Standing Tall in Shadowed Ranks: An Exploration on Motivations of Female Cadets in the Swedish Armed Forces
(2025) CCRM20 20251Sociology
- Abstract
- This thesis explores what motivates female cadets to remain in the Swedish Armed Forces, and how they navigate their gendered positionalities within this male-dominated organisation. As previous research on women in the military shows many women leave due to sexual harassment and other gendered challenges, this research aims to find out why some choose to stay. Based on eight semi-structured interviews with current female cadets at a Swedish military college, this study investigates this interplay between external pressures and internal agency. Drawing on social role theory and the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, the analysis reveals that although external pressures and societal expectations persist, these are often... (More)
- This thesis explores what motivates female cadets to remain in the Swedish Armed Forces, and how they navigate their gendered positionalities within this male-dominated organisation. As previous research on women in the military shows many women leave due to sexual harassment and other gendered challenges, this research aims to find out why some choose to stay. Based on eight semi-structured interviews with current female cadets at a Swedish military college, this study investigates this interplay between external pressures and internal agency. Drawing on social role theory and the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, the analysis reveals that although external pressures and societal expectations persist, these are often outweighed by the cadets’ internalized military identity and motivation. This internalisation is fostered due to the cadets’ feelings of competence, relatedness, support from superiors, and a strong sense of autonomy. These findings suggest that retention of women in the military is more likely when they are met with the right institutional support and individual agency.
Keywords: Swedish Armed Forces, female cadets, gendered positionality, social role theory, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, retention. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9208197
- author
- Peters, Silke Eline LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- CCRM20 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9208197
- date added to LUP
- 2025-07-14 10:03:35
- date last changed
- 2025-07-14 10:03:35
@misc{9208197,
abstract = {{This thesis explores what motivates female cadets to remain in the Swedish Armed Forces, and how they navigate their gendered positionalities within this male-dominated organisation. As previous research on women in the military shows many women leave due to sexual harassment and other gendered challenges, this research aims to find out why some choose to stay. Based on eight semi-structured interviews with current female cadets at a Swedish military college, this study investigates this interplay between external pressures and internal agency. Drawing on social role theory and the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, the analysis reveals that although external pressures and societal expectations persist, these are often outweighed by the cadets’ internalized military identity and motivation. This internalisation is fostered due to the cadets’ feelings of competence, relatedness, support from superiors, and a strong sense of autonomy. These findings suggest that retention of women in the military is more likely when they are met with the right institutional support and individual agency.
Keywords: Swedish Armed Forces, female cadets, gendered positionality, social role theory, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, retention.}},
author = {{Peters, Silke Eline}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Standing Tall in Shadowed Ranks: An Exploration on Motivations of Female Cadets in the Swedish Armed Forces}},
year = {{2025}},
}