(Loy, 47)
Social Issues
Family life and the natural obligations to the family, between the career and home could be frustrating and tense. This is because one cannot have a 'day off' when the family requires it in the case of a service woman in the Army. Deployment could be at far away places which could result separation and anxiety for the family. The Canadian army employs women in its units ever since the last century. The report is that there are issues of juggling between home and career. "Issues such as child care, spousal employment, and lack of geographic stability, pregnancy leave, and single parenthood are all factors that contribute to the departure of women from the force." (Backgrounder: Women in the Canadian Forces) One of the studies conducted on the issue in Canada suggest that personnel policies must be changes in such a manner that "both women and men can balance the military activity with family responsibilities." (Backgrounder: Women in the Canadian Forces) it can be argued that this is the case also with women surgeons, nurses and many other occupations which require women to be away from home for some time. Thus upon analyzing the performance of combatants in actual combat and comparing these problems it is possible to clear up the issue.
A b) Analyze Data
There are illustrations available on all the issues. For example the issue of sexual harassment has found convincing arguments that it is present and is a cause of women combatants leaving service. Karen D. Davis researching on the reason why women exit from the Canadian Forces found that the reason was the unfavorable attitude in the male dominated army. The research was a qualitative approach was used to explore the relationship between organizational environment and exit among women who left the Canadian Forces after serving more than ten but less than twenty years. The analysis was based on interviews and the results showed that the experience of women in the male dominated army was rather unpleasant. The figures show that in 1992, the number of women in the full-time regular component of the Canadian Forces peaked at over 9,000, comprising approximately 11% of the regular force. In 1995 it went down to 7500 members, and the recent figures show that 0.7% of the workforces have women in service. Most are in the non-operational and medical fields. Thus the combating personnel have a skewed ratio of the genders. (Weinstein; White, 179)
The second issue that women will not stand the hardships of war was proved wrong when women fought in the Persian Gulf War. The war that changed the nature of the question and proved the combat worthiness of women in the war is the Persian Gulf War. The role of women in the war was highlighted by the media and brought issues related to it to the fore. The war was the beginning of changing the laws so that women could be inducted to serving in combat assignments. In 1991 women served in the forward areas. Women in the Marine Corps served in the administrative force. The Persian Gulf War was a determinant in the answer to the question of women in combat. The Persian war saw the deployment of over 35,000 women personnel, the largest in the history of U.S. wars. Women officers served in the front as pilots, repair units and mostly male dominated areas of expertise. This made it clear that women could handle most operations as well as men. (Skaine, 64) the air force deployed 3800 women and the allied nations in the war too participated with women officers. Canada sent 150, and Britain 800 and the war saw two women being taken as prisoners. (Skaine, 65)
The number of deployment is shown by Rosemarie Skaine in table given in the appendix. This also showed that the military also relies more and more on women in combat. The Persian Gulf War, the first major armed conflict for U.S. troops since Vietnam, graphically illustrated that the military had become increasingly dependent on women to respond to a major crisis. The media were filled with pictures and stories of women checking out their gas masks and flack jackets, saying tearful goodbyes to their families, and boarding planes headed for the heat and sand of Saudi Arabia. During the 1983 Operation Fury in Grenada, women constituted 2% of the Army's forces. By 1989 and Operation Just Cause in Panama, the proportion had doubled to 4%. (Weinstein; White, 179)
Now we can agree by analyzing these facts that there exists...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now