Gender Dynamics in a Masculine Professional Context: The Case of the Portuguese Air Force

Abstract

This article aims to understand the experiences of women working in the Portuguese Air Force, a traditionally male professional environment, and the perspectives of their male counterparts on the subject, considering women’s minority status and symbolic gender asymmetries in the military. This study draws on 16 semi-structured interviews with Air Force personnel, evenly split by gender. Findings reveal four main themes that convey awareness that the Air Force is still a masculine world, perceptions of gender dynamics in the Air Force, barriers to equality, and strategies to address the situation. Although gender equality is formally in place in the Air Force, women continue to face obstacles that hinder their career advancement and ensure that their professional experiences differ from those of their male counterparts.

Ser empreendedora em Portugal

“…Esta situação não acontece com as outras empreendedoras, que optaram por profissões tradicionalmente consideradas "femininas". Este cenário se equipara ao encontrado nos estudos de Alperstedt et al (2014) e de Botelho et al (2009), em que uma das maiores barreiras encontradas pelas mulheres entrevistadas foi o preconceito de serem mulheres e estarem num setor masculino, enfrentando, por isso, dificuldades em se sobressaírem, quando comparadas com os homens, na linha dos estudos de Amâncio, Santos e outras (e.g., Amâncio, & Santos, 2021;Santos et al, 2015Santos et al, , 2016Santos et al, , 2022.…”

Integrating gender expertise into the Canadian Armed Forces: challenges for change agents and culture change

“…The social-psychological dynamics of tokenism, and their effects, have been examined in a range of military contexts, including the United States Military Academy at West Point ( Yoder et al, 1983 ), the United States Army ( Pawelczyk, 2021 ), and the Portuguese Air Force ( Santos et al, 2022 ). As is the case in other militaries, the gender representation in the CAF would be considered “skewed” in Kanter’s terms, as the ratio of men to women hovers around 85:15, depending on the occupation and element.…”