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Undercover Operations in No-women's Land : The Swedish Armed Forces through a Gender Lens

Berggren, Anders W LU (2002)
Abstract
Since 1980, there are no formal restrictions for women to serve as officers wherever and in what positions they want to in the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF). In this thesis, the author examines what has been achieved so far in terms of integration of women, what the situation of female officers is looking like today, and what impact their presence has had on the military organisation.



The empirical ground of this thesis comprises three separate studies. The first one falls into the following three elements: - Analysis of statistical material from the Swedish Armed Forces databases, - Questionnaires sent out to female and male officers, and - Interviews.



The first study shows that male officers are... (More)
Since 1980, there are no formal restrictions for women to serve as officers wherever and in what positions they want to in the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF). In this thesis, the author examines what has been achieved so far in terms of integration of women, what the situation of female officers is looking like today, and what impact their presence has had on the military organisation.



The empirical ground of this thesis comprises three separate studies. The first one falls into the following three elements: - Analysis of statistical material from the Swedish Armed Forces databases, - Questionnaires sent out to female and male officers, and - Interviews.



The first study shows that male officers are promoted at a more rapid pace than their female colleagues, that female officers are underrepresented in the higher ranks, whereas over represented in the lower ones, and that female and male officers work at different positions in the organisation. The discrepancies in career paths can partly be explained by the concept of a “glass corridor”, meaning that the position through which an individual enters the organisation is crucial when setting the direction of the applicant’s career, leaving merely small options for future changes.



In the second study, one of the more structured efforts of the SAF to improve the conditions of female officers, a project named The Creative Difference, is being analysed. The empirical grounds of the second study are e.g. official documents related to the above project, and shows that the discourse on minority issues has been changing – from broaching gender integration matters into dealing with diversity – primarily based on a multiplicity cultures and multi-ethnicity. One interpretation is that women seen as a group are marginalized in the official discussions on minorities, thus minimising the potential risk of the SAF being compelled to take measures that would actually increase the number of serving women.



The purpose of the third and last study is to highlight some of the ways in which femininity is constructed within the SAF. Here a number of situations are described and the inherent constructions of femininity brought up for discussion. The dimensions of femininity proven in this study are that women play the role of outsiders and that their main contribution is either as sources of pleasure or service-providers, whereas men are involved in combat.



The overall findings of this thesis, with regard to the current situation of female officers in the SAF, are marginalisation and segregation of women seen as a group, especially in terms of lacking power. It is also evident from the thesis that even though there are no more any formal restrictions in opportunities for women, there is still a very strong resistance in the shape of organisational culture. One, maybe rather provocative issue based on these results, is whether this resistance can prevail due to the fact that the main part of the Armed Forces, the Army, has not been put to the test in live operations for some two hundred years. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

Sedan 1980 finns det inte längre några formella restriktioner vad gäller i vilken typ av befattningar, positioner eller förband som kvinnor kan jobba som yrkesofficerare i den svenska Försvarsmakten (FM). I denna avhandling studeras närmare hur långt integreringen av kvinnor i den svenska FM har kommit, hur kvinnliga officerares situation ser ut idag, och vad deras närvaro har inneburit för den svenska FM.



Avhandlingen bygger på tre separata studier. Den första innehåller följande tre huvudkomponenter: - Analyser av statistik från försvarsmaktens databaser, - Enkäter som sänts ut till kvinnliga och manliga officerare, och slutligen, - Intervjuer



Resultaten... (More)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

Sedan 1980 finns det inte längre några formella restriktioner vad gäller i vilken typ av befattningar, positioner eller förband som kvinnor kan jobba som yrkesofficerare i den svenska Försvarsmakten (FM). I denna avhandling studeras närmare hur långt integreringen av kvinnor i den svenska FM har kommit, hur kvinnliga officerares situation ser ut idag, och vad deras närvaro har inneburit för den svenska FM.



Avhandlingen bygger på tre separata studier. Den första innehåller följande tre huvudkomponenter: - Analyser av statistik från försvarsmaktens databaser, - Enkäter som sänts ut till kvinnliga och manliga officerare, och slutligen, - Intervjuer



Resultaten från den första studien visar att: - Manliga officerare befordras snabbare än deras kvinnliga kollegor, - Kvinnliga officerare är underrepresenterade i de högre militära graderna och överrepresenterade i de lägre, - Kvinnliga officerare inte innehar förtroendebefattningar i samma utsträckning som deras manliga kollegor, samt - Kvinnliga och manliga officerare jobbar på olika positioner i organisationen.



Skillnaderna i karriärvägar förklaras delvis genom begreppet ”glaskorridor”, vilket innebär att genom den position som en individ gör entré in i organisationen är avgörande för individens karriär och lämnar små möjligheter för senare förändringar.



I den andra studien analyseras projektet ”Den Kreativa Olikheten” (KREOL), som är en av de mer strukturerade insatserna som gjorts för att förbättra situationen för de kvinnliga officerarna. Det som framför allt studeras är de officiella dokument som finns kring KREOL-projektet. Dessa visar att diskursen vad gäller minoriteter har ändrats – från att ha fokuserat integreringen av kvinnor till att handla om mångfald – primärt baserad på en mångfald av kulturer och multietnicitet. En tolkning av detta är att kvinnor som grupp har blivit marginaliserad i den officiella diskussionen kring minoriteter, och därmed minimeras risken att den svenska FM skulle bli mer eller mindre tvingad att vidta förändringar som faktiskt skulle öka antalet kvinnor inom organisationen.



Syftet med den tredje och sista studien är att visa på några av de sätt på vilket femininitet konstrueras i den svenska FM. I denna studie beskrivs ett antal situationer. Dessa situationsbeskrivningar följs av diskussioner avseende hur femininitet konstrueras i de specifika situationerna. De dimensioner av femininitet som framför allt framträder i denna studie är att kvinnor står utanför, och att deras huvudsakliga bidrag ligger antingen i att vara underhållning eller stå för service (vilket i militär terminologi är samma sak, de organisatoriska enheter som på olika sätt sysslar med service, benämns nämligen underhållsförband), allt medan männen sysslar med strid.



De sammantagna resultaten från denna avhandling visar, vad gäller situationen för kvinnliga officerare i den svenska FM, att kvinnor som grupp är marginaliserade och segregerade, speciellt vad gäller i termer av makt. Det blir också tydligt genom denna avhandling att trots att det inte längre finns några formella hinder för kvinnor i den svenska FM, så finns det fortfarande ett mycket starkt motstånd i form av en stark organisationskultur. En, kanske ganska provokativ slutsats att dra från resultaten i denna avhandling är att det starka motståndet mot kvinnor kan fortsätta att existera tack vare det faktum att Sverige, och framför allt den svenska armén, inte har varit i strid och därmed prövats på nästan 200 år. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Sundin, Elisabeth
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
equality, military, gender, armed forces, organisational culture, organizational culture, power, officers, Industrial psychology, industripsykologi, Arbetspsykologi
pages
211 pages
publisher
Anders W Berggren, Solhagavägen 36, S-163 52 Spånga, Sweden,
defense location
Kulturens Hörsal, Lund.
defense date
2002-09-28 10:15:00
external identifiers
  • other:ISRN: LUSADG/SAPS--02/1112--SE
ISBN
91-89683-09-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Article: 1. Organisational Culture Manifested as Organisational Structures - Identifying the Gender Glass Corridor in the Swedish Armed Forces. Article: 2. Diversity at the Expense of Gender Equality. Article: 3. Was there a Striptease at Work today, Honey?
id
08d810fc-9554-44bc-b1cc-3db1fb8fabe0 (old id 464968)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 12:02:02
date last changed
2021-12-20 15:43:41
@phdthesis{08d810fc-9554-44bc-b1cc-3db1fb8fabe0,
  abstract     = {{Since 1980, there are no formal restrictions for women to serve as officers wherever and in what positions they want to in the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF). In this thesis, the author examines what has been achieved so far in terms of integration of women, what the situation of female officers is looking like today, and what impact their presence has had on the military organisation.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The empirical ground of this thesis comprises three separate studies. The first one falls into the following three elements: - Analysis of statistical material from the Swedish Armed Forces databases, - Questionnaires sent out to female and male officers, and - Interviews.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The first study shows that male officers are promoted at a more rapid pace than their female colleagues, that female officers are underrepresented in the higher ranks, whereas over represented in the lower ones, and that female and male officers work at different positions in the organisation. The discrepancies in career paths can partly be explained by the concept of a “glass corridor”, meaning that the position through which an individual enters the organisation is crucial when setting the direction of the applicant’s career, leaving merely small options for future changes.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
In the second study, one of the more structured efforts of the SAF to improve the conditions of female officers, a project named The Creative Difference, is being analysed. The empirical grounds of the second study are e.g. official documents related to the above project, and shows that the discourse on minority issues has been changing – from broaching gender integration matters into dealing with diversity – primarily based on a multiplicity cultures and multi-ethnicity. One interpretation is that women seen as a group are marginalized in the official discussions on minorities, thus minimising the potential risk of the SAF being compelled to take measures that would actually increase the number of serving women.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The purpose of the third and last study is to highlight some of the ways in which femininity is constructed within the SAF. Here a number of situations are described and the inherent constructions of femininity brought up for discussion. The dimensions of femininity proven in this study are that women play the role of outsiders and that their main contribution is either as sources of pleasure or service-providers, whereas men are involved in combat.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The overall findings of this thesis, with regard to the current situation of female officers in the SAF, are marginalisation and segregation of women seen as a group, especially in terms of lacking power. It is also evident from the thesis that even though there are no more any formal restrictions in opportunities for women, there is still a very strong resistance in the shape of organisational culture. One, maybe rather provocative issue based on these results, is whether this resistance can prevail due to the fact that the main part of the Armed Forces, the Army, has not been put to the test in live operations for some two hundred years.}},
  author       = {{Berggren, Anders W}},
  isbn         = {{91-89683-09-9}},
  keywords     = {{equality; military; gender; armed forces; organisational culture; organizational culture; power; officers; Industrial psychology; industripsykologi; Arbetspsykologi}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Anders W Berggren, Solhagavägen 36, S-163 52 Spånga, Sweden,}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Undercover Operations in No-women's Land : The Swedish Armed Forces through a Gender Lens}},
  year         = {{2002}},
}