C O R P O R A T I O N Recruiting Policies and Practices for Women in the Military Views from the Field Douglas Yeung, Christina E. Steiner, Chaitra M. Hardison, Lawrence M. Hanser, Kristy N. Kamarck For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR1538 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-0-8330-9807-8 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2017 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface On January 24, 2013, then–Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta announced an end to the ban on women in combat. As of January 1, 2016, the armed services have been required to imple- ment efforts to provide equal opportunities regardless of gender. The public nature of this announcement has likely affected potential recruits’ views of the military in as yet unknown ways. This research is intended to provide an early perspective on these effects and recommen- dations for how the services and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (OUSD/P&R) can adapt moving forward. RAND conducted this study to assist OUSD/P&R in identifying approaches for bolstering recruitment of women into the armed services during the years in which ground combat jobs are transitioning to include women. This report should be of interest to leadership in the military recruiting services, policymakers who are responsible for military personnel, and to military manpower researchers. This research was sponsored by OUSD/P&R and conducted within the Forces and Resources Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community. For more information on the RAND Forces and Resources Policy Center, see www.rand.org/nsrd/ndri/centers/frp or contact the director (con- tact information is provided on the web page). iii Contents Preface ........................................................................................................... iii Summary ........................................................................................................ ix Acknowledgments .............................................................................................xv Abbreviations ................................................................................................. xvii CHAPTER ONE Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Background on Women in Combat and Other Relevant Issues of Interest ............................... 2 Study Approach .................................................................................................. 4 Organization of This Report .................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER TWO Focus Group Methodology ................................................................................... 5 Overarching Purpose, Design, and Protocol of Focus Groups ............................................. 5 Sampling of Focus Group Locations ........................................................................... 6 New Recruit Focus Group Procedures ........................................................................ 7 Recruiter Interviews and Focus Groups ....................................................................... 9 Leadership Interviews ............................................................................................ 9 Recruitment ......................................................................................................10 Analysis ...........................................................................................................10 Interpreting the Coding Results ...............................................................................11 Putting the Focus Group Results in Context ...............................................................13 CHAPTER THREE Perceptions About and Attitudes Towards Women in the Military and in Combat ..............15 Attitudes Towards Women in the Military .................................................................15 Interest in Combat Jobs ........................................................................................17 Comments About Opening up Combat Jobs to Women ..................................................17 Concerns About Women in Combat .........................................................................18 Perceived Benefits of Women in Combat ................................................................... 20 Key Findings .....................................................................................................21 CHAPTER FOUR Influences on Joining the Military ........................................................................ 23 Perceived Impact of Allowing Women in Combat on Decisions to Join ................................ 23 Recruits’ Concerns About Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault ......................................25 v vi Recruiting Policies and Practices for Women in the Military: Views from the Field Influencers’ Concerns About Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault .................................. 26 Recruiters as Influencers ....................................................................................... 27 Importance of Female Recruiters and Female Events ...................................................... 27 Key Findings .....................................................................................................29 CHAPTER FIVE Recruiting Policies and Strategies ..........................................................................31 Findings from the Recruiter and Recruit Discussions .....................................................31 Findings from the Leadership Discussions ..................................................................37 Key Findings .....................................................................................................49 CHAPTER SIX Limitations, Key Findings, and Recommendations .....................................................51 Limitations .......................................................................................................51 Overall Findings ................................................................................................53 Recommendations ..............................................................................................53 Caveats to Our Recommendations .......................................................................... 56 Closing Thoughts ...............................................................................................58 APPENDIXES A. Focus Group and Interview Questions ................................................................59 B. Themes from Focus Groups and Interviews ..........................................................65 References .......................................................................................................75 Figures and Tables Figures 3.1. Enlisted Recruit Focus Group Responses: Views on Women in the Military and in Combat..............................................................................................16 4.1. Female Enlisted Recruit Focus Group Responses: Preferences for Female Recruiters and Female Events ................................................................................ 28 5.1. Recruiter Focus Group Responses: Improving Recruiting Process ..........................32 5.2. Enlisted Recruit Focus Group Responses: Improving Recruiting Process ..................32 5.3. Recruiter Focus Group Responses: Ideas About How to Attract More Women to the Military .............................................................................................35 5.4. Recruiter Focus Group Responses: Incentives and Approaches to Recruiting Women ...35 5.5. Recruiter Focus Group Responses: Approaches to Addressing Sexual Harassment/Assault Concerns................................................................... 38 Tables 2.1. Number of New Enlisted Recruit Focus Groups by Service and Location .................. 8 2.2. Number of Officer Interview/Focus Groups by Service and Location ....................... 8 2.3. Number of Recruiter