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Series:   Elements in Public and Nonprofit Administration

Organizational Obliviousness

Entrenched Resistance to Gender Integration in the Military

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2019

Alesha Doan  and
Shannon Portillo
Alesha Doan
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Shannon Portillo
Affiliation:
University of Kansas

Summary

Exploring efforts to integrate women into combat forces in the military, we investigate how resistance to equity becomes entrenched, ultimately excluding women from being full participants in the workplace. Based on focus groups and surveys with members of Special Operations, we found most of the resistance is rooted in traditional gender stereotypes that are often bolstered through organizational policies and practices. The subtlety of these practices often renders them invisible. We refer to this invisibility as organizational obliviousness. Obliviousness exists at the individual level, it becomes reinforced at the cultural level, and, in turn, cultural practices are entrenched institutionally by policies. Organizational obliviousness may not be malicious or done to actively exclude or harm, but the end result is that it does both. Throughout this Element we trace the ways that organizational obliviousness shapes individuals, culture, and institutional practices throughout the organization.
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Keywords

organizational obliviousnessgender integrationpolicies and practicesmilitarySpecial Forces
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in Public and Nonprofit Administration
Online ISBN: 9781108665124
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 13 June 2019

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