Sociology

Hostility in the workplace has been cited as an emerging form of violence all over the world today whose significance cannot be overlooked. In the military the hostile environment is to a larger extent related to cultural and societal norms that have traditionally structured power, strength and abilities based on gender. The dominance of institutionalized power by men for a long time has established moral codes that are deeply embedded in our societies (Cockburn, 1991). Mens dominance and influential positions have guided in creation of laws and shaping of a culture that has continuously perpetuated power over and above their women counterparts. It is for this reason that gender power has become an important tool in examining and evaluating those considered able to exercise these powers and those who cannot. Military service is one such public institution that was established and has existed as male dominated service where demonstration of gender power is of particular interest. Military women have been faced by thrilling violence in their services and unbalanced gender power, abuse of authority and sexual harassment has been a common experience by many women serving in the military. The authorities within the military ranks do not seem to be able to guarantee safety for workers especially women who seek placement in the violent service. The procedure of reporting sexual offences committed by the military personnel has also not been effective. However there have been numerous reports of top army commanders being involved in sexual offences including rape and assault against their female junior personnel (Morgan, 1992). These revelations raise doubt on whether the serving military women enjoy their time of service in the military.

Cultural norms have taught that masculinity and strength are virtues preserved for men making it difficult for women to survive in institutions dominated my men (Dawkins, 1976). The absence of women in such institutions further puts doubts on the ability of women to stage equivalent performances in such institutions a circumstance that is again blamed to their inherent sex rather than to the source. This scenario has characterized the military services all over the world with combat roles and performance expectations based on gender. Unfortunately our societies attributed masculinity exclusively to male gender and once the women from the contemporary societies prove their abilities and willingness to join the male dominated military service, they are greeted by a host of gender based restrictions that force them to remain tethered to junior military ranks. Gender limits are societal shaped and have no biological bases and masculinity attributes necessary for military combat can be developed by either sex (Pleck, 1981). Efforts to eliminate sexual harassment and gender based biases against women in the military can work out positively towards developing job satisfaction, commitment and high retention for women already in the forces. The results would be having more women role models in the forces and a high enrolment by younger women in the service a scenario that work out towards having gender equity in military (Enloe, 1980).

Introduction
In our modern days there is a big number of women serving in the military than it has ever occurred in the past years. The number however is still low compared to the population of men in the forces. Military is considered a male domain and the women who enroll in the service are considered to be masculine and daring. Though the military culture has been evolving over a long time, the perception of women in the army has never failed to be controversial. The cultural norms and beliefs in the military have not fully accorded a woman the position equivalent to man. As a result the women minorities in the military have always had unique challenges that are only particular to their careers in the force (Brown, 1993). The challenges facing these women is usually due to the fact that the military is largely dominated by men, the combat operations are considered stereotypically men duties and their number is low. The situation encourages unfair treatment of women in work related biases and sexual harassment by their men counterparts including their senior commandants. Considering the privacy associated with the military operations, very little is documented about the problems that are faced by women by independent external researchers. The offences committed within the forces are normally supposed to be investigated by the military official who been accused of favoritism when dealing with sexual related offences. Having established that the military culture has been unfriendly to the women officers, questions have been live on how the culture can bee revolutionized to match the civilian culture in the jobs that were traditionally men dominated. The extent at which these challenges affect the productivity, commitment, organization and commitment of the military women in their line of duties is also a matter of interest. In addition the culture has restricted the involvement of women some important military operation like combat a fact that has made the promotion to higher military ranks be gender biased because it is based on combat experiences.

Though recent reports indicates that sexual harassment and gender related biases are decreasing, the question of establishing the implications of military culture on the perception of military women has become more important due to the increased number of women enrolling in the military. It is important that the impact of these perceptions be examined against the prior expectations of the women recruits and the performance of the serving officers. Though there have been more strict policies to check the worrying trends of sexual harassment in the military there are fears that the claims of reduced cases may not be factual. This is because of lack of protection for those women who report such cases for they risk loosing their jobs and being branded as trouble makers. The victims may fear the formal process of staging complains because it may also prove counterproductive. Considering the level of comradeship that is necessary at the battle fields some times this fear could be founded and ways of resolving it may prove complex.

Thesis
This paper examines the military culture and male dominance with an aim of evaluating its impact on the acceptability of women to rise up in the military ranks, their job satisfaction, commitment and propensity in the military. The paper further relates the sexual abuse and harassment against women in military to their entry and retention in the forces.

Literature Review
Women have had a role to play in the military service where they usually disguise themselves so as to look like men. The service of women during the World War 1 as nurses and typewriters played a big role in the spirit of the war. However, being a male dominated field, women have always been faced with difficulties in rising up the ranks a fact that may contribute to propensity to leave the forces. Government policies have also been restrictive in the exact involvements of women in the forces a fact that was effectively limiting the possible rise that a women could have within the military hierarchy. The military rules also prohibited women from getting married or becoming married and any one contravening such rules could be permanently expelled from the forces. The hostile working environment and unfriendly policies lowered significantly the retention levels of women in the military services making it difficult for a woman to serve for a period long enough to rise up the military ranks. This led to lack of role models for the young women joining the forces who thought of themselves as being servants in the lower ranks only with no opportunities to ever get promoted.

There were women stereotypes in the early services that had also portrayed a negative image of women in the war fronts a fact that influenced the decisions to be made biased on their involvement (Baker, 2006). For instance, before the World War II the cost of sustaining one woman typist could be enough to sustain two men typists. There was also a general assumption that women physical characteristics were prohibitive for them to handle some of the field operations in the war field (Tolson, 1977). There was also the issue of men claiming that they could not take military related orders from a woman senior officer. In addition women were also frustrated by the fact that the senior ranked military male officers did not offer consistent support that was necessary for them to cope (Brittan, 1989).

The service of women in the military at whichever lever has however been very crucial and is said to have always played a significant role to the outcome of war. This is because women have always had an inherent desire and commitment to offer excellent service to their countries (Brown and Fielding, 1993). For instance, Albert Speer (Hitlers senior Weapons officer) attributed the whole outcome of the World War II to the critical support from women that facilitated freeing of men for combat operations.

Military Women and Leadership Concepts
It is clear that the commitment and job satisfaction for the women can be derived from the opportunity to serve in unrestricted environment where the performance is rewarded with promotion just like with men. Any contrary effort is counter productive and it may lead to increased propensity for women to leave the forces for lack of opportunities to assume leadership roles (De Pauw, 1981). Leadership concepts apply the same with the civilian as with the military and it is important to comprehend how the military culture is integrated in the leadership theories and concepts particularly in shaping the perception of military women as leaders. Leadership process involves the ability to influence people towards achieving predetermined organizational goals. An effective leader especially in the militarys complex and hostile environment needs to develop special skills in quick decision making, effective communication and proper planning.

There are three leadership styles including Laissez faire, democracy and authoritarian leadership. Authoritarian leadership is mainly associated with military and it involves a leader who completely dominates the people being led. In the democratic style of leadership the leader considers the opinions of the others before making decisions. In laissez faire the leader is not taken responsible in the goal organizational goal achievement. A closer look at the militarys leadership styles reveals that the most successful military leaders did not use strict authoritarian rule but actually borrowed much from the democratic style of leadership (Dienstfrey, 1988).

In history a culture has existed where men have been regarded as leaders and women as the subordinate. This resulted to gender stereotypes where women leadership could be seen as mistaken and inappropriate. The perception inculcated a belief that also permeated to the military where both men and women found it unusual to be ordered by women. As such women were consistently locked out from leadership positions and therefore failed to comprehend the complex structures especially in the male dominated institutions. It is however important for those women that aspire to join the military to understand fully its corporate structure and get committed to set role models in the forces that can be used by other young females that could have similar ambitions. In all sectors of society a lot of work to eliminate discriminatory policies against women leadership is going on and many women are rising up to the challenges of top leadership and responsibilities with outstanding performances (Oakley, 1972).

As the integration of women continues in various sectors much more is expected from the military women leadership that would end the long debates on effectiveness and appropriateness of a woman military leader.

Traditional military leadership is understood and evaluated on the outcome of war and therefore the military leaders usually have an uphill task of being an example to motivate others in risking their own life in efforts to accomplish their objectives. Battle fields are characterized by uncertainty and authoritarian style of leadership is used for the leader is required to make quick decisions and expect fast responses from the troops. There is therefore no room for democracy in a war situation but such a style of leadership can still be effectively used outside the war zone. For effective military leadership loyalty by both the leader and the troops is a key element and such loyalty is nurtured outside the battlefields by use of democratic leadership styles.

The Military Culture
For a long time the military culture laid down limits beyond which a military woman could essentially never penetrate. Considering that these cultural norms and limits were largely shaped and articulated by men, women could be left at vulnerable positions. The vulnerability of women did not only come out as a result of the junior positions that they held far too long but also due to their low numbers in the military compared to their male counterparts (Elshtain and Tobias, 1990). However there has been a paradigm shift in the military culture where nations are undergoing changes in cultural norms to give room for changes in the military cultures. According to Dunivin (1997), such paradigm shifts are significant because they allow the military models to evolve and accommodate the realities of a dynamic world. The traditional military models were characterized by exclusions of the minority women from active participation in important military operations or limit the extent of their involvement. The evolving model is becoming more accommodating to the minority women with a number of the traditional cultural variables changing for the better as dictated by the dynamics of the society. Table 1 below summarizes the paradigm shift for some of the affected cultural variables (Dunivin, 1997).

The current social changes have led to emergence of controversial issues both in gay involvement in military and women in combat that continue to raise debates because they contravene the militarys traditional culture. The past involvement of women in combat has however proved that qualified females performance is just as competent and professional like their male counterparts. For example, during the gulf war of 1991 more than 40,000 military women who were part of the US combat force staged a distinct performance that made Richard Cheney (defense secretary) attribute the profound victory to them. This outstanding performance by women led to the formation of a special presidential commission to evaluate the laws that restricted military women from similar operations. The commission gathered views from two opposing camps the traditionalists and the evolutionists. The traditionalists viewed women as the weaker sex and recommended limited participation in the military like nursing and other support services. Evolutionists in the other hand viewed women as equal partners to men and therefore recommended their full integration in the military including combat operations. According to evolutionists any form of deviation of womens opportunities and responsibilities from that of their men counterparts in the military was to be considered as act of discrimination (Goldstein, 2001).

Though the military culture on women involvement in combat has been dogged by controversies, the recent controversy of allowing self declared gay men in the military has to some extent softened the hardliners stand on women. Many of the traditionalists who had vigorously campaigned against full involvement of womens in the military would rather have those women than the gay men. According to the evolved military model (Table 1), the military culture defines the military team as combat, masculine warriors, a definition that effectively locks both women (non-combats) and gay men (non-masculine) out of the desired team. The fact that many women with relevant training have proved themselves capable for combat operations is one major factor that softens the stance on womens involvement (Herbert, 1998). Some observers have however argued that the portraying of soldering as hyper masculine is a distorted view that has the potential of turning off committed and qualified recruits. The military culture should instead shift and center on the critical professional aspects of military rather than on ideals of masculinity. However military culture just like any other cultural belief, is difficult to change for it is engraved in attitudes that are much more static than the institutional structures that only reflect the inherent cultural values.

Any successful paradigm shift in the military culture should start with radical social changes that should embrace new beliefs and give room for generation of new ideas. In the recent times a culture of inclusion is obvious in most of the military forces around the world. With advancement and campaigns for democratic societies around the world, the traditional military culture may not survive. The military that will oppose the paradigm shift towards more inclusive society shall be risking being divorced by the very society that they serve (Higate, 2003). It is therefore important that the military top authorities understand the necessity of the call for the paradigm shift and facilitate the implementation of the evolved culture that is generally acceptable by the modern society.  It is however the responsibility of the entire society to ensure a successful shift to an evolved culture. The change must reflect acceptance of alteration to values and beliefs that would characterize the new beliefs. Paradigm pioneers should be able to demonstrate full comprehension of the uniqueness in the idea of the evolving paradigm. The pioneers must also be ready to defend the unpopular views of the changed culture among radical critics that may be opposed to change. Finally they should be committed to work out the idea through the entire process until the fruits are realized without having options for failure. A paradigm shift is a process that takes time and commitments to institute important changes to a static society and it therefore calls for pioneer attitudes and courageous leaders to succeed especially in the military. To put a military paradigm shift into operation, the responsible commandants should assess the existing traditional combat and identify the weak points of need that require changes to conform to the modern evolved systems of inclusion . The combat workforce for example should reflect the inclusion of the current allowable minimum members of the enlisted military officers to carry out combat operations. The military should also allow for involvement of its enlisted women officers to activities like peace keeping missions and humanitarian assistances like it was witnessed recently in Haiti earthquake disaster.

Acceptability of women in high Military ranks
The promotion of military men and women is mainly based on their bravely acts they did in the service of the nation. Such opportunity can be awarded to those who have accumulated vast experiences in combat operations. However, for a long time combat operations have been considered stereotypically men activities and participation of women in such operations have remained a contentious issue and it is being debated all around the world. The total exclusion of women from combat has been considered as an act of discrimination by many and as a way of denying chances for women to rise up through the military ranks (Mitchell, 1989). Those arguing against the involvement of women in combat operations have cited physical and emotional variations between the two sexes as the reasons for the exclusions. It has been argued that involving women as the weaker sex in the combat operation would lead to increased casualties at the battle field and would lead to many of the women soldiers being captured and tortured as war captives by the enemies. Other critics suggest that having the two sexes in the battle field would increase the sexual activities by the troops a fact that may disrupt their sensitivity to attacks from the enemy troops. Some countries have however used their women in combat operations in front lines at numerous occasions. For instance 800,000 women were in the service of the Soviet military in the entire World War II with almost 70 of them serving at the front line at one time or the other (Mitchell, 1989). Leigh Ann H. is another example of a woman US soldier who was recognized with a silver star for having directly participated in combat operations. Though many countries allow women in the military only a few of them allow them to participate in active combat operations. Some of the countries that allow the woman to get involved in active combat operations positions include Israel, Germany, France and Canada. UK allows military women to only offer services at the artilleries during combat while US allows them to participate in most of the combat flying operations.

Though the debate is going on in many countries around the world on whether to fully allow qualified women in combat operations, the issue remains a hindrance to those already serving and ready to build their career in combat. It would be difficult to have unanimous acceptance of the women participate in the all military operation as men (Sasson, 2003). Some military men still have difficult taking orders from women senior commandant and would not approve any effort that would earn them opportunities to be promoted. Based on the professionalism of the women that have been involved in combat operations in the past, it is clear that any qualified person regardless of the gender can successfully participate in the combat operations if heshe is motivated enough to do so. It is important that the relevant authorities remove the restrictions and open a clear path for the committed women officers so that their dream as military officers can bear fruits and earn them satisfaction.

Sexual Harassment of Military Women
There has been renewed attention in the handling of cases of sexual abuse and harassment committed against women in the military since the US Tailhook episode where a total of 26 women were reported to have been assaulted in 1991 (Sagawa and Campbell, 1992). Though many cases of sexual assaults have been going unreported many women are now coming out to report after special units to address the problem were established. During the gulf war 24 US military women reported sexual harassment from their counterpart amongst them the high ranking commanders (Sagawa and Campbell, 1992). The involvement of senior ranking men soldiers in sexual abuse and harassment has complicated the issue of investigation into the womens allegation as they are the ones that the cases are reported to. A study carried out by MDC (Man Power Data Center) in US revealed that military women had lost faith in both militarys formal and informal grievance handling programs. Only 40 of those interviewed thought that the military would successfully address sexual related abuses. 38 could not report sexual harassment instances for fear of invoking unpleasant working relationships, 33 could not report for fear of being segregated as a trouble maker. According to the MDC report, sexual harassment was reported in all the military forces with the marines reporting the highest rates of 75, army 68, Navy 66, and Air force 57 (Sagawa and Campbell, 1992).

One of the reasons as to why the sexual harassment cases have been in the rise in the military is because there have been no adequate and effective policies to tackle the problem (Martindale, 1991). In addition cultural norms and beliefs have been blamed for the increased sexual harassment in the military forces which also restricts women from involvement in combat operations. These biases and mistaken cultural beliefs perpetuate a view of women as inferior to men and should therefore tolerate certain treatments from the superior gender. The low number of women in the military performing duties that are generally perceived to belong to men and under close supervision by male officers creates a hostile environment for the minority gender. This situation can easily create room for sexual abuse and related discrimination (Martindale, 1991).

Harassment problems and restricted upward mobility for women officers has continued to add propensity for military women to leave the force. High ranking jobs are given to those with experience in combat operations and the women are rarely approved to participate in such duties making their chances for promotion very limited. This essentially means that those senior officers that are supposed to mediate in sexual related abuses against women are men who may not understand the gravity of the situation or may play down the problem for having been culprits in similar offences (Loy and Stewart, 1984). Such discouraging response from the leaders may either result to the women victims contending to the habit without reporting them or leaving the forces. Policies and laws that prevent lesbians and gays from joining the disciplined forces may also contribute to sexual harassment within the military. Women who dont give in to sexual demands from men may be accused of practicing lesbianism which is considered a serious misconduct for a military officer and lead to thorough investigation of the accused, a process which is usually very depressing. Such woman who is put under investigation may never recover emotionally even if investigation reports were to prove that she was not a lesbian.

Sexual harassment among the military is complicated by the fact that the victims cannot easily seek the intervention of the federal courts due to strict rules within the military system. Though the civilian definition of the sexual harassment is similar to that given by the military, a civilian woman has the right to directly seek the intervention of the courts to have the problem addressed. The military sexual abuse victims normally pursue their grievances through informal procedures where they report the case to a senior officer in their command, or a social officer. The issue is supposed to be investigated by the commanding officer and appropriate action taken against the culprits. If the victim is not satisfied by the verdict given she can always refer the case to the Inspector general for a fresh investigation but the final word is always given by the commanding officer. A formal procedure can also be applied where the victim can launch a complaint through the command chains in the military to the relevant legal officers this is a complex process and is rarely used. The victims are therefore forced by circumstances to rely on the men dominated chain of military command to get justice. The verdict therefore would be subject to the personal and moral uprightness of the officers handling the case. In a number of cases the officers handling the case could be in favor of the male officer accused of sexual harassment and the verdict might be done in his favor leaving the woman in the cold. At the same time if the senior commanding officer is also the kind that practices sexual harassment like the accused may not give the case the seriousness that it deserves and may in most cases drop out the case without satisfying the victim. Usually the victim has no right to seek or establish independent investigation and cannot ask for written copies of the finding. The launch of complain also does not guarantee that the case would be completed without being dismissed somewhere along the chains of command.

In cases where sexual harassment cases are ruled in favor of a victim, the options for compensating the victim and punishing the accused are again very limited as compared to similar civilian cases. Records on punishment of the perpetrators and redress of sexual harassment victims are usually not preserved and therefore monitoring the trend of such cases at any given time is difficult. However severe punishment of the perpetrators of sexual harassment and compensation of the victims is rare actually, the military women who are victims of sexual harassment are usually transferred from their stations leaving the offenders behind with no records to show their misconduct.

Job Satisfaction, Commitment and Propensity of Military Women
From the discussions it is clear that the male dominated military culture has some adverse effects the operations of women in the military. The culture has shaped the perception of the women to be viewed as second class officers who cannot participate in all military operations. While the women join and train to tackle all operations in the battle field, their restriction to simple operations can be quite demotivating. Though patriotism may be a driving force to joining military, many of the military workers leave civilian opportunities to join the military forces because of the high salaries and benefits associated with the forces. The financial benefits in the military however depend on the frequency of involvements in active military operations. Depending on the way they are handled financial issues can therefore be motivating or demotivating factors that can affect job related operations. Many workers define job satisfaction as that which can be able to offer financial freedom. Due to restrictions to participate in some of the operations women are only able to attract low financial benefits besides their low remunerations compared to their male counterparts. This may be cited as a major cause of job dissatisfaction among military women that has contributed to high attrition rates of the military women from the forces.

Position in the military ranks is another factor that can greatly affect the motivation levels of military workers. In the military working environment, ranks especially for women officers are greatly affected by the culture that is biased against women. A great number of men still feel that it is not appropriate for women to give orders to men. For this reason the majority of women remain under the command of male senior counterparts who could have joined the forces long after they joined. This is truly very demotivating and may greatly cut on the commitment of the officers. Cultural shifts that would allow merit based promotions that would not consider gender issues are very much welcome in the forces and it has raised the morale and commitment of women officers in countries where it is operational. Israel for example has opened up the ranks up to 83 to men and women by merit women can however not rise up beyond the given top mark (Van, 2001). The culture that allows for treatment of military women as second class officers both in battle field and in time of peace does not auger very well with the affected gender. Sexual harassment and biases against women is another factor that the military culture should eliminate to ensure that productivity of women is maintained at the peak. Sexual harassment affects the emotions of the victim and such a person may not be able to perform her duties normally. Researches show that most of women that are harassed at their place of work develop a liking to want to leave that particular organization. Finally the low number of women in the military can cause nostalgic feeling to women that can generate propensity to leave the forces when the problem is compounded by the other factors (Schneider et al, 1992). It can therefore be seen that the high attrition levels in military women from the forces is caused by the old fashioned male dominated military culture that has no place for women. The current paradigm shifts being witnessed in the military forces are dropping the traditional beliefs on perception of women as non-performers. This move will help the women in uniform to attain job satisfaction and remain in the forces for longer periods of time.

Recommendations
To promote job satisfaction, commitment, retention and productivity of the military women it is important that the officers in the high ranking military offices take serious actions in enforcing policies that would reduce if not eliminate sexual harassment among the uniformed women officers. This action would ensure that the military women work in a calm environment without feeling of being misused by their male counterparts. The policies would also ensure that the women military officers are kept away from emotional torture that come with sexual related assaults like rape. This would also reduce on the time wasted by victims of sexual harassments, their perpetrators and senior commandants addressing cases instead of focusing on more important issues. The policies must also protect the victims that report harassment cases and hold the commanding officers strictly accountable for all sexual abuse cases occurring in their command. This would give assurance for job security and ensure all the cases are reported. Failure to protect the victims could lead to many cases going unreported a situation that would eventually explode with many women having gone through unbearable and traumatizing experiences.

The laws and policies that restrict women from accessing positions that they have qualified for should be considered for amendment. Promotion of women to higher ranks will be an important move to end the military culture that views female gender as inferior. The hope for greener pastures for women within the military services is a motivation factor that would ensure that they remain within the forces for longer periods just like their male counterparts. An increased number of motivated female military officers in the force is by itself a testimony of a successful culture of inclusion that would attract more women into the military. A rise in military women would further cultivate a culture of inclusion and the military service would not be viewed as a man domain.

The victims of sexual harassment in the military should enjoy protection similar to that of the civilian victims and every military base should have appropriate health facilities to assist rape victims and carry out initial medical investigation. The lack of compensation of victims discourages many victims from reporting the sexual assaults because they is nothing to gain from the pursuance for justice and the perpetrator may also end up unpunished. All the military and health workers should take relevant courses to be able to respond professionally to such cases whenever they occur. They should be able to correct and preserve evidence immediately after the act to ensure that the perpetrator does not escape for lack of enough evidence. Restoring and maintaining long term confidence in the military service therefore calls for consultative efforts by governments executive and legislative authorities, senior and junior (men and women) military service workers and other military support staff.

Conclusion
It has been seen that the military culture has played an important role in not only shaping the perception of women in the armed forces but also in determining their position in the army. Historically the military had embraced a male dominated traditional culture that excluded others from the army. With the emerging egalitarian societies this traditional culture is rapidly giving way to an inclusive evolved culture that would allow the involvement of women in military operations including combat. Though the issue of involving women in combat operations has raised heated debates around the world it seems that it is the way that to go based on the paradigm shift that is sweeping through many of the military bases. Many policies have been implemented to allow for inclusion of the women in the forces and protect them from intimidation, biases and sexual harassments that have been affecting their productivity, job satisfaction and commitment in the forces.

The process to institutionalize the new social changes in the military culture is faced by stiff opposition from the traditionalists who feel that women should remain in their feminine duties and leave the military operations to men. The introduction of gay issues into the inclusive culture seems to soften the traditionalist stance on woman involvement in the military and now the hot battle is in the opposition against the inclusion of homosexuals in the military. The military operations conducted by women in the past have proved their capabilities and professionalism in challenging battle fields including direct combat operations. A paradigm shift in the military is now certain but the promoters must work on it prudently so that it can stand the stiff opposition that is expected to emerge in future. The shift must therefore allow for changes that will allow inclusion and active participation of women and change the inherent perceptions promoted by the traditional culture. This can be done by altering the current combat male image, embracing and managing the current social changes and accepting both the institutionalized and individualized responsibilities for the paradigm shift.