Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

J. Scott Frampton

Abstract

The modern United States Armed Forces is the largest and most powerful military force the world has ever experienced, and the U.S. Marine Corps represents the most elite members thereof, claiming the iconic tagline “The Few, The Proud.” However, while the Marine Corps expends considerable effort in recruiting excellent personnel, the branch also faces a high turnover rate, with 75.0% of first-year enlistees choosing not to continue their service for a subsequent term. This retention problem is especially pronounced with respect to female Marines, who only make up 8.0% of the Marine force, the lowest of any U.S. military branch. First-term attrition is costly and an ongoing issue across all military service branches especially regarding women. This study focused on the factors that impact the low retention rate of junior enlisted female Marines. A qualitative interview approach was used to collect the data from 16 junior female Marines, and data were analyzed utilizing the frameworks of Steer and Mowday’s turnover model as well as Herzberg’s two-factor model. A 30- to 60-minute virtual interview that consisted of 21 questions was used to ascertain their perspective on whether leadership played a part in their decisions to separate from the Marine Corps. The results indicated that leadership played a significant role in the reasons why these females choose to separate from the Marine Corps. The findings that inadequate leadership causes females to quit should be interpreted as a demand for a broader social transformation and an opportunity for leadership to campaign for more gender representation to develop equal and inclusive work conditions for women.

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