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Chapter 4:

Gender

As shown in Table 4.9, women constituted about 20 percent of officer accessions and 15 percent of the officer corps in FY 2001. 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).

Table 4.9. FY 2001 Active Component Female Officer Accessions and Officer Corps (Percent)
 
Army
Navy
Marine Corps
Air Force
DoD
Active Component Accessions
21.2
18.9
9.3
22.8
20.1
Active Component Officer Corps
15.8
15.2
5.3
17.4
15.3

Also see Appendix Table B-32 (Gender by Service).

The primary sources of commission for female officer accessions in FY 2001 were ROTC Scholarship (23 percent) and direct appointment (18 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. While females comprised 17 percent of company grade officers, their representation decreased to 13 percent of field grade officers and 4 percent of general or flag officers.

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. 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.)

Table 4.10. FY 2001 Pay Grade1 of Active Component Officers, by Service and Gender (Percent)
Pay Grade
Army
Marine Corps
Air Force
DoD
O-1 through O-3
Male
82.1
83.9
93.2
79.7
82.7
Female
17.9
16.1
6.9
20.3
17.3
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
O-4 through O-6
Male
87.1
86.0
97.4
86.5
87.4
Female
12.9
14.0
2.7
13.5
12.6
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
O-7 through O-10
Male
96.5
95.4
98.8
96.3
96.4
Female
3.5
4.6
1.3
3.7
3.6
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

Columns may not add to total due to rounding.
1Excludes those with unknown rank/pay grade.
Also see Appendix Table B-48 (Pay Grade by Gender and Service).

 

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