What is your service? 24.
How many years of active duty service have you completed,
including enlisted, warrant officer, and commissioned officer
time?

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

E1- E3 61 16. 1 74 21. 1 E4- E6 189 50. 0 187 53. 3 E7- E9 26 6. 9
32 9. 1 CWO1- CWO5 11 2. 9 1 0. 3 01- 04 88 23.3 53 15.1 05- 06 3
0.8 4 1.1

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Army 215 56.9 193 55. 0 Navy 121 32.0 123 35. 0 Marine Corps 42
11.1 35 10.0 Air Force 0 0. 0 0 0. 0 Coast Guard 0 0.0 0 0.0

Male Female Years of service Count Percent Count Percent

1 -5 177 47.2 207 60. 2 6- 10 97 25. 9 52 15. 1 11- 15 58 15. 5 44
12. 8 16- 20 38 10.1 38 11.0 Greater than 20 5 1. 3 3 0 .9

Appendix II Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 36 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

25. What gender are you? 26. What is your current marital status?

Count Percent

Male 378 51.9 Female 351 48. 1

Male Female Count Percent Count Percent

Never married 117 31. 0 138 39. 5 Married 228 60. 5 142 40.7
Separated 7 1. 9 20 5. 7 Divorced 25 6.6 47 13.5 Widowed 0 0.0 2
0.6

Page 37 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Appendix III Locations Visited and Units Surveyed Appendi x I I I

Army Fort Hood, Texas 13 th Corps Support Command 181 st Chemical
Company

46 th Chemical Company 74 th Engineer Company 31 st Chemical
Company 4 th Mechanized Infantry Division Headquarters, 204 th
Forward Support Battalion

A Company, 704 th Main Support Battalion (Supply) C Company, 704
th Main Support Battalion (Medical) D Company, 704 th Main Support
Battalion (Maintenance)

Headquarters, 4 th Forward Support Battalion A Company, 4 th
Forward Support Battalion (Supply) E Company, 4 th Forward Support
Battalion (Medical) 4 th Military Police Company Headquarters, 1-
44 th Air Defense Artillery Battalion

1 st Calvary Division Headquarters, 15 th Forward Support
Battalion A Company, 15 th Forward Support Battalion (Supply) B
Company, 15 th Forward Support Battalion (Maintenance) C Company,
15 th Forward Support Battalion (Medical) Headquarters, 4- 5 th
Air Defense Artillery Battalion 68 th Chemical Company 545 th
Military Police Company

Appendix III Locations Visited and Units Surveyed

Page 38 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Germany 1 st Mechanized Infantry Division Wurzburg

101 st Military Intelligence Battalion 1 st Military Police
Company

Schweinfurt

Headquarters, 299 th Forward Support Battalion A Company, 299 th
Forward Support Battalion (Supply) B Company, 299 th Forward
Support Battalion (Maintenance) C Company, 299 th Forward Support
Battalion (Medical) Headquarters, 9 th Engineer Battalion

Vilseck

Headquarters, 201 st Forward Support Battalion A Company, 201 st
Forward Support Battalion (Supply) B Company, 201 st Forward
Support Battalion (Maintenance) C Company, 201 st Forward Support
Battalion (Medical)

V Corps Bamberg

Headquarters, 54th Engineering Battalion

Ansbach

6- 52nd Air Defense Artillery Battalion

Appendix III Locations Visited and Units Surveyed

Page 39 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Navy Norfolk, Virginia VF- 14, Oceana Naval Air Station

USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier USS WASP amphibious
assault ship USS Gunston Hall dock landing ship

Marine Corps Cherry Point, North Carolina Marine Aircraft Group 14

Marine Aircraft Control Group 28 New River, North Carolina Marine
Aircraft Group 29

Page 40 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Appendix IV Major Contributors to This Report Appe ndi x I V

National Security And International Affairs Division, Washington,
D. C.

Carol R. Schuster William E. Beusse Carole F. Coffey George M.
Delgado Jack Edwards

Atlanta Field Office Lorelei St. James Karen Thompson

Kurt Burgeson Dallas Field Office Robert Malpass

Fred Lyles Los Angeles Field Office

Cheryl Gordon Norfolk Field Office Jim Lewis

(703265) Let t er

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