The Evolving Pattern of Occupational Segregation by Race and Gender of Enlisted Personnel in the United States Armed Force (1984-1998)

Abstract

The US military has been praised for pursuing policies of integration and affirmative action, but the concept of integration appears to be identified with increased rates of representation and promotion of women and minorities, rather than occupational integration. In this paper trends in the evolution of horizontal occupational segregation of enlisted personnel by race and gender are documented for the four Armed Forces for the period 1984-98, using a multi-dimensional numerical approach developed by Silber and extended by Watts. It is shown that only the Navy achieved occupational integration by gender and race over this period, but that the highly skilled occupations tended to enjoy higher rates of integration (lower increases in segregation) than other groups of occupations within the overall structure of employment by race and gender. These results suggest that further research is required to explore the interaction of practices of recruitment and occupational assignment with the occupational preferences and aptitudes of new applicants for military employment. I am indebted to the Defense Data Center for their cooperation in providing me with US Armed Forces data on employment by gender, race and occupational assignment and attrition and accession data by gender and race.