Addressing Barriers to Female Officer Retention in the Air Force

Abstract

Women are underrepresented among the Air Force's senior leadership compared with their representation among the lower ranks. One factor contributing to this underrepresentation is that women tend to leave the active duty Air Force at higher rates than men. This report documents the results of a qualitative study designed to better understand the factors that female Air Force officers consider when deciding whether to remain in or separate from the active duty Air Force. The study conducted a total of 54 focus groups with 295 female Air Force officers in the spring of 2016 from across 12 different Air Force installations. The report describes the key retention factors identified through these focus groups and provides recommendations for improving Air Force policies and programs to help address potential barriers and improve female officer retention.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 10, 2018
Accession Number
AD1057239

Entities

People

  • David Schulker
  • Douglas Yeung
  • Kimberly C. Hall
  • Kirsten M. Keller
  • Leslie A. Payne
  • Lisa Saum-manning
  • Miriam Matthews
  • Nelson Lim
  • Stefan Zavislan

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Personnel
  • Business Administration
  • Demography
  • Employment
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Families (Human)
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Instructors
  • Law
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Families
  • Military Personnel
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Students

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Naval Personnel Management