Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Kummel, Gerhard

Titel

Complete Access: Women in the Bundeswehr and Male Ambivalence

Ist Teil von

• Armed forces and society, 2002-07, Vol.28 (4), p.555-573

Ort / Verlag

Thousand Oaks, CA: Transaction Periodicals Consortium

Erscheinungsjahr

2002

Quelle

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The Bundeswehr is currently undergoing large-scale transformations. Part of the change, which began in January 2001, is that women previously confined to noncombat roles (e.g., medical service; military bands) are now eligible to all classifications and trades within the German armed forces as a consequence of a ruling of the European Court of Justice in January 2000. This seems to indicate that the gender order in Germany, as well as in modern societies in general, is subject to change. Nevertheless, the literature on the integration of women in the armed forces suggests that this step does not meet with fullscale approval. A survey of male Bundeswehr soldiers reveals a good deal of ambivalence, although the data in general seem to document a relatively integration-positive climate in the Bundeswehr. Anticipated positive effects are accompanied by reservations in some segments, and in some more than others. Such attitudes have two sources: one is the traditional image of the soldier, the military and gender roles, and the other is status inconsistency, i.e., a fear of the competition presented by women soldiers. Making female integration a success despite these views requires an unmistakable signal from the political and military leadership that integration is wanted and that it is based on the principles of equality of treatment and of equal opportunity.