Friday morning the entire battalion filed into the base theater for a discussion, led by the CO, on the results of our command climate survey. The focus of the survey was equal opportunity. As the Commander paced back and forth on the stage, speaking and gesturing with his hands, there was, of course, the ubiquitous Power Point presentation up on the screen.
First Slide: What We Are Doing Well
We have been successful at avoiding discrimination based on race, gender, and religious belief.
Second Slide: What is Only OK
In the survey we expressed some discontent with the effectiveness of communication throughout the organization (otherwise know as passing the word), work satisfaction is low, and small unit leadership is perceived as weak.
Third Slide: What We Need Work On
There is a huge gap in the overall satisfaction between the junior enlisted and the senior enlisted. The gap always exists but never before in our battalion has it registered at the Grand Canyon proportions that emerged this time around. Also, there is a wide spread belief by men that women have it easier at work just as there is a wide spread belief by women that men are consistently given preferred job assignments.
It’s that last part that I think is the most interesting. The CO’s comment was, “Males think females have it better. Females think males have it better. As a battalion we need to get over this grass is greener idea.” He missed the mark. Sexism is part of the military culture. When there is physical work to be done women often aren’t chosen. It’s not a rule, and we’re given training to remind us to avoid this natural inclination, but in a work environment like ours where manual labor is expected women are spared from it frequently nonetheless. As an example no women in the battalion were assigned to the 50 cal or the M240B, two of the heaver weapons. And in truth, there are very few women assigned to any of the crew serve weapons (I’d have to check the list to get an exact count). This is just one example. I’ve fallen prey to it myself. In Alaska, working on a road project, five of us were hiking out beyond the existing road to pound in limit stakes for the equipment operators who needed to come through and grub the vegetation. The hiking was rough: dense brush, steep rocks, and peat bog. We had a woman with us, an Army reservist from Wisconsin, who was not a picture of physical fitness. I instinctively assigned the crew responsibilities so that she would not have to carry anything heavy. It would be convenient if I could argue that the issue at hand was time management and that if I bogged her down with a load of any weight we weren’t going to move as fast. However, we weren’t in any hurry and in truth it’s not what I was thinking about when I gave her the job of carrying a few rolls of red and yellow flagging, a marker, and a grease pencil. I wanted to spare her the work of lugging a bag of stakes or heavy equipment because she was a woman. It was my natural reaction to the situation. I know I’m not the only one. My examples seem mild but they give rise to a dirty underside: because we are perceived as less capable women are routinely placed in secretarial and other positions that keep them out of the spotlight. It is true that a strong, intelligent, and charismatic leader will always rise to the top irrespective of gender but there are many more positions of leadership in the military than there are natural leaders. It’s those extra positions that are almost always filled by men. In the military a position of leadership is something you often have to fight for as a woman and something that usually befalls you as a man. The overall problem with gender perception in our battalion isn’t that the grass
seems greener, it’s that the grass actually
is greener. It just depends on what you want from your work experience: little to no heavy lifting or a position in a leadership role. I’m willing to bet that given the opportunity to swap most all of the women would do so gladly and most all of the men would stay right where they are.
