Female cadets' strategies for managing their role in the Swedish Armed Forces

Today's female cadets hold a stronger position than previous generations of women within the Swedish Armed Forces, but they still need to employ various strategies to manage their minority status.

Challenges linked to traditional masculine norms still exist within the Armed Forces. Previous research has shown that women in male-dominated contexts sometimes distance themselves from other women as a strategy for managing their position in the group.

"Today's young military women continue to be in the minority, but they are simultaneously sought after and encouraged to join the armed forces. This may have reduced the fear of not fitting in if associated with other military women", says Mariam Bjarnesen, Senior Lecturer at the Department of War Studies at the Swedish Defence University.

She has conducted in-depth interviews with female cadets about their experiences of being young and female in today's armed forces, and the results have recently been published in the scientific journal Gender Issues.

Support from the management

"Women within the Swedish Armed Forces are clearly strategically prioritised today. They report being well-treated by teachers and management. They are simply in a different position than previous generations of women who to a greater extent had to fight their way into the military context", says Mariam Bjarnesen.

"Young women in the Swedish Armed Forces seem eager to support each other and find strength in the presence of other women. This could hopefully make it easier to tackle the structural challenges that exist from a young age", she continues.

Previous strategies to reduce visibility

Previous research indicates that there has been a fear of standing out negatively as a woman, such as giving a wrong answer or appearing weak in some context. A woman's mistake has also reflected poorly on other women in the group.

"This has led women to use strategies to reduce their visibility by avoiding drawing attention to themselves in various ways. This can involve never complaining, or being very careful about it, even if one were to be mistreated. Another strategy has simply been to avoid other women to stand out less."

Women in the current study also experience a range of similar challenges related to their minority position, which can lead to performance anxiety. However, the security of being prioritised and having support from their superiors is of great importance, as well as support from other women in the same position.

More knowledge about female cadets' situations

Mariam Bjarnesen hopes the study can contribute to a continued focus on issues related to gender equality within the Swedish Armed Forces.

"The Swedish Armed Forces are growing, and our young cadets are very important. If female cadets, unlike their male colleagues, need to expend energy on managing a range of challenges related to their minority status, we need to be aware of this to address the situation", says Mariam Bjarnesen.