Impact of Gender Integration on Operational Effectiveness in Coalition Warfare

• In Event: Gender and Security

Abstract

From the US to Europe, militaries have increasingly shifted doctrine to integrate women into combat roles without systematic evidence that doing so enhances outcomes. Whereas a limited and outdated scholarship exists on gender integration in the US military, scholars have yet to examine how integration changes the effectiveness of operations in a multilateral context. Polish soldiers are socialized to have different gender norms than Canadian soldiers, for example, suggesting that soldiers’ behavior may shift when operating in mixed units. In this paper, we empirically test existing hypotheses derived from both scholar and practitioner assertions about how the presence of women should increase or decrease operational effectiveness. We examine a critical case - the NATO ISAF operation in Afghanistan - and assess evidence from original structured interviews with 43 military officials across ranks (including former commanders) who served in the operation. We also rely on gender representation data and official military documentation from contributing states. Our findings debunk biological hypotheses concerning women’s physical limitations on the battlefield, and we find evidence that female soldiers proved critical to accessing intelligence that saved lives. Our research advances security studies debates on determinants of operational effectiveness and has policy implications for political and military leaders of national and international military organizations.

Authors

• Heidi Hardt, University of California, Irvine

• Stefanie von Hlatky, Queen's University