Gender

As shown in Table 4.9, women constituted about 20 percent of officer accessions and 15 percent of the officer corps in FY 2000. The Air Force holds its place as the most gender-integrated regarding officers, with the Army and the Navy not far behind. Though the levels of women in the officer corps are nowhere near college graduate population proportions, sustained growth has occurred in the representation of women among officers (see Appendix Tables D-24 and D-29 for trends among accessions and the officer corps since FY 1973).

The primary source of commission for women in FY 2000 continued to be the direct appointment (31 percent), as shown in Table 4.6. Female officer accessions were less likely than males to have attended an academy or to have received their commission through OCS/OTS. The majority of directly appointed officers are in the professional groups (i.e., medical, dental, legal, and ministry). Officers from these professional groups are classified as "non-line," are managed separately, and do not assume command responsibilities over "line" officers. Career opportunities tend to be somewhat limited for non-line officers and can result in differences in pay grade distributions. Table 4.10 shows pay grade by gender for each of the Services and for DoD as a whole. There were pay grade differences between the genders, though not to the same degree as among racial/ethnic groups. Across DoD, 42 percent of male officers were O-4s through O-6s, whereas the percentage of women in these grades was 9 percentage points lower at 33 percent.

Commissioning source differences complicate the interpretation of variations in pay grade distributions by gender. For example, direct commissions may provide an early grade boost for women, since advanced degree requirements associated with occupations in the professional echelons are rewarded by DoD with advanced pay grade initially for commissioned officers. However, assignment differences and command restrictions, as well as networking obstacles, may retard retention, continuation, and hence career progression for women. Assignment qualifications, interests, and policy also affect pay grade. In the Air Force, for example, status as a pilot usually enhances career prospects. (Assignment data are provided later in this chapter in the discussion of occupation areas.)

previous | next