Education as a solution for integrating women into military roles

Female Soldiers in the Contemporary Society

Implementation

Effectiveness of having women soldiers

Impediments preventing female soldiers from being considered equal

Typical solutions

Education as the solution

There is much controversy regarding the presence of women in the military, in spite of the fact that the contemporary society has reached a particularly advanced level of civilization. Although women tended to be discriminated when being involved in military corps over the years, some situations required their presence and thus made it mandatory for men to accept them. The military in general acknowledged the important role that women can play in the army but there is still a lot to do in order for them to actually be appreciated for their abilities. Education is the key to better integrating women in the military and in order for army corps to be as effective as possible individuals who are part of them have to realize the importance of treating each-other as equals.

II. Proposal

f. Introduction

This proposal is meant to address the issue of female presence in the military in an attempt to provide solutions to women soldiers being discriminated today. The reality is that the Ministry of Defense and society as a whole have to employ progressive attitudes with regard to the role women can play in militaries. The U.S. needs to get actively involved in training and employing women with the purpose of dealing with the situation in the Middle East.

g. Background

Women have played an important role in conflicts throughout the twentieth century. However, it was not until recent years that militaries acknowledged the fact that they could be especially important in particular situations in the Middle East. Afghan cultural norms promote the idea that it is wrong for male soldiers to address Afghan women and a series of issues emerged as a result of militaries having problems understanding the position they needed to take. The fact that female soldiers can interfere when it is important for the military to interact with Afghan women meant that it is essential for the rest of the military and society as a whole to remove the restrictions typically placed on women in the military.

While the military experienced great progress during recent years, people continue to express hesitation with regard to accepting women as an active part of the military. "Having crossed the threshold of the twenty-first century, the well-documented problems of sexual assault and harassment at the military service academies and in our current theatres of war demonstrate continued resistance to the presence of women as the feminine." (Attitudes Aren't Free: Thinking Deeply About Diversity in the U.S. Armed Forces, 2010, p. 367)

c. Solution

Education is the key to changing the way that individuals in the military perceive women soldiers. The fact that (although being trained in a similar fashion to their male counterparts) women soldiers are typically provided with missions that have little to nothing to do with special operations, battle tanks, and infantry influence men in the military to refrain from accepting female soldiers as their equals. This brings out the idea of instruction as one of the most effective methods of having soldiers in general accept the fact that women are an indispensable factor in the military. Education is not only meant to convince men to accept their female counterparts in the military, as it is also intended to have women soldiers better acquainted with the purpose of their missions and with the ability to realize that they need to focus on doing everything in their power in order to prove that they belong in the military.

d. Implementation

The present training program addressing female soldiers needs to expand in order to entail male soldiers. By having both genders provided with information concerning why it is essential for them to collaborate, the military can more easily deal with discrimination-related issues. Training programs do not necessarily have to involve the military as a whole, as they can initially focus primarily on individuals who are going to be working together with women. This is likely to make them feel less hesitant about accepting female soldiers. Costs associated with the program will mainly involve having to re-structure the system in order for curricula typically provided to soldiers to expand and focus on providing information enabling individuals to acknowledge the importance of abandoning gender prejudice.

e. Conclusion

There is much to be done in order to change the way that people in the military think with regard to gender roles. However, this is not impossible and it is essential for society as a whole to change its perspective toward women in the military. Education stands as a principal tool in achieving progress and by providing people with the ability to see the bigger picture, the Ministry of Defense is likely to experience fewer problems in areas where women soldiers are necessary.

IV. Impediments preventing female soldiers from being considered equal

Although the military has shown a more and more positive attitude toward women during recent years, conditions are still fragile when considering this aspect. The Combat Exclusion Policy currently in place has a particularly negative effect on the image of women in the military. Even with the fact that the army appears to have employed a less discriminatory attitude toward women during recent years, female soldiers are still considered unfit to occupy numerous positions on account of their gender. Many female members of the military believe that the Combat Exclusion Policy is based on several outdated stereotypes concerning women and that it would thus be wrong for the army to continue to promote these respective stereotypes by accepting the policy.

V. Solutions

Even with the fact that they are assigned to non-combat posts, female soldiers often find themselves in situations when there is no alternative but to open fire. Many women in the military believe that the best method of opening society's eyes with regard to the role they play in the military would be for them to force people to accept that they are capable of performing most tasks that are traditionally associated with their male counterparts.

Some female groups wanting to emphasize the importance of women in the military actually prove that they are perfectly able to fight by becoming involved in activist communities. U.S. Army reserve Staff Sgt. Jennifer Hunt, U.S. Marine Corps reserve Capt. Zoe Bedell, and U.S. Marine Corps First Lt. Colleen Farrell and U.S Major Mary Hegar have acknowledged the delicate position of women in contemporary militaries and have taken legal action in an attempt to have society recognize their rights. These women have all had the chance to experience fire first-hand and have successfully proved their abilities. "The women say the ban on their participation in combat is not only unfair, but outdated. And they go further to argue that the rules excluding them from combat harm America's safety." (Tzemach Lemon, 2012)

The reality is that there is no law preventing women from getting involved in active combat, as the 1994 Combat Exclusion Policy memo is the only thing standing between female soldiers and their right to serving in active combat. Groups like the one previously mentioned have had limited success and this is shown through Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's response involving the opening of approximately 20,000 additional posts for women. This shows that in spite of the fact that they have had little success, communities of female soldiers have caught the Ministry of Defense's attention and have virtually forced it to acknowledge their position.

VI. Education as the solution

Although female activist groups have influenced the authorities to provide them with more power in the military, the limited success that they've experienced demonstrates that change needs to be addressed from a series of perspectives in order for it to happen more effectively. Male soldiers play an essential role in influencing the government to upgrade the position of female engagement teams. By having men in the military realize that women are indispensable, the authorities are more likely to significantly increase the number of posts opened to female soldiers.

While women have been provided with access to a series of military environments they previously did not have access to, the fact that they are unable to serve in active combat stands as a barrier between them and rapid progress in the army. Men continue to put across discriminatory attitudes toward women in the military and this means that restructuring needs to focus on several levels, ranging from changing thinking in simple soldiers to thinking in top officers. Moreover, education needs to be addressed from an even more general point-of-view -- one involving society as a whole and its preconceptions concerning gender roles.

Accepting memos such as the Combat Exclusion Policy and acting in accordance with the information they contain practically means that one is reinforcing stereotypes. While this policy is likely to be removed in the near future, the authorities need to concentrate on trying to further contribute to restructuring the military in order for it to stand as a community that recognizes men and women as full and equal partners. Opinions cannot possibly change alongside with a law being passed, as gender stereotypes will continue to be present in military environments once the Combat Exclusion Policy will be gone.

VII. Conclusion

Implementing an education system meant to have people understand that it is beneficial for them to accept female soldiers is likely to entail a great deal of efforts. However, the long-term benefits are going to outweigh the costs and troops are likely to experience less problems in the future as a result of these actions.

Women continue to be discriminated on account of their gender and it appears that the world is yet to have realized that they can occupy positions traditionally assigned to men with little to no efforts. In some cases they are even better than men and they military simply has to keep an open mind when dealing with female soldiers in order to avoid significant trouble. By restructuring the military education system in order for it to involve studies that provide male soldiers with the opportunity to see why it is beneficial for them to accept their female counterparts, the Department of Defense is probable to significantly improve the quality of its services.

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