Date of Degree

12-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program

Education

Advisor

Alfredo Ortiz

Advisor

Ronald Washington

Advisor

Sandra Guzman Foster

Abstract

Effective January 1, 2016, the Department of Defense implemented a new policy pertaining to a full work role gender integration for service women in all U.S. military fields and positions. Active-duty women struggled to participate, adapt, and be completely integrated into the full institutional direct combat arms positions and careers. Research on such gender participation to date has focused specifically on physical fitness standards, unit morale and cohesion, successful entry into training pipeline for direct combat arms fields, and outcomes measured by current attrition rates. A constructivist qualitative grounded theory research study was needed to understand how current active-duty women in military intelligence, a combat support field, and Army cyber career, a combat arms field, perceive how this full integration decision affects them. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives, experiences, and expectations of full direct (combat) arms participation opportunities for military intelligence and cyber career field active-duty women. The aim of this study was to analyze how these active-duty women understood the U.S. Army’s full gender integration efforts and its impact on them while serving in their current careers or potential service career fields. This study discovered how these active-duty military intelligence and cyber career field women understood and participated in the full gender integration process while identifying the access and acceptance factors explained within an adaptation, integration, assimilation, and inclusion constructs for a total military service inclusion theory system.

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