GAO

United States General Accounting Office

Report to the Ranking Minority Member, 

Subcommittee on Readiness and 

Management Support, Committee on 

Armed Services, U.S. Senate

May 1999 GENDER ISSUES

Perceptions of 

Readiness in Selected

Units

GAO/NSIAD-99-120

United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548 Letr

Page 1 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

GAO

National Security and

International Affairs Division

B-282402 Letter

May 13, 1999

The Honorable Charles S. Robb

Ranking Minority Member

Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support

Committee on Armed Services

United States Senate

Dear Senator Robb:

Opportunities for women in the military have increased in the last several 

decades. About 14 percent of the total force is women.1

 In 1993 and 1994, 

significant legislative and policy changes were made that allowed women 

to serve in many combat-oriented positions previously closed to them.2

Following these changes, the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps opened 

over 550 additional units to women. More than 13,000 women have joined 

these units.3 Among the units that have opened to women are Army smoke 

and chemical companies, forward support battalions, air defense artillery 

headquarters’ units, military police units, and engineer companies; Navy 

combat ships, including aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships; and 

Marine Corps air wings and many of its units that deploy on ships. 

As you know, readiness is an extremely difficult concept to measure 

because of the many factors that impact it. Generally, these factors are 

categorized into three types: training, equipment, and personnel and GAO 

has done work in all three areas. As you requested, this report focuses on 

personnel, specifically, on the perceptions of men and women on their 

personal readiness, the readiness of men and women in their unit, and unit 

readiness (defined as the unit’s ability to undertake its wartime mission). 

You also asked us to identify issues that servicemembers believe the 

services need to consider as more women join the military. Last, you asked 

us to review other studies of gender issues to determine whether the 

perceptions we gathered were similar.

1

The percentages of women vary among the active services. As of September 30, 1998, about 6 percent 

of the Marine Corps, 13 percent of the Navy, 15 percent of the Army, and 18 percent of the Air Force 

were women.

2Gender Issues: Information on DOD’s Assignment Policy and Direct Ground Combat Definition

(GAO/NSIAD-99-7, Oct. 19, 1998).

3

For this report, the term unit is used in a generic sense. For example, an Army unit opened to women 

could be a forward support battalion, whereas for the Navy, a combat ship could represent a unit.
B-282402

Page 2 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Our review included selected units in the Army, the Navy and the Marine 

Corps that have opened to women since 1993. We did not include the Air 

Force in our review because most Air Force units have been open to 

women since the late 1980s. To determine servicemembers’ perceptions, 

we administered surveys to 378 men and 351 women in 40 units.4

 To 

supplement the survey results and obtain a more complete picture of 

readiness issues, we conducted 75 discussion groups with over 500 of the 

men and women that had participated in the survey. We also interviewed 

unit commanders or their representatives from most of the units we visited.

Because we did not randomly select the units or respondents, our survey 

and discussion group results reflect the perceptions of the personnel we 

surveyed and are not projectable to the larger population. Our scope and 

methodology are discussed in appendix I. Appendix II contains the 

complete results of our survey and appendix III includes a list of the units 

we visited. 

Results in Brief The majority of men and women that we surveyed about their personal 

readiness said they were well or very well prepared to perform their 

wartime jobs considering their training and their physical and mental 

preparedness. Table 1 summarizes these perceptions.

Table 1: Survey Respondents That Reported They Were Well or Very Well Prepared 

to Perform Their Wartime Missions

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues. 

In addition, over 70 percent of men and women said they could deploy on 

short notice with no problems or only minor problems. 

We also asked servicemembers about their perceptions regarding the 

readiness of men and women in their units. Our questions dealt with 

4

There were at least 7,000 men and 1,400 women in the units we surveyed.

Gender

Training

(percent)

Physical

preparedness

(percent)

Mental

preparedness

(percent)

Men 77 90 81

Women 63 72 67

Letr
B-282402

Page 3 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

training and job performance, willingness and availability to deploy, and 

physical preparedness to deploy. Men and women agreed that they were 

trained equally to complete their wartime missions and would perform 

their wartime jobs equally well. Generally, men believed that they were 

more physically prepared and were more willing to deploy. Women 

believed that men and women were equally prepared physically and equally 

willing to deploy. Since these units had only recently opened to women, we 

also asked about the impact women have had on the readiness of their unit. 

Although men tended to view the impact of women on unit readiness less 

positively than women, more than half the men indicated that women 

affect readiness either no differently from men or in a positive way 

(see fig. 1).

Figure 1: Perceived Impact of Women on Unit Readiness

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

We also asked men and women to tell us which factors affect readiness 

positively and negatively. Men and women agreed on the top three positive 

factors and the top three negative factors. According to the men and 

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

10

27

47

53

43

20

Percent

Positive or

very positive

No differently

than men

Negative or

very negative

Men

Women
B-282402

Page 4 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

women we surveyed, training at the unit level, command leadership, and 

necessary equipment were the three positive impacts on readiness. Survey 

respondents cited the number of personnel, condition of equipment, and 

funding as the top three negative impacts. 

Finally, both men and women perceived their units to be ready to perform 

their wartime missions. For example, 86 percent of the men and 80 percent 

of the women surveyed were moderately or very confident about their 

units’ ability to perform their wartime missions effectively.

Gender stereotyping was an issue frequently raised during our discussion 

groups with women. They spoke about negative stereotyping regarding 

pregnancy, physical strength, and job performance. Women also said that 

they believed that they need to prove themselves repeatedly. In other 

discussion groups, men frequently mentioned the issue of preferential 

treatment for women.

Servicemembers—both men and women—said in our discussion groups 

that managing the impact of pregnancies on individual units was the 

primary gender-related issue the services needed to address. At the unit 

level, the impact of pregnancies on readiness depends on the concentration 

of women in a unit, the criticality of their jobs, the unit’s ability to find 

replacements, and whether the unit was undermanned. Service personnel 

said that the impact of unplanned losses, even in critical positions, would 

not affect them as much if they were fully manned to begin with or if the 

services would replace those that were lost.

The perceptions from our survey and discussion groups are similar to the 

views expressed by servicemembers in other studies of gender issues. For 

example, during a study of readiness, RAND 5 asked male and female 

respondents to rate the readiness of their units for a combat mission as 

high, medium, or low. Over 80 percent of men and women rated their 

readiness as medium or high. Discussion group themes were similar as 

well. In 1997, men told members of an Army panel studying sexual 

harassment that they feared being falsely accused of sexual harassment 

and that they believed women received preferential treatment, particularly 

in the areas of fitness standards and pregnancy. Women told the same panel 

5

Margaret C. Harrell and Laura L. Miller, New Opportunities for Military Women, Effects Upon 

Readiness, Cohesion, and Morale (Washington, D.C.: RAND, 1997). Like our survey, the results of this 

study are not projectable.
B-282402

Page 5 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

that they believed they were treated differently because of their gender and 

they were often stereotyped based on the actions of a few women, 

particularly on the issue of pregnancy. 

Perceptions on 

Readiness Generally 

Positive 

Our survey on the perceptions of readiness of units opened to women since 

1993 showed that both men and women had a positive view of their own 

readiness. Furthermore, most men and women agreed that women either 

affected readiness no differently from men or affected readiness positively 

or very positively. In addition, despite concerns about equipment and 

personnel levels, men and women were confident in their units’ ability to 

complete their wartime missions. 

Both Men and Women 

Reported Positively on 

Their Personal Readiness

We asked respondents for their perceptions of their personal readiness in 

terms of their training, physical, and mental preparedness, and ability to 

deploy on short notice. We found that the majority of both men and women 

viewed their personal readiness positively in all areas, and indicated they 

could deploy on short notice with no or few problems. 

Regarding training they had received, 77 percent of the men and 63 percent 

of the women we surveyed said that they were either well prepared or very 

well prepared to perform their wartime jobs. These percentages are close 

to male and female responses to a similar question in the 1995 Department 

of Defense (DOD) Status of Armed Forces Surveys.6

 In those surveys,

86 percent of men and 70 percent of women responded that, when 

considering their training and experience, they were well prepared or very 

well prepared to perform their wartime missions.

When asked how prepared they were physically to perform their wartime 

job, 90 percent of male respondents and 72 percent of female respondents 

reported that they were well prepared or very well prepared. These results 

were also similar to the results of a question in the DOD survey. In DOD’s 

survey, 88 percent of men and 77 percent of women said that they were 

physically well prepared or very well prepared to perform their wartime 

missions.

6

Status of Armed Forces Surveys, 1995 Form B—Gender Issues, Defense Manpower Data Center. This 

survey was administered to a non-proportional stratified random sample of active duty personnel with 

at least 6 months of service. We have factored out the responses attributable to Air Force and Coast 

Guard personnel to make the DOD data we cite comparable to the population we surveyed.
B-282402

Page 6 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Our survey also revealed that most of the men and women we surveyed 

believed that they were mentally prepared to perform their wartime jobs. 

More than 80 percent of the male respondents and 67 percent of the female 

respondents said they were well prepared or very well prepared. The 

results from our questions on training, physical, and mental preparedness 

are shown in figure 2.

Figure 2: Perceptions of Personal Readiness to Perform Wartime Missions 

Note: Figure depicts the percent of those who said that they were well prepared or very well prepared.

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

Men and women responded similarly when asked about their personal 

ability to deploy on short notice (see fig. 3). Specifically, 75 percent of the 

male respondents and 71 percent of the female respondents answered that 

they could deploy with no problems or minor problems. Moreover,

20 percent of the men and 23 percent of the women reported they would 

have moderate problems. Only 5 percent of men and women indicated they 

would have major problems deploying or problems so large they would not 

be able to deploy.

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0

9 0

100

Training Physical

Preparedness

Mental

Preparedness

77 

90

 81

63 

72

 67

Percent

Men

Women
B-282402

Page 7 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 3: Perceptions of Personal Ability to Deploy on Short Notice

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

Servicemembers’ 

Perceptions of the 

Readiness of Men and 

Women in Their Units

We asked men and women about several components of readiness. 

Specifically, we asked them whom they perceived was (1) more physically 

prepared to complete their mission, (2) more willing to deploy, and

(3) better trained to complete their missions. Men and women in our survey 

responded differently. The majority of the men we surveyed believed men 

were better physically prepared to complete their missions and more 

willing to deploy than women. A majority of the men thought that men and 

women were trained equally to complete their current mission and would 

perform their wartime jobs equally well. The majority of the women we 

surveyed believed that men and women were equally prepared physically 

to complete their mission. A majority of the women also believed that they 

were as willing to deploy as men, were as well trained as men, and would 

perform their wartime jobs as well as men. Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 compare 

the views of men and women we surveyed.

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0

No Problems

or Minor

Problems

Moderate

Problems

Major Problems or

Problems that Would

Prevent Me from

Deploying

75

20

5

Percent

71

23

5

Men

Women
B-282402

Page 8 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 4: Perceptions of Relative Physical Preparation to Complete Current 

Missions

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues. 

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0

Men More

Prepared

Men and Women

Equally Prepared

Women More

Prepared

72

33

29

66

0 1

Men

Women

Percent
B-282402

Page 9 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 5: Perceptions of Relative Willingness to Deploy

Note: Does not include those surveys with responses “do not know” or “never deployed.” 

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0

Men More

Willing

Men and Women

Equally Willing

Women More

Willing

54

31

46

67

0

Percent

2

Men

Women
B-282402

Page 10 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 6: Perceptions of Relative Degree of Training to Complete Current Missions

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0

9 0

100

Men Better

Trained

Men and Women

Equally Trained

Women Better

Trained

34

12

66

87

0

Men

Women

Percent

1
B-282402

Page 11 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 7: Perceptions of Relative Ability to Perform Wartime Jobs

Note: Does not include the survey response “do not know.”

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

We later asked men and women a summary question about their 

perceptions regarding the impact of women on readiness compared to 

men. Figure 8 shows the response to this question by gender. Although men 

tended to view the impact of women on unit readiness less positively than 

women, more than half the men indicated that women affect readiness 

either no differently from men or in a positive way.

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0

9 0

100

44

13

56

0

Men Perform

Wartime Jobs

Better

Men and Women

Perform Equally

Women Perform

Wartime Jobs Better

85

2

Men

Women

Percent
B-282402

Page 12 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 8: Perceived Impact of Women on Unit Readiness

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

Figure 9 shows, by service, male responses to the question of perceived 

impact of women on unit readiness. A majority of the Army respondents 

believed that women either affected readiness no differently from men or 

affected readiness positively or very positively. In the Navy, the majority of 

the men we surveyed believed that women affected readiness negatively or 

very negatively.

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

10

27

47

53

43

20

Negative or

Very Negative

Positive or

Very Positive

No Differently

than Men

Men

Women

Percent
B-282402

Page 13 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 9: Views of Men Regarding the Impact of Women on Readiness by Service

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

From a list of eight readiness factors, we also asked men and women to tell 

us which factors most positively and negatively affect readiness. Men and 

women agreed on the top three factors that positively affect readiness and 

the top three factors that negatively impact readiness (see tables 2 and 3). 

Training at the unit level, command leadership, and necessary equipment 

were the three most frequently selected factors positively affecting 

readiness. The number of personnel, condition of equipment, and funding 

were the three most often selected negative factors.

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

Army Navy Marine Corps

13

51

36

8

39

53

3

50

48

Positive or Very Positive

No Difference

Percent
B-282402

Page 14 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Table 2: Perceptions of Men and Women Regarding Factors That Positively Impact 

Readiness

Table 3: Perceptions of Men and Women Regarding Factors That Negatively Impact 

Readiness

Men cited gender mix as the fifth most cited factor having a negative 

impact on unit readiness, whereas women cited it as the sixth.

The results of our survey on this question are similar to the results of the 

1997 RAND report. RAND asked servicemembers to suggest reasons for 

their readiness level and that of their units. Out of 934 surveys, only

2 respondents indicated that gender issues had an effect on readiness, 

which according to the study, indicated a general perception that gender 

integration played a minor role in individual or unit readiness.

Readiness factors

Men Frequency

Readiness factors 

Women Frequency

Training at the unit level 182 Training at the unit level 153

Command leadership 152 Command leadership 100

Necessary equipment 105 Necessary equipment 98

Training at the command level 86 Mix of men and women 90

Number of personnel 81 Number of personnel 88

Condition of equipment 78 Training at the command level 78

Mix of men and women 48 Condition of equipment 74

Funding 32 Funding 43

Readiness factors

Men Frequency

Readiness factors

Women Frequency

Number of personnel 200 Number of personnel 174

Condition of equipment 142 Condition of equipment 143

Funding 125 Funding 104

Necessary equipment 85 Command leadership 78

Mix of men and women 72 Necessary equipment 68

Command leadership 63 Mix of men and women 46

Training at the unit level 45 Training at the unit level 44

Training at the command level 33 Training at the command level 38
B-282402

Page 15 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Male and Female Views on 

Unit Readiness

Both men and women reported high levels of confidence in their units’ 

ability to perform their wartime missions effectively. The majority of the 

men and women surveyed reported that they were moderately confident or 

very confident of their units’ ability to perform their wartime missions. 

Figure 10 illustrates these responses by gender.

Figure 10: Degree of Confidence in Units’ Ability to Perform Wartime Missions 

Effectively

Note: Does not include the survey response “no basis to judge.”

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

The responses to this question are similar to a question in the 1997 RAND 

study on new opportunities for women in the military. RAND asked men 

and women to rate the readiness of their units for a combat mission as 

high, medium, or low. Regardless of rank, over 80 percent of men and 

women rated their units’ readiness as medium or high.

We also asked respondents to provide their perceptions of their units’ 

readiness with regard to several different aspects, including training, 

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0

9 0

100

No or Little

Confidence

Moderate or

Very Confident

15

86

20

80

Men

Women

Percent
B-282402

Page 16 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

equipment, and changes in the number of personnel. Male and female 

responses were similar on these three aspects.

Both men and women in our survey indicated that their units’ readiness had 

suffered because of changes in the number of personnel available for duty 

(see fig.11). Over 80 percent of the servicemembers we surveyed said that 

personnel changes had a moderate or major impact on the readiness of 

their units. In our survey, we defined moderate impact as “the number of 

personnel available is somewhat short of the number required,” whereas 

we defined major impact as “the number of personnel is very short of the 

number required.”

Figure 11: Perceptions of the Impact of Personnel Shortages on the 

Readiness of Units

Note: Does not include survey response “no basis to judge.”

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

Slightly more than half of the men and women responded that their units 

were well trained or very well trained to perform their wartime mission 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

No Impact Minor

Impact

Moderate

Impact

Major Impact

12

39

45

47

39

2 2

14

Men

Women

Percent
B-282402

Page 17 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

(see fig.12). And approximately 20 percent of the men and women said that 

their units were poorly or very poorly prepared.

Figure 12: Perceptions of How Well Trained Units Are to Perform Their 

Wartime Missions

Note: Does not include the survey response “do not know.”

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues. 

Both male and female respondents reported that if they included 

equipment in their consideration of preparedness, their units were less 

prepared (see fig.13). Specifically, regarding equipment, less than half of 

the respondents said their units were well or very well prepared. 

Additionally, approximately one-third of the male and female respondents 

reported that their units were poorly or very poorly prepared to perform 

their wartime missions. 

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

Very Poorly or

Poorly Prepared

Neither Well nor

Poorly Prepared

Well Prepared or

Very Well Prepared

20

28

53

17

27

 56 

Men

Women

Percent
B-282402

Page 18 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 13: Perceptions of Units’ Ability to Perform Their Wartime Missions 

Considering Their Equipment 

Note: Does not include the survey response “do not know.”

Source: 1998 GAO Survey on Readiness Issues.

Gender Issues That 

Servicemembers 

Believed Require 

Additional Service 

Consideration

In our discussions with servicemembers, we asked participants what issues 

they believed the services needed to address as the number of women in 

the military increases. The issues that surfaced tended to vary according to 

gender and indicated that some significant gender integration challenges 

remain. The female discussion groups raised concerns that many men in 

the military view women in a stereotypical manner. The male discussion 

groups, on the other hand, raised concerns about what they perceived to be 

a pattern of preferential treatment of women and concerns about sexual 

harassment accusations. Both men and women raised the issue of 

managing the impact of pregnancy on unit operations.

A prominent issue among the women in our discussion groups involved 

gender stereotyping. Many of the women we talked with indicated that men 

lack confidence in a woman’s ability to do her job. Women told us that 

0

5

1 0

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

3 5

4 0

Very

Poorly

Prepared

Poorly

Prepared

Neither Well

nor Poorly

Prepared

Well

Prepared

Very Well

Prepared

8 8

23

28

35

6 5

28

34

24

Men

Women

Percent
B-282402

Page 19 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

when a man arrives in a unit, everyone assumes that the man can do his 

job, but a woman has to prove herself repeatedly before she is accepted. 

For example, a female mechanic in the Army said that she had to overcome 

a belief among the men in her unit that women could not be good 

mechanics. She also said that she had to prove her abilities more than a 

man would have had to. 

In another example, a Navy woman said that the men on her team tried to 

discourage her from participating with the team when they were assisting 

another ship that was on fire. The men did not think she had the physical 

strength to handle a fire hose. She participated with her team, proved she 

could do the job, and won the acceptance of her team. Many women also 

believed that they are scrutinized much more closely than men and that the 

failure of one woman is generalized to all women. Women also provided 

examples of men attempting to provide them with unwanted assistance.

An issue of concern that arose frequently in our discussion groups with 

men involved what they perceived to be preferential treatment of women. 

For example, some Navy men said that women tend to receive better 

bunking arrangements on ships, while men have to endure more crowding. 

Another area of perceived preferential treatment involved discipline. Some 

men cited situations in which a man would be disciplined for particular 

behavior, but a woman that did the same thing would not be disciplined. 

Finally, some men said that they would often help women that did not have 

the physical strength to do their jobs and that this took them away from 

their own duties.

Another concern raised in our discussion groups with men was what they 

perceived to be a rush to judgment in cases where men are accused of 

sexual harassment. They perceived that men were removed from their 

units as soon as they were charged, before any investigation. Many men 

were concerned that the mere charge was enough to ruin a man’s career, 

whether he was found guilty or not. Men frequently mentioned that they 

believed that many charges of sexual harassment were unfounded and that 

false accusers did not seem to suffer any consequences.

An issue raised in both the male and female discussion groups was the 

impact of pregnancy on units. Depending on the nature of the job and the 

existence of environmental hazards, a commander may immediately 

remove a pregnant woman from her job. In addition, pregnant women are 

essentially unavailable for deployment for about a year—counting their 

pregnancies and the 4 months following the birth of their children. Because 

pregnancy is not a permanent medical condition, the services do not 

always replace pregnant women. This can place additional burdens on the 
B-282402

Page 20 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

remaining personnel in the unit, particularly if the unit is already 

undermanned. Overwhelmingly, the men and women in our discussion 

groups said that the readiness impact of unplanned losses due to pregnancy 

or other medical or disciplinary reasons would be minimized if 

replacements were made available.

Agency Comments We provided a draft of this report to the Office of the Secretary of Defense 

for review. The Department did not provide any comments. 

We are sending copies of this report to Senator John Warner and Senator 

Carl Levin and Representative Floyd D. Spence and Representative

Ike Skelton in their capacities as Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of 

the Senate and House Committees on Armed Services. We are sending 

copies to Senator Wayne Allard and Senator Max Cleland and to 

Representative Steven Buyer and Representative Neil Abercrombie in their 

capacities as Chairman or Ranking Minority Member of the Senate and 

House Committees on Armed Services, Subcommittees on Military 

Personnel. We are also sending copies of this report to the Honorable 

William Cohen, Secretary of Defense; the Honorable Louis Caldera, 

Secretary of the Army; the Honorable Richard Danzig, Secretary of the Navy; 

and General Charles C. Krulack, Commandant of the Marine Corps. Copies 

will also be made available to others upon request.

If you or your staff have questions concerning this report, please call 

me at (202) 512-5140. The major contributors to this report are listed in 

appendix IV.

Sincerely yours,

Mark E. Gebicke

Director, National Security Preparedness

 Issue Area
Page 21 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues
Page 22 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Contents

Letter 1

Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

24

Appendix II

Responses to Survey 

Questions, by Gender

27

Appendix III

Locations Visited and 

Units Surveyed 

37

Appendix IV

Major Contributors to 

This Report

40

Figures Figure 1: Perceived Impact of Women on Unit Readiness 3

Figure 2: Perceptions of Personal Readiness to Perform

Wartime Mission 6

Figure 3: Perceptions of Personal Ability to Deploy on Short Notice 7

Figure 4: Perceptions of Relative Physical Preparation to Complete 

Current Missions 8

Figure 5: Perceptions of Relative Willingness to Deploy 9

Figure 6: Perceptions of Relative Degree of Training to Complete 

Current Missions 10

Figure 7: Perceptions of Relative Ability to Perform Wartime Jobs 11

Figure 8: Perceived Impact of Women on Unit Readiness 12

Figure 9: Views of Men Regarding the Impact of Women on 

Readiness by Service 13

Figure 10: Degree of Confidence in Units’ Ability to 

Perform Wartime Missions Effectively 15

Figure 11: Perceptions of the Impact of Personnel Shortages 

on the Readiness of Units 16
Contents

Page 23 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Figure 12: Perceptions of How Well Trained Units Are to 

Perform Their Wartime Missions 17

Figure 13: Perceptions of Units’ Ability to Perform Their 

Wartime Missions Considering Their Equipment 18

Tables Table 1: Survey Respondents That Reported They Were 

Well or Very Well Prepared to Perform Their Wartime Missions 2

Table 2: Perceptions of Men and Women Regarding Factors 

That Positively Impact Readiness 14

Table 3: Perceptions of Men and Women Regarding Factors 

That Negatively Impact Readiness 14

Abbreviations

DOD Department of Defense

MOS military occupational specialty
Page 24 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology ApIexndi

Our objectives were to obtain the perceptions of men and women regarding 

the impact women have had on units opened to them since 1993. 

Specifically, we obtained the perceptions of men and women on their 

personal readiness, the readiness of men and women in their unit, and unit 

readiness. We also identified issues that servicemembers believed the 

services need to consider as more women join the military and we 

reviewed other studies of gender issues to determine whether the 

perceptions we gathered were similar.

The scope of our review included units opened to women since 1993 in the 

Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps. We did not include the Air Force in 

our review because the majority of its units have been open to women 

since the late 1980s. We excluded Air Force statistics when we compared 

our survey results to Department of Defense (DOD) data.

To determine servicemembers’ perceptions, we administered 737 

questionnaires1 and led 75 discussion groups with over 500 men and 

women in 40 selected units opened to women since 1993. Data that the 

services provided showed the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps units 

we visited contained at least 7,000 men and 1,400 women. 

We selected units based on their availability, the number of women in the 

units, and location. Using criteria that we established, service officials at 

each location selected the units we visited. These officials notified the 

units, and based on their availability, at least 5 to 10 men and women 

completed our survey and attended our discussion groups. Because we did 

not randomly select the units or the survey respondents, our survey results 

reflect only the perceptions of the personnel we surveyed and are not 

projectable.

In the survey, we asked respondents to give us their perceptions of their 

personal readiness, the readiness of women and men in their units, and unit 

readiness. In asking for perceptions, we asked respondents to consider a 

wide range of issues that could affect readiness. For example, we asked 

respondents to consider their training, equipment, and changes in the 

number of personnel available for duty when evaluating their unit 

readiness. In asking respondents about the readiness of men and women in 

1

The total number of surveys is eight more than the sum of the men and women that completed our 

survey because eight respondents did not check either male or female when asked about their gender. 
Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Page 25 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

their unit, we asked them to take into account training, physical 

preparedness, and availability for deployment, among other factors.

We held discussion groups to identify issues that servicemembers believed 

the services need to consider as more women join the military. Our 

discussion groups ranged from 1 to 20 servicemembers. We met with men 

and women separately and met with junior enlisted, senior enlisted, and 

officer personnel separately as well. To promote a candid discussion, group 

moderators were the same gender as the group participants. We asked 

personnel to discuss the impact of introducing women into their units and 

to identify issues the services needed to address as more women entered 

the military. We included the most frequently mentioned topics in this 

report. 

We obtained and reviewed studies done by DOD and others to determine 

whether our survey respondents and discussion group participants’ 

perceptions were similar to those gathered by other researchers. 

To obtain the perceptions of Army servicemembers, we visited 20 Army 

units located at Fort Hood, Texas, and 13 units located at 5 installations in 

Germany. Personnel completed 411 surveys—215 men, 193 women, and

3 that did not indicate gender. The Army units we visited included chemical 

companies, forward support battalions, military police units, and 

engineering units. Based on data provided by the Army, the percentage of 

women in the 20 Army units located at Fort Hood, Texas, ranged from

8 percent to 52 percent. The number of women in these units ranged from

8 to 36. Also, at Fort Hood, we interviewed 14 unit commanders or their 

representatives and conducted 4 group discussions. At the 5 Army bases in 

Germany, we surveyed 13 units. The percentage of women in the units 

varied from 3 percent to 45 percent; the number of women ranged from 5 to 

34. We held 30 discussion groups in Germany and interviewed 

12 unit commanders.

We visited four Navy units: a fixed-wing fighter squadron, an aircraft 

carrier, an amphibious assault ship, and a dock-landing ship. Units were 

selected based on their deployment schedules. The percent of women in 

these units ranged from 8 percent to 34 percent, and the number of women 

in the units varied from 17 to 297. We administered 246 surveys to 121 men, 

123 women, and 2 that did not indicate gender. We conducted 29 group 

discussions.
Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Page 26 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

We visited three Marine Corps aviation units that were opened to women 

when the Navy opened combatant ships to women. We administered 

77 surveys--42 men and 35 women--interviewed 3 unit commanders, and 

conducted 12 group discussions. Data provided by the Marine Corps 

showed that the percent of women in the three units we visited ranged 

from 5 percent to 9 percent. The number of women ranged from 38 to 155.

We performed our work between July 1998 and March 1999 in accordance 

with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Page 27 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Appendix II

Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender ApIexndi

1. Taking into account your training, how prepared are you to perform your wartime 

job?

2. How prepared are you physically to perform your wartime job?

3. How prepared are you mentally to perform your wartime job?

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Very poorly 9 2.4 7 2.0

Poorly prepared 19 5.0 38 10.8

Neither well nor poorly prepared 60 15.9 85 24.2

Well prepared 187 49.6 158 45.0

Very well prepared 102 27.1 63 18.0

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Very poorly 3 0.8 8 2.3

Poorly prepared 4 1.1 22 6.3

Neither well nor poorly prepared 31 8.2 68 19.4

Well prepared 195 51.6 179 51.0

Very well prepared 145 38.4 74 21.1

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Very poorly 2 0.5 6 1.7

Poorly prepared 14 3.7 29 8.3

Neither well nor poorly prepared 55 14.6 81 23.1

Well prepared 173 45.9 161 45.9

Very well prepared 133 35.3 74 21.1
Appendix II

Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 28 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

4. If you were required to deploy on short notice, how many problems would you 

have deploying?

5. If you were required to deploy on short notice, which issue(s)—if any—would you 

require assistance with?

6. Taking into account the training of personnel in your unit, how prepared is your 

unit to perform its wartime mission?

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

No problems 105 27.8 92 26.2

Minor problems 179 47.4 158 45.0

Moderate problems 76 20.1 82 23.4

Major problems 16 4.2 15 4.3

Problems so large they would 

prevent me from deploying

2 0.5 4 1.1

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Would not require any assistance 134 26.7 95 18.9

Family 135 26.9 139 27.7

Medical condition/physical fitness 19 3.6 41 8.2

Financial situation 88 17.5 86 17.1

Personal property 108 21.5 126 25.1

Other 18 3.6 15 3.0

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Very poorly 13 3.4 11 3.1

Poorly prepared 56 14.8 45 12.8

Neither well nor poorly prepared 99 26.2 89 25.4

Well prepared 147 38.9 141 40.2

Very well prepared 40 10.6 40 11.4

Don’t know 23 6.1 25 7.1
Appendix II

Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 29 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

7. Taking into account the equipment in your unit, how prepared is your unit to 

perform its wartime mission?

8. If your unit was deployed to a potential war zone, how much confidence do you 

have in your unit’s ability to perform its mission effectively?

9. How has your unit’s wartime readiness been impacted by changes in the number 

of personnel available for duty?

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Very poorly 30 8.0 28 8.0

Poorly prepared 83 22.0 94 26.8

Neither well nor poorly prepared 102 27.1 81 23.1

Well prepared 126 33.4 114 32.5

Very well prepared 23 6.1 17 4.8

Don’t know 13 3.5 17 4.8

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

No confidence at all 8 2.1 7 2.0

Little confidence 44 11.6 58 16.5

Moderately confident 171 45.2 153 43.6

Very confident 136 36.0 108 30.8

No basis to judge 19 5.0 25 7.1

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

No impact, the number of 

personnel available is the number 

required

6 1.6 7 2.0

Minor impact, the number of 

personnel available is adequate

44 11.6 40 11.5

Moderate impact, the number of 

personnel available is somewhat 

short of the number required

137 36.2 134 38.6

Major impact, the number of 

personnel available is very short of 

the number required

167 44.2 115 33.1

No basis to judge 24 6.4 51 14.7
Appendix II

Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 30 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

10a. In your unit, which gender is better trained to complete the current mission?

10b. In your unit, which gender is better prepared physically to complete the current 

mission?

10c. In your unit, which gender is assigned outside the unit more often?

11a. In your unit, which gender is more often unavailable to deploy due to 

disciplinary reasons?

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Men 127 34.0 43 12.3

Both are equally trained 246 65.8 304 86.9

Women 1 0.3 3 0.9

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Men 266 71.5 116 33.4

Both are equally prepared 

physically

106 28.5 229 66.0

Women 0 0.0 2 0.6

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Men 133 36.0 115 33.6

Both are assigned equally often 179 48.5 187 54.7

Women 57 15.5 40 11.7

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Men 162 43.9 214 62.4

Both are equally unavailable 174 47.2 116 33.8

Women 33 8.9 13 3.8
Appendix II

Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 31 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

11b. In your unit, which gender is more often unavailable to deploy due to medical 

reasons?

11c. In your unit, which gender is more often unavailable to deploy due to family 

reasons?

12. What are the other reasons why members of your unit are unavailable to deploy?

13a. In your unit, which gender is more willing to deploy?

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Men 13 3.5 30 8.8

Both are equally unavailable 104 28.0 171 50.2

Women 254 68.5 140 41.1

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Men 25 6.8 28 8.1

Both are equally unavailable 182 49.2 196 56.7

Women 163 44.1 122 35.3

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Men 169 45.0 83 23.7

Both are equally willing 144 38.3 182 52.0

Women 1 0.3 6 1.7

Don’t know or have never 

deployed

62 16.5 79 22.6
Appendix II

Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 32 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

13b. In your unit, which gender has more problems deploying?

13c. In your unit, which gender performs their wartime job better?

14. Overall, compared to men, how do women impact the readiness of your unit? 

Women impact readiness...

15. Please describe the reasons that most influenced your answer to question 14?

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Men 8 2.1 10 2.9

Both have the same number of 

problems

157 41.9 166 47.6

Women 150 40.0 78 22.4

Don’t know or have never 

deployed

60 16.0 95 27.2

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Men 133 35.5 34 9.7

Both perform equally well 169 45.1 217 61.8

Women 1 0.3 5 1.4

Don’t know or have 

never deployed

72 19.2 95 27.1

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Very positively 6 1.6 26 7.6

Positively 32 8.6 67 19.5

No differently than men 175 47.2 183 53.2

Negatively 148 39.9 66 19.2

Very negatively 10 2.7 2 0.6

Lret
Appendix II

Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 33 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

16. Which of the following factors most affect the readiness of your unit?

17. To what extent are you performing work that uses your MOSa/rating/code skills?

aMos is military occupational specialty.

Male Female

No

response – +

No

response – +

No

response – +

No

response – +

Number of personnel 97 200 81 25.7 52.9 21.4 90 174 88 25.6 49.4 25.0

Mix of men and women 258 72 48 68.3 19.0 12.7 216 46 90 61.4 13.1 25.6

Necessary equipment 188 85 105 49.7 22.5 27.8 186 68 98 52.8 19.3 27.8

Condition of equipment 158 142 78 41.8 37.6 20.6 135 143 74 38.4 40.6 21.0

Training at the command level 259 33 86 68.5 8.7 22.8 236 38 78 67.0 10.8 22.2

Training at the unit level 151 45 182 39.9 11.9 48.1 155 44 153 44.0 12.5 43.5

Command leadership 163 63 152 43.1 16.7 40.2 173 78 100 49.3 22.2 28.5

Funding 221 125 32 58.5 33.1 8.5 205 104 43 58.2 29.5 12.2

Other 344 14 18 91.5 3.7 4.8 324 10 18 92.0 2.8 5.1

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Not at all 26 6.9 27 7.7

Small extent 57 15.2 72 20.6

Moderate extent 81 21.5 57 16.3

Large extent 91 24.2 75 21.4

Very large extent 121 32.2 119 34.0
Appendix II

Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 34 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

18. In your unit, to what extent are most men in your MOS/rating/code performing 

work that uses their occupational skills?

19. In your unit, to what extent are most women in your MOS/rating/code performing 

work that uses their occupational skills?

20. If you believe that most women and/or men in your MOS/rating/code are not 

performing work that uses their MOS skills, please explain why you believe this is 

happening.

21. How old were you on your most recent birthday?

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Not at all 8 2.1 8 2.3

Small extent 44 11.7 34 9.8

Moderate extent 87 23.2 70 20.2

Large extent 164 43.7 128 37.0

Very large extent 72 19.2 106 30.6

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Not at all 19 5.2 7 2.0

Small extent 88 24.1 66 19.2

Moderate extent 110 30.1 97 28.3

Large extent 103 28.2 106 30.9

Very large extent 45 12.3 67 19.5

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

18-20 29 7.7 47 13.4

21-24 91 24.1 115 32.8

25-30 129 34.1 85 24.2

31-34 60 15.9 44 12.5

35-40 54 14.3 47 13.4

41 or older 15 4.0 13 3.7
Appendix II

Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 35 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

22. What is your pay grade group?

23. What is your service?

24. How many years of active duty service have you completed, including enlisted, 

warrant officer, and commissioned officer time?

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

E1-E3 61 16.1 74 21.1

E4-E6 189 50.0 187 53.3

E7-E9 26 6.9 32 9.1

CWO1-CWO5 11 2.9 1 0.3

01-04 88 23.3 53 15.1

05-06 3 0.8 4 1.1

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Army 215 56.9 193 55.0

Navy 121 32.0 123 35.0

Marine Corps 42 11.1 35 10.0

Air Force 0 0.0 0 0.0

Coast Guard 0 0.0 0 0.0

Male Female

 Years of service Count Percent Count Percent

1 -5 177 47.2 207 60.2

6-10 97 25.9 52 15.1

11-15 58 15.5 44 12.8

16-20 38 10.1 38 11.0

Greater than 20 5 1.3 3 0 .9
Appendix II

Responses to Survey Questions, by Gender

Page 36 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

25. What gender are you?

26. What is your current marital status?

Count Percent

Male 378 51.9

Female 351 48.1

Male Female

Count Percent Count Percent

Never married 117 31.0 138 39.5

Married 228 60.5 142 40.7

Separated 7 1.9 20 5.7

Divorced 25 6.6 47 13.5

Widowed 0 0.0 2 0.6
Page 37 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Appendix III

Locations Visited and Units Surveyed ApIexndi

Army

Fort Hood, Texas

13th Corps Support Command 181st Chemical Company 

46th Chemical Company 

74th Engineer Company

31st Chemical Company

4th Mechanized Infantry Division Headquarters, 204th Forward Support Battalion 

A Company, 704th Main Support Battalion (Supply)

C Company, 704th Main Support Battalion (Medical) 

D Company, 704th Main Support Battalion (Maintenance) 

Headquarters, 4th Forward Support Battalion 

A Company, 4th Forward Support Battalion (Supply)

E Company, 4th Forward Support Battalion (Medical)

4th Military Police Company

Headquarters, 1-44th Air Defense Artillery Battalion

1st Calvary Division Headquarters, 15th Forward Support Battalion 

A Company, 15th Forward Support Battalion (Supply)

B Company, 15th Forward Support Battalion (Maintenance)

C Company, 15th Forward Support Battalion (Medical)

Headquarters, 4-5th Air Defense Artillery Battalion

68th Chemical Company

545th Military Police Company 
Appendix III

Locations Visited and Units Surveyed

Page 38 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Germany

1st Mechanized Infantry Division Wurzburg

101st Military Intelligence Battalion

1st Military Police Company

Schweinfurt

Headquarters, 299th Forward Support Battalion 

A Company, 299th Forward Support Battalion (Supply)

B Company, 299th Forward Support Battalion (Maintenance)

C Company, 299th Forward Support Battalion (Medical)

Headquarters, 9th Engineer Battalion

Vilseck

Headquarters, 201st Forward Support Battalion 

A Company, 201st Forward Support Battalion (Supply)

B Company, 201st Forward Support Battalion (Maintenance)

C Company, 201st Forward Support Battalion (Medical)

V Corps Bamberg

Headquarters, 54th Engineering Battalion

Ansbach

6-52nd Air Defense Artillery Battalion
Appendix III

Locations Visited and Units Surveyed

Page 39 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Navy

Norfolk, Virginia VF-14, Oceana Naval Air Station

USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier

USS WASP amphibious assault ship

USS Gunston Hall dock landing ship

Marine Corps

Cherry Point, North 

Carolina 

Marine Aircraft Group 14

Marine Aircraft Control Group 28

New River, North Carolina Marine Aircraft Group 29
Page 40 GAO/NSIAD-99-120 Gender Issues

Appendix IV

Major Contributors to This Report ApVIenxdi

National Security And 

International Affairs 

Division, Washington, 

D.C.

Carol R. Schuster

William E. Beusse

Carole F. Coffey

George M. Delgado

Jack Edwards

Atlanta Field Office Lorelei St. James

Karen Thompson

Kurt Burgeson

Dallas Field Office Robert Malpass

Fred Lyles

Los Angeles Field 

Office

Cheryl Gordon

Norfolk Field Office Jim Lewis

(703265) Lret
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