The Military: The US Air Force
11 Top Commanders
Difficulties in the Career Pathway for Women in the Air Force
In 2022, there are 8 Major Commanders of the US Air Force, and 3 Air Force Generals serving in the Unified Command. One of these 11 top Air Force Generals is Gen Jacqueline Van Ovost, who heads the Transportation Command.
(1 out of 11 – 9%)
If women are ever going achieve the Power Percentage of the Commanders of the US Air Force, it is necessary to consider the pipeline of women officers:
The RAND Corporation has undertaken research regarding diversity and retention of female Air Force officers. The RAND Project Air Force quotes Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein: “Recruiting and retaining diverse airmen cultivates innovation…. Different people make the best teams when integrated purposefully together.” The General cites the on-going initiatives the Air Force has developed “to improve the demographic representation within its ranks, including the representation of women.” The RAND Project notes the importance of diversity and gender balance for not only innovation, but “agility and performance.”
Yet female officers are hard to retain. While female Air Force officers at the second lieutenant through lieutenant colonel level (grades 0-1 through 0-5) account for 21.1% of total officers, women occupy just 13.9% of the 0-6 level and only 7.5% of officers at brigadier general level or higher (0-7).
Brigadier General level or higher: 7.5% female
Retention and Length of Service are Key Issues
Some issues are related to promotion. Others connect to the years of active-duty service commitments, namely four years for most AF officers, six years for combat systems and air battle managers, and a whopping ten years for pilots.
Obviously, length of service commitment plays a role in retention. Still, female officers have lower continuation rates than their male peers in both non-aeronautically rated occupations (37% of women vs 55% of men in non-rated roles remain in the Air Force at the ten-year mark) and aeronautically rated roles (at the 13-year mark, 39% of female rated officers remain in the Air Force, vs 63% of men).
Retention tied to rigid career path and family issues
Female officers in focus groups described the reasons they would leave the Air Force.
Most described “inflexible career paths”, with the Air Force having a rigid career pyramid that affected their ability to have children and maintain family life. Frequent moves, deployments, long work schedules, and short maternity leaves were cited. These were difficult for the civilian spouses, and often even more difficult if the female officer’s spouse was also subject to long, back-to-back deployments.
Half the groups described difficulties with pumping breast milk, rigid career timelines requiring near-perfect timing of pregnancies, childcare difficulties, rigorous fitness tests too soon after having a child, and moreover, “Mommy Track” stigma, given that only female officers tend to take maternity leave.
Female officers cite sexism common to many fields
Women in the Air Force cited other issues typical to many fields:
an old-boy’s network
lack of role models at the top (especially women with children in senior leadership roles)
sexual assault
sexual harassment
lack of men taking paternity leave
lack of support systems for male civilian spouses
sexism in various forms
superior officers who are toxic vs. supportive of female officers
What will it take for women to get into the Power Percentage of Officers and Leaders of the United States Air Force?