Gendered: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis of Female Service Members at War

Abstract

Abstract This qualitative interpretive meta synthesis provides an understanding of the perspectives associated with the lived experience of women during deployment. A total of 11 studies using data collected from 198 female military personnel were included in this analysis. Qualitative analysis yielded 2 overarching themes: gender expectations and lack of support. The first theme, gender expectations, included two subthemes: female roles and responsibilities at home, and gender discrimination and harassment within the military. The second theme, lack of support, generated 2 subcategories related to support during deployment and postdeployment. Findings suggest a deployment experience is inextricably colored by characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, parental status, and other factors. Perception of threat for female service members often includes the threat of military sexual trauma, which is magnified by a lack of social support both during and after deployment.