Black Women in the Military: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Correlates of Sexual Harassment

• Published date: 01 May 2022
• Author: Rachel A. Breslin,Samantha Daniel,Kimberly Hylton
• Date: 01 May 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13464

410 Public Administration Review • May | June 2022

Research Article:

Race and Gender

Symposium

Abstract: Sexual harassment is a persistent problem in the workplace that warrants further attention in public

administration research. Despite the fact that black women are one of the largest subpopulations in the military, most

studies of sexual harassment treat women as a homogenous group, and results generally reflect the experiences of white

women, given their overrepresentation in samples. Using data from a large-scale and representative survey of military

members, we find that nearly one in five black women in the military (17.9%) experienced sexual harassment in

2018. Our findings further detail black women’s sexual harassment experiences and advance the discourse on the

need to address sexual harassment in the workplace through an intersectional lens in order to design more inclusive

prevention and response programs and policies. For example, inclusive programs should proactively account for the

experiences of black women in the design and evaluation of prevention and response efforts.

Evidence for Practice

• Examining sexual harassment by making comparisons between groups (for example, between women of

different Racial or Ethnic categories) has value, but focusing on groups at the margins reveals experiences and

nuance that may otherwise be neglected.

• For black women in the military, sexual harassment is associated with other harmful or violent experiences,

such as gender discrimination and sexual assault, as well as characteristics of the workplace and perceptions

of the workplace climate.

• Inclusive systems of sexual harassment prevention and response should account for those who are most

vulnerable, namely, those whose social identity lay at the intersection of multiple categories of inequality

(such as black women).

Despite substantial interest and attention to

issues of social equity and representation

of marginalized groups—particularly

women and Racial or Ethnic minorities—within

public administration scholarship, attention to

these concerns with regards to the military has been

sorely lacking. In fact, a search of articles published

in the Public Administration Review since the

1960s yielded only one article devoted to race in

the military (Stillman and Richard1974) and one

devoted to women in the military (Baldwin1996)

despite the fact that the Military Departments, in

total, constitute the largest employer in the executive

branch (OPM2018). However, the US military offers

a particularly valuable setting in which to explore

the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace,

an issue that affects a variety of organizations both

public and private. Few public organizations have

dedicated as many resources toward or received as

much public scrutiny regarding sexual harassment in

the workplace than the military; yet, challenges and

gaps persist. One such gap in knowledge is Racial and

Ethnic minority women’s experiences and the manner

in which both their gender and race or ethnicity

simultaneously influence their experiences with sexual

harassment in the workplace.

The military’s pursuit of equal opportunity for

its members dates back to key legislative and

policy initiatives beginning in the 1950s with the

desegregation of military units and continuing into

the latter part of the last century when laws restricting

women’s military service ended (Kamarck2019).

Since then, the military continues to refine and

assess policies to promote equal opportunity and

prevent unlawful discrimination of military personnel

(DoD2015). In recent years, the Department of

Defense (DoD) has also taken an active approach to

recruiting and retaining women, including opening

combat occupations to women (Harris2014).

In 2018, women’s representation in the active

component reached its highest level to date, with

women comprising 16% of enlisted members and

19% of officers (CNA2019). However, evidence

Rachel A. Breslin

Samantha Daniel

Black Women in the Military: Prevalence, Characteristics, and

Correlates of Sexual Harassment

Kimberly Hylton is a senior researcher at

the Fors Marsh Group. She received her M.S.

in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from

the George Mason University. Her research

focuses on military workplace climate.

Email: khylton@forsmarshgroup.com

Samantha Daniel is the Chief of Diversity

and Inclusion Research in the Office of

People Analytics in the Department of

Defense. She is also a licensed psychologist

and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the

University of Maryland Global Campus.

Her research interests include diversity and

inclusion, racial and gender relations, and

well-being in the military.

Email: Dr.samd15@gmail.com

Rachel A. Breslin is the Chief of Military

Gender Relations Research in the Office

of People Analytics in the Department of

Defense. She is also a Professorial Lecturer

at the George Washington University. Her

research focuses on the intersection of race,

gender, and public organizations.

Email: rbreslin@gwu.edu

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 82, Iss. 3, pp. 410–419. © 2022

American Society for Public Administration.

This article has been contributed to by US

Government employees and their work is in

the public domain in the USA.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13464.

Office of People Analytics in the Department of Defense

Fors Marsh Group

Kimberly Hylton