Accession Number:

ADA076808

Title:

Interacting with Women: Interpersonal Contact and Acceptance of Women in the U.S. Army

Descriptive Note:

Research memo.,

Corporate Author:

ARMY RESEARCH INST FOR THE BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES ALEXANDRIA VA

Personal Author(s):

• Segal, David R.
• Woelfel, John C.

Report Date:

1976-04-01

Pagination or Media Count:

10.0

Abstract:

Female soldiers are more likely than male soldiers to have worked with other women, to have had experience with female supervisors, and to have more female friends. All three of these variables have weak but statistically significant relationships to holding contemporary views regarding womens roles among male soldiers. Only the number of female friends was associated with contemporary sex-role views among female soldiers. Of these three kinds of contact with women, among male soldiers only the experience with female supervisors was related to perceiving combat infantry roles as appropriate for women, and only the number of female friends was related to perceiving the company commanders role as appropriate for women. Apparently, while association with women does influence mens general sex-role attitudes, its impact is weaker on attitudes about the appropriateness of specific traditionally masculine jobs. Female soldiers with working mothers considered the jobs of infantry soldier and company commander more appropriate for women than did those whose mothers did not work. Author

Descriptors:

• *MILITARY COMMANDERS
• *ROLES(BEHAVIOR)
• ARMY PERSONNEL
• ATTITUDES(PSYCHOLOGY)
• COMPANY LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS
• FEMALES
• INFANTRY
• SEX
• TABLES(DATA)

Subject Categories:

• Personnel Management and Labor Relations

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE