Losses of Air Force Women in Nontraditional Occupations.
Abstract
Before October 1, 1981, the Air Force followed a policy of trying to obtain the same percentage of women in all noncombat occupations. Because of this policy, many women who would have preferred assignment to traditionally female occupations were placed in nontraditional occupations. At the same time, attrition rates for women in nontraditional occupations have been considerably higher than attrition rates for women in traditional occupations. To gain insight into the cause for such differences in attrition rates, we sent questionnaires to men and women in 10 Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs) within four groups of occupations, as well as to men and women throughout the Air Force. Two of the occupations--administrative and medical service--traditionally had been open to females, while the other two--vehicle operator and dispatcher and aircraft/ground equipment mechanic--traditionally had been closed to them. We expected to find common problems for women in both groups of nontraditional occupations. Our survey results disclosed, however, that each group had a different set of problems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 28, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA121332
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office