Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Lisa M. Barrow

Abstract

AbstractQualitative narrative inquiry was used to understand the accounts and experiences of female officers in the United States Army that were once stationed in South Korea, who did not advance to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In today’s military, female officers still face many challenges during their advancement from Major to Lieutenant Colonel, relative to their male counterparts. The specific problem is the underrepresentation of female majors in the Army who compete for promotion to the lieutenant colonel rank. The researcher explored the experiences of 14 female Army officers that served in South Korea and sought out promotions from the rank of major to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Sen’s capability theory was used to understand how impediments such as traumatic experiences, family and life stressors, and officer evaluations created a “glass ceiling” that led to low numbers of females in leadership ranks. Sociocultural theory provided a lens to conceptualize why female officers were significantly underrepresented at the major and lieutenant colonel ranks. An oral history narrative was used to re-tell the stories of 14 female officers who experienced the Army’s promotion system from major to lieutenant colonel. Data were analyzed with Braun & Clarke’s 6-Step Thematic Approach and the MAXQDA program to identify 19 codes: producing 10 themes. Women had to almost reinvent themselves to be promoted in the Army. Results produced recommendations for leaders at echelon to obtain further training on how to effectively incorporate female field grade officers into predominantly male units, address their concerns, provide them key development opportunities the same as they would male officers, and to evaluate them fairly on officer evaluation reports for career progression.

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