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Project Diane: Women's Foundation of Greater Kansas City Final Report (November 2015)
Category: Combat
The Women's Foundation of Greater Kansas City, with funding from The Army Research Institute, conducted "Project Diane" over a two-year period to research the potential benefits and barriers of gender integration of Special Forces (Green Berets). Twenty-four focus groups with 198 special forces males and special operations females were hosted. They found a "great deal of resistance to gender integration in the military" linked to what they referred to as "gender oblivion" which researchers defined as resistance to integration "rooted in traditional gender stereotypes that are often invisible to military personnel in their daily routines."
For female servicemembers confidence, organizational structure, and sharing experiences were important to them as they enter male-dominated units. Mentorship and support networks were desirable.
The Defense Secretary directed all combat positions to women in 2016 including special operation forces, rescinding the armed services policy banning military women from serving in combat roles. Exception requests will be considered case by case.
External Website:
The University of Kansas/Project Diane: Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City Final Report
Downloads (PDF documents)