Some Parents Survive and Some Don't: The Army and the Family as “Greedy Institutions”

• Published date: 01 May 2022
• Author: Eiko Strader,Margaret Smith
• Date: 01 May 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13467

446 Public Administration Review • May | June 2022

Research Article:

Race and Gender

Symposium

Abstract: The military and the family are “greedy institutions” that require the full attention of their members. Being

aware of the tension between work and family, the United States military has developed family support policies that

are more generous than legally required to ensure personnel readiness. However, family formation remains a major

obstacle for recruitment, retention, and integration of women. Using administrative data, this research shows that

fathers were more likely to leave prematurely for family reasons than childless men, particularly among non-Hispanic

Black and American Indian/Alaska Native men. However, women who gave birth while in service were much less

likely to leave for work–family reasons than childless women, while the same could not be said for women who joined

as mothers and had no additional children. The results reflect the gendered logic of the organization and the narrow

conceptualization of work–family conflict, both of which perpetuate gender-role stereotypes.

Evidence for Practice

• Effective personnel management requires a careful understanding of the organization and the nature of

work–family challenges beyond the immediate physical impact of childbirth.

• Given that most organizational cultures render employed men’s paternity invisible, assumptions guiding

organizational practices must be questioned, even when policies appear generous and universalistic.

• To advance gender equity in the public sector, it is important to address the diverging effects of parenthood

by promoting fathers’ stronger involvement in childcare so as to not reinforce the male breadwinner and

female caregiver norms that sustain gender inequality.

As family structures evolve and more families

face work–family conflict (WFC), family

support policies have become an important

personnel management tool in the public sector.

Family-friendly policies enhance job satisfaction

and performance, and flexible work arrangements

have been linked to less WFC and reduced

intention to leave (Feeney and Stritch2019; Kim

and Wiggins2011; Mullins, Charbonneau, and

Riccucci2021). However, personnel management

practices vary greatly among public agencies because

organizational factors impact the policy adoption and

implementation process (Kim and Wiggins2011).

Therefore, the effectiveness of family support policies

needs to be assessed at the agency-level. Of particular

importance is the Department of Defense (DoD),

which has reported relatively higher satisfaction levels

about work–family policies than other security-related

agencies (Kim and Wiggins2011).

Yet, the military is also known for its masculine

culture (Bridges, Wulff, and Bamberry2021; Doan

and Portillo2019; Steidl and Brookshire2019) and

high levels of WFC (Kamarck2020; Wadsworth

and Southwell2011). As the military and the family

demand “commitments, loyalty, time, and energy”

of their members at all times (Segal1986, 9), they

have been termed “greedy institutions.” To ease this

tension, DoD has over time developed extensive

family support policies, yet continues to struggle

with recruitment, retention, and integration of

women (Defense Advisory Committee on Women

in the Services [DACOWITS]2020; Doan and

Portillo2019; Wadsworth and Southwell2011).

A likely cause may be the gendered assumptions

underlying work–family policies, viewing fathers

as breadwinners and mothers as caregivers (Bianchi

and Milkie2010; Misra, Budig, and Moller2007).

Indeed, critics have argued that DoD may have

been overlooking the needs of diverse families

by overfocusing on women’s biological capacities

surrounding childbirth (Goodman et al.2013;

Marty2017).

Using administrative data containing all new enlistees

who joined the Army between 2002 and 2009, this

article examines the intersectional effects of gender

and parenthood on job performance and retention

Some Parents Survive and Some Don’t: The Army and the

Family as “Greedy Institutions”

Eiko Strader

Margaret Smith

Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies,

The George Washington University

Army Cyber Institute

Margaret Smith is a research scientist at

the Army Cyber Institute and an assistant

professor in the Department of Social

Sciences at the United States Military

Academy. She is also an affiliated faculty in

the Modern War Institute at the West Point

and an affiliated researcher at the National

Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and

Responses to Terrorism (START) at the

University of Maryland. Her dissertation

research examined women who support the

Islamic State in the United States to identify

mobilization patterns.

Email: margaret.smith@westpoint.edu

Eiko Strader is an assistant professor

with a joint appointment in the

Trachtenberg School of Public Policy

and Public Administration and the

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

at the George Washington University. Her

research interests include social inequality,

intersectionality, work and family, welfare

states, and military. She has published in

outlets such as

Social Forces, Sociological

Forum, International Migration Review

,

Family Relations, and Research in Social

Stratification and Mobility

.

Email: strader@gwu.edu

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 82, Iss. 3, pp. 446–458. © 2022 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13467.