Description
Military culture is a dynamic force of shared beliefs, values, behaviours and norms which shape the professional identity of those who are employed within the institution. In wider research on the development of military identity, it is acknowledged to be formed in part through the learning of this military culture, shaped by the unique cultural context and maintained by social processes. Significantly, a deliberate shift from civilian to military identity is crucial for adapting to and succeeding in military life. Military education and training within the academy are therefore critical for the learning of military culture and where the soldier identity is first adopted.
Women’s participation is crucial for both gender equality and for the benefit of the institution. Despite this, the military is widely acknowledged to be a gendered institution, its culture central to wider constructions of gender and gendered divisions. The ways in which these gendered institutional logics are embedded and most significantly, learned within military culture have substantial implications to the way that women are received and perceived, and how gender is performed within these contexts. How military gender culture is learned in the academy is therefore vital to understand, to enable women’s full and meaningful military participation.
This paper is based on the Norwegian Academy context and seeks to develop new knowledge on how the gendered professional identity is formed through training and education.
