The Role of Gender Stereotypes in Female Soldier Mobilisation A case study of the National Army of Suriname
Shelby J. J. Demmerer Supervisor: Floris Vermeulen Second reader: Maria Kranendonk
Date of submission: 28 June 2019 Conflict Resolution and Governance
University of Amsterdam
Table of Contents Acknowledgement
1. Introduction 2. The Case Study
2.1. Suriname
2.2. The National Army of Suriname 3. Theoretical Framework
3.1. Gender Stereotypes 3.2. Females in the Job Market
3.2.1. Gender stereotypes in occupational choices 3.2.2. Gender stereotypes and the choice to hire women 3.2.3. Gender stereotypes in the job market
3.3. Females in Armed Forces 3.3.1. Informal armed groups 3.3.2. Formal armed groups
3.3.3. Gender stereotypes and the choices of women to join 3.3.4. Gender stereotypes and the choices to attract women 3.3.5. Other factors.
4. Research Design
4.1. Data Gathering Methods
4.1.1. Semi-structured interviews 4.1.2. Focus groups
4.2. An Overview of the Fieldwork 4.2.1. Female soldiers
4.2.2. The military organisation 4.2.3. Gender experts
4.3. Data analysis 4.4. Ethics
5. Results
5.1. Gender Stereotypes in Surinamese Society 5.1.1. Gender in Suriname
5.1.2. Female position in society 5.1.3. Female position in the family 5.1.4. Female position in the job market 5.1.5. Conclusion
5.2. Women in the Surinamese Army 5.2.1. Opportunities in the military
5.2.1.1. Push and pull factors army
5.2.2. Treatment of female soldiers in the military 5.2.3. Treatment of female soldiers in society 5.2.4. Conclusion
5.3. Push and Pull factors of Women 5.3.1. Pull Factors of soldiers 5.3.2. Push Factors of soldiers
5.3.3. Perceptions of potential recruits. 5.3.4. Compare and contrast.
5.3.5. conclusion 6. Conclusion
6.1. Summary Findings 6.2. The Research Question 6.3. Contribution to Academia 6.4. Limitations
6.5. Policy Implications 6.6. Future Research 7. References
Acknowledgement
First of all, I am grateful for the guidance received from my Supervisor Dr. Floris Vermeulen. Floris, thank you very much for your interest in my research topic from the beginning, as well as your quick and insightful comments during the writing process.
I would also like to thank the second reader Drs. Maria Kranendonk for dedicating her time to review my thesis.
Moreover, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Kolonel J. Antonius, the Director of the army, who has provided me with the opportunity to do research within the organisation.
Furthermore, I would like to thank the personnel from the military organisation who assisted me during the fieldwork process. More specifically I would like to thank Ms. F Bell and Mr. Lieutenant G. Amatali for the time they took to guide me within the organisation. I highly appreciate this.
My deep gratitude goes to all female soldiers: Thank you for sharing your most personal experiences with me.
Mijn dank gaat uit naar alle vrouwelijke militairen: Bedankt dat u uw meest persoonlijke ervaringen met mij wilden delen.
I am thankful for all gender experts, who’s knowledge has been highly valuable for this research. I would specifically like to express my deep sense of gratitude to:
Ms. S. Ketwaru-Nurmohamed, Ms. C. Halfhide, Ms. Bakboord, Ms. Guicherit, Ms. Renuka Biharie and Mr Oyeleye Adeniyi.
Introduction
Women have been excluded from the main narratives of international relations as well as conflict and security studies (Ortega, 2012). Recently, researchers have attempted to change this male-centered focus by including women as subjects of study, which has especially been absent in mobilisation studies (Ortega, 2012). According to Ortega (2012), the word “soldier” is overshadowed by masculine connotations (Ortega, 2012). These gender stereotypes are of crucial importance in male mobilisation (Goldstein, 2001). In the socialisation process, the male and female gender identity categories are constructed as binary oppositions, which allows manhood to be associated with more warrior like characteristics, and females to be seen as more soft, caring and nurturing beings (Goldstein, 2001). However, if men are socialised from a young age into possible military personnel, and in doing so are presented as the opposite of females, how does this socialisation process (with the use of gender stereotypes) influence female mobilisation?
The aim of this research is to give women a voice in security studies, and especially military discourse, by studying their mobilisation process. Even though there has been an increase in literature on female mobilisation in armed forces, the focus on the role of socialisation or more specifically gender stereotypes is still lacking. Bjarnegård (2015) for example stresses that studies on the influence of constructed gender roles are lacking in the field of security studies in general. Moreover, female mobilisation has mostly been studied in informal armed groups (such as guerilla forces) in the Global South (E.g. Viterna (2006) and Thomas and Bond (2015)) and the state armies of the Global North (E.g. Van Creveld (2000) and Segal (1995)), while there has only been limited research on State military mobilisation in the Global South. This research will provide more insights in this category, by using the military of Suriname as case study. More specifically, it will answer the question: “What is the role of gender stereotypes in female soldier mobilisation within the National Army of Suriname?”
This research is important as it sheds light on the mobilisation process of females in the army of Suriname, which is an organisation that plays a crucial role in the national security of the nation state. The social relevance of this, is that the information might have policy implications
for the National Army of Suriname, as they can include the insights of this research to better include women in the organisation. This also gives women a voice in military discourse of Suriname. Moreover, it might make society more aware of the outcome of the influence of everyday gender stereotypes on the woman’s life. Overall, as there is a lack of research on armies in the Global South, the results of this research provide a base for future research to build upon.
Hence, the role of gender stereotypes on the female mobilisation process is studies through push and pull factors of females to join the forces and of the army to attract women. To do so, different strands of research are consulted. The theoretical framework integrates research on occupational choices of females with research on female mobilisation into armed forces to present a coherent literature review which provides a lens through which the case study is examined. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and focus groups, which was analysed by way of coding frames (Halperin & Heath , 2017). While gender experts provided general information about Surinamese society, the military organisation provided for push and pull factors of the military to attract women. Then the female soldiers provided information about their treatment in the military and as soldiers in society, which became part of general push and pull factors of women to join the forces. Female high school students who were in their last year also provided push and push factors they would consider to join the army, as they can be seen as potential recruits, which together with those of women provide a general picture of factors included in the decision making process of females to join the army. The contextual information about society and the military organisation, together with data on push and pull factors, provide the information necessary to present a conclusion concerning the role of gender stereotypes in the female soldier mobilisation in the National Army of Suriname.
To answer the research question, this research is divided into six different chapters. First general information about the case study will be provided. Then the theoretical framework will present previous literature as the foundation of the thesis. Consequently the research design is discussed, including the research methods used, an overview of the fieldwork process as well as the way in which the data is analysed, ethics and limitations. The results chapter then dives into the fieldwork concerning gender stereotypes in Surinamese society, women in the Surinamese
army as well as push and pull factors of both the organisation to attract women and the factors of the women to join the army. Lastly, the concluding chapter provides a summary of the research, while also dedicating specific sections to answering the research question, contributing to academia, discussing limitations, policy implications and future research.
The Case Study
Before diving into the theoretical framework of this research, this section provides the reader with general information about the country Suriname and the National Army of Suriname.
2.1. Suriname
Suriname became independent from the Netherlands on the 25th of November 1975. The country is on the Coast of South america, well known for its multi ethnic society that came into existence in colonial times and mainly consists of “...Hindus, Creoles (mixture of white and black), Javanese, Maroons, Amerindians, Chinese and Brazilians...” (Correa, 2015). This also brings about cultural, religious and linguistic diversity (Brana-Shute, 1996; Correa, 2015). Most of the population lives on the coastal area, leaving 80% of the tropical rainforest not lived in (Brana-Shute, 1996).
Moreover, Suriname had a population size of 563,402 in 2017 (Worldbank, n.d.-a). In 2018, women formed around 50 % of the population Based on United Nations World Population Prospects (Suriname Population, 2018). Furthermore, data collected between 2009 and 2010 has shown that even though more women (than men) apply for jobs, men are better represented in the job market (Heemskerk & Apapoe, 2011). The amount of women in the workforce has been rising, but many household duties that women are not paid for often still consume their time without proper recognition (Heemskerk & Apapoe, 2011).
After informing the reader about Suriname, the next section will provide general information about the National Army of Suriname.
From 1975 onwards the military in suriname evolved into what it is today: the National Army of Suriname. Before the independence of Suriname, the army still consisted of a Dutch Surinamese battalion, known as the TRIS (Tropenmacht in Suriname), with Dutch commanders. They were not perceived as a combatant force but rather performed tasks that would today be classified as development work (Brana-Shute, 1996). When the country became independent, the Netherlands agreed on assisting the creation of a small Surinamese military, with “...8 Officers, 100 noncommissioned Officers, 500 conscripts, and 150 civilians in the army and navy. An air force was added in 1980.” (Brana-Shute, 1996, pp. 472-473).
The military had a big influence on the newly independent republic. There have been two periods of military involvement that have been particularly influential for the country. The first one is the coup d'etat in 1980, which eventually lead to the so called “December Killings” (Brana-Shute, 1986) and the domestic war (Price, 1995). Correa (2015) argues that the coup was among other factors the result of “...the wage gap between Officers and Enlisted Men , the consistent resistance of governments to unionization of the military, the dissatisfaction with their role in the country, and the consociational model of Surinamese politics, in which the military was never represented…” (p. 119). Here a group identity was created based on exclusion, as they felt unimportant in Surinamese society. On the other hand, they had proper weapons, training and many suddenly got promoted to the higher positions of power previously taken in by the Dutch Officers. According to Correa (2015), this inspired the military establishment to seek more political power as well. The coup also lead to an increase in military personnel from 750 men to more than 2250 men with a larger budget.
Moreover, the current democratically re-elected president, Desiré Delano Bouterse, was the chief military Officer of the coup and is the main suspect of the “December Killings” (ohchr, 1990; Griffith, 2011). However, his trial keeps getting delayed (Human Rights Watch, 2012). It is often argued that the military evolution was due to the aspirations of Desiré Delano Bouterse, also referred to as a military dictator (Correa, 2015). Moreover, it is argued that as Bouterse rose to power as a political figure, the military only endured a loss of personnel, roles and prestige (Correa, 2015). Even though he is also charged for drug trafficking in the Netherlands (Griffith,
2011), and indicted for power abuse and human rights violations, he remains a powerful political figure of national prestige shown to be unaffected by institutional demands (Correa, 2015).
After giving a broad overview of the Army of Suriname, the next chapter will provide the theoretical framework, which should provide the lens through which the research is done.
Theoretical Framework
In order to provide a framework through which the influence of gender stereotypes on female soldier mobilisation can be studied, this section will first of all describe what is meant by gender stereotypes. Then it will be divided into two main segments. The first one will comprise females in the armed forces, which will start with broad motivations of both the females and recruiters, to then provide practical paragraphs concerning the appliance of the theory to the data gathered in the field. The second section will also start with broad aspects to accordingly provide applicable theories, but will focus on women in the general labour market. These two theoretical backgrounds will together provide the foundation that is necessary to answer the research question: “What is the role of gender stereotypes in female soldier mobilisation within the National Army of Suriname?”
3.1. Gender Stereotypes
Even though there has not been an overarching definition of stereotyping, Ruble, Cohen and Ruble (1984) give a definition, which will be applied to this case study: “First, stereotyping involve the classification or categorization of individuals or groups… Second, stereotyping involves the assignment of a dispositional quality… to an individual or group based on their membership in various categories or subcategories…Thus stereotyping may be viewed as judgement that a given individual is likely to possess a certain characteristic based on their placement in a particular social category...” (p. 340).
Studies have argued that gender stereotypes are socially constructed within a society, providing a consensus about common features of what men and women are like (Gorman, 2005). These categories come into existence in order to make sense of social reality through categorization (Gorman, 2005; Ruble, Cohen & Ruble, 1984). This is a cognitive ability of humans, where related things are organised into the same categories in order to better understand everyday life (Gorman, 2005). The categories are dependent on the social group in which they are created, which makes them part of an individual’s cultural background. This makes it less likely that individuals are aware of the characteristics that they assign to groups, as these
characteristics seem inherent to the group (Rudman & Phelan, 2010). This generalization also results to the oversimplification, proceding into discrimination (Ruble, Cohen & Ruble, 1984).
Well known gender stereotypes based on males are that they “...possessing characteristics such as independence, self-confidence, and aggressiveness that suggest accomplishment and achievement” (Ruble, Cohen & Ruble, 1984, p. 341). Women on the other hand are seen as “...possessing characteristics such as gentleness, understanding, and warmth that suggest an orientation toward others” (p. 341). These specific characteristics are then applied to the labour market where jobs are put into masculine and feminine categories. In the next chapter, females in the job market will be discussed in general.
3.2. Females in the Job Market
Besides the impact of socialisation and more specifically gender stereotypes, there are more factors that influence gender employment decisions. First of all, there are intrinsic and extrinsic job components which are by regular employees considered in employment decisions (Centers & Bugental 1966). Moreover, there often exists gender segregation within the job market (Browne & Misra, 2003; Bettio et al. 2009). When studying occupational choices of females, previous research has indicated that gender segregation within the labour market is attributed to different factors, such as “...comparative biological advantages, under-investment in human capital (schooling or training), differential income roles, preferences and prejudices... entry barriers and organizational practices...” (Bettio, Verashchagina, Mairhuber and Kanjuo-Mrčela, 2009, pp. 5-6). However, this research will focus on gender stereotypes, which according to Bettio et al. (2009) are by sociologists believed to be “...preferences [that] are socially constructed via the labour market, as well as via the family and other social institutions…” (p. 25).
Browne and Misra (2003) indicate that this segregation is intertwined with racial segregation within the labour market, which leads to a gender and racial wage gap. This intersectional perspective is explained through an example of the stereotypes of black women within the “low-skill” category in the U.S.. She is likely to be referred to as “...single mother who [is] either distracted or desperate for a paycheck…” (Browne & Misra, 2003, p. 500). According to the intersectional perspective, these perceptions are multidimensional.
Consequently, they are never only about one’s skin tone or sex, but rather encompass one’s characteristics that are revealed or perceived in the interaction. This social identity and the importance of specific characteristics or attributes are influential dependent on the specific social interaction.
After this general overview of women in the job market, the next section will dive into the role of gender stereotypes in occupational choices.
3.2.1. Gender stereotypes in occupational choices. Within the job market, females judge their own capabilities through the lens of gender stereotypes, often without knowing. As stereotypes are embedded in an individual’s cultural background, being a form of knowledge that individuals grow up with, females are often not aware of these stereotypes (Rudman & Phelan, 2010). This process of stereotyping not only occurs to make sense of the outer world, but also to position oneself within the world and facilitate the association between the self and other concepts (personality traits, roles and abilities). This is often a process that occurs without conscious awareness of the individual, and leads to job decisions that resonate with the identification process that consists of gender discriminatory patterns.
Moreover, the cultural practice of stereotyping also resonates with the individual’s need to belong (Cundiff, Vescio, Loken & Lo, 2013). Groups are created and a members division takes place where some belong and others don’t. In occupational terms, this could happen in a male or female dominated field. When a female for example becomes part of a male-dominant group, disidentification can occur, which can lead to the decision to step out of the domain. This process can also happen within one’s mind, where association of a specific gender with a profession, can lead to choices not to pursue this career path. This is also an implicit process, but happens the other way around; Rather than self-discriminatory thoughts, disidentification with the mail domain drives occupational decisions.
Mendez and Crawford (2002) on the other hand discuss “self-perceived opposite-sex characteristics”. Females who identify with more “masculine” personality characteristics are more likely to choose for job positions that are male-dominated. Here the authors imply the influence of socialisation in forming or changing the self-perceptions of girls. Stereotypes are
according to Mendez and Crawford (2002) not set in stone and a girl’s environment can bend these notions of what women are or are not capable of doing.
3.2.2. Gender stereotypes and the choice to hire women. The previous paragraphs have indicated how stereotypes influence the occupational decisions of women. However, these same stereotypes are also present for recruiters. Henceforth, they also influence their judgement and decision making (Browne & Misra, 2003). Studies have, for example, indicated that jobs that have more stereotypically male characteristics as selection norms accept less female employees than those that are known to have more stereotypically feminine characteristics (Gorman, 2005). Ruble and Cohen (1984) refer to this as occupational sex typing.
Stereotypes have also been used by different industries to attract specific sexes. For example, Bettio et al. (2009) argues that female stereotypes of women as factory workers were created during the Second World War to attract women when there were not enough men to do these jobs. After the war, these stereotypes were reversed as men became available again. Gender stereotypes are also used instrumentally, by creating and erasing the connection between women and a specific job when necessary.
3.2.3. Gender stereotypes in the job market. This section indicates the importance of identity in studying the role of gender stereotypes in the job market. The overall gender norms and values in society play a significant role in the mechanism of identity creation of individuals. Moreover, the individuals ethnic background should also be taken into consideration (Browne & Misra, 2003). The process of gender stereotyping might influence individuals in different ways. Women might implicitly gender stereotype themselves, which leads to gender comformative job choices (Rudman & Phelan, 2010). As indicated by Mendez and Crawford (2002), a woman might also associate herself with more traditional “masculine” capacities because of her environment. Hence, tt is important to understand the social background (such as societal norms and values) and the personal upbringing to better understand the role of gender stereotypes in the choices of females to join the Surinamese state military.
Additionally, literature on hiring women has indicated that recruiters are less likely to hire genders that do not match the gender stereotypes connected to the job (Gorman, 2005).
Therefore, the question raised is: “How do recruiters look at women, within the Surinamese army?” These questions are dealt with in the analysis of the gathered material.
3.3. Females in Armed Forces
Both formal and informal armed forces have been and often still are described as a ‘masculine’ organisation. Within the organisation there is also a division between more feminine and masculine jobs. Nonetheless, this does not signify that female employment has been absent in these occupations, as more women have joined armed combat over the years (Bjarnegård et al., 2015). Due to the presence of gender stereotypes within armed forces, this section will study the motivations of females to join these forces and those of the forces to attract women (if this is the case). First, a broad overview of all factors will be provided, after which a selection will be made of those that are more important to consider when studying gender stereotypes.
3.3.1. Informal armed groups.Many factors play a role in the involvement of women in armed groups. First of al,l a separation exists between motivations that affect all genders and those that only affect women. Factors that influence female motivations, but could also influence male involvement are those connected to basic human needs, such as access to food, economic means to survive and the need for both mental and physical security (Rahmawati, Susilastuti, Mas'oed & Darwin, 2018). Another factor is the need to seek revenge when one experiences loss. Even though Thomas and Bond (2015) indicated that it is likely that women are motivated by this factor as they might lose their men and boys in war, they also indicate that men might deal with this loss in a similar way.
Beside the above mentioned motivations, there are also identity-based motivations that affect both sexes. These motivations are often connected to the ideals of the armed group. In the Free Aceh Movement (FAM) in Indonesia, for example, women joined because of ethno-nationalistic identification (Rahmawati, Susilastuti, Mas'oed & Darwin, 2018). There was a difference between the separatist ideological beliefs of Aceh and those of the Indonesian government, which positioned the FAM soldiers against the governmental forces. Fighting for norms and values of the Aceh society became one of the biggest recruitment tactics, but also motivation which affected both men and women to join.
Even though both genders are affected by this, the factors that they have to take into consideration are different. Viterna (2006) argues that the new identity gained from participating in armed forces (called a “salient participation identity”), must be more important than all other forms of identification that are not gained through participation (such as being a mother). This might be a tough process for women, as they have responsibilities that are not in accordance with participating in armed forces (Viterna, 2006), while men are less likely to experience these types of responsibilities and expectations (Goldstein, 2001). The existence of different identities and the ways in which these compete should therefore be considered. The end-motivation might be the same for both genders, but the considerations made in order to commit to this involved taking the identity of being a woman into the equation.
Moreover, there are identity factors that influence female decision making to join the armed forces. This concerns the “female identity”, which is connected to the societal treatment of women and how women identify womanhood. Thomas and Bond (2015) discuss the influence of under-representation of females together with gender hierarchies in the state system as motivation for women to join informal armed groups. Women often use their involvement in violent political organisations, such as guerilla forces to rebel against political structures that have resulted in unequal gender treatment. Their involvement has also been influenced by the need to fight gender stereotypes in society, achieved through the empowerment of women to go beyond these stereotypes through social role fulfillment.
The influence of motivations that concerns identity factors that affect either all genders or only females largely depended on other circumstances. First of all, the overall situation in society is important to consider. Rahmawati et al. (2018) point to the interconnectedness of identity creation and the social, cultural and religious aspects within a specific society. Viterna (2006) mentions the impact of the structural change in gender roles within Latin American societies. Due to changes in social and economic structures of family dynamics, which took place when men left for war and females became the heads of households, together with the global feminist movement, gender roles became affected. However, Viterna (2006) indicated that scholars did not argue for a complete shift of the female gender roles, but rather that they became guerillas because of a masculine addition to their gender roles. Beside the typical feminine household
responsibilities, they were also “...household heads, paid laborers, and political activists…” (p. 8). Actions against the state were then portrayed as an extension of maternal responsibilities. What it means to be females in a specific society should thus also be considered, as this influences identification factors of women, which on their turn impact female involvement in armed forces.
Viterna (2006) also indicates the importance of an individual’s social network, as social relations might form a foundation for individual motivations. Building on the example in the previous paragraph, the author has argued that this structural change resulted to an increasing amount of females in the labour force, but this also lead to an increase in networks outside of the household realm, mostly through reorganisation of these individuals into female groups concerned with female issues such as child care and other family issues. This lead to broader representation of females in the political realm, and more political or revolutionary movement representation by for example participating in guerilla movements. Hence, it is also important to take the social connections of women into consideration, as the creation of a particular identity might be influenced by this process.
Lastly, Viterna (2006) argues for the importance of “biographical availability” which refers to the status of the individual concerning “... education, gender, income, age, marital status, and occupation” (p. 6). Motherhood and old age, for example, are posed as potential constraints to female mobilisation. However, Viterna also indicates that motherhood might situate women as caretaker of the family, which can lead to the need for women to participate in the creation of a better future for upcoming generations. Analysing the presence and interaction of all these different factors in mobilisation is crucial to understand female motivations.
Besides the factors influencing women to join, the recruitment strategies of armed forces also experience motivations to attract women. First of all, the extension of female capabilities through overall changes in gender stereotypes concerning female roles has made them an asset in such structures, making the organisation more efficient (Thomas & Bond, 2015). However, traditional female role stereotypes are still tactically used. Because women are perceived as calm, friendly and caring as well as less physically threatening they have been used to distract
the opponent, to transport objects without being suspected or to get another group’s trust (Thomas & Bond, 2015).
Besides this tactical use, informal armed forces have also recruited more females because they simply needed more soldiers (Thomas & Bond, 2015). This is the case as informal violent organisations often have to depend on the group size to be sufficient. The need for more personnel and thereby the openness to attract women becomes more likely in highly competitive environments where there are several armed groups involved in the battle (Thomas & Bond, 2015).
3.3.2. Formal armed groups. For the national armed forces, the societal factors often play a more important role. This can relate to both motivations of females to join and reasons for recruiters to attract. One of these factors concerns military supply and demand. Group size has also played a significant role to attract (more) women to the state forces (Goldman, 1973; Van Creveld, 2000). When male interest in joining the military decreased, recruiters often felt the necessity to include more groups. During and after the Vietnam War, for example, the popularity of the military decreased in the United States, which pressured the army to expand their target groups by including African American communities, poorer neighbourhoods and women (Goldman, 1973). Segal (1995) also mentions that wartime is often the driving force behind this recruitment and the need of personnel. The author (1995) also mentions that the availability of men is related to the overall job opportunities for men. The availability of jobs and the economic situation of the country also affects choices, as the overall increase in jobs in the labour market makes it more likely for women to be considered.
Beside the need for manpower, structural changes in Western society have often also lead to an increase of females in the military (Segal, 1995; Van Creveld, 2000). Van Creveld (2000) indicates that this shift was supported by global feminist movements that pressed for gender equality. Segal (1995) argues that the increase of women in the labour market lead to more involvement in male occupations such as the military. Moreover, the extent to which labour market occupations are gender divided or segregated also greatly affect female involvement. A better gender integrated society is more likely to be a gender equal society, which on its turn is telling about the culture in society and the likelihood of females to get accepted as military
personnel (Segal, 1995). Furthermore, the policies concerning women within the forces are important, as this legally allows for involvement (or not). Additionally, other types of policies in societies, concerning for example parental leave and child care services from the government, also affect this change.
The structural change described in the previous section is often connected to cultural change, such as for example an individual’s family responsibility (Segal, 1995). Family roles are usually assigned to women. This is important to consider, as the likelihood of females joining the forces is dependent on the female responsibility in the household. Moreover, a larger amount of these responsibilities is related to a smaller likelihood of the woman to end up in armed forces. The cultural perception of the type of activity is also important, as combat activities are often connected to males, while support roles are connected to females (Segal, 1995; Van Creveld, 2000). If accepted into the military, females tend to do more ‘feminine’ jobs such as nursing (De Groot, 2001). Thus, the type of job is connected to cultural stereotypes. The way in which the military deals with the constructed gender binary in recruitment is also of crucial importance. If the recruitment process differentiates between the genders, women are often less likely to be included, while recruitment tactics aimed at individual differences will allow for more females to join (Segal, 1995). Thus, structural and cultural aspects are related and both connected to perceived gender roles in society.
Segal (1995) and Van Creveld (2000) also stress the importance of the connection between socially constructed gender norms and national security (to what extent a society is or feels threatened). Segal (1995) argues that society would try to prevent female military involvement if there is a risk that these women are in more danger when joining. However, both (1995, 2000) argue that if there is a severe national security threat, large amounts of women often get involved to protect the homeland. When women join the forces in societies where gender roles limit women, their involvement is often portrayed as an extension of female responsibilities of protecting. These women are mostly not recognized after the armed conflict and their overall involvement tends to be camouflaged. However, when women are needed in the forces, this history will be used in order to justify recruitment and to initiate motivation. The social construction of gender stereotypes connected to capabilities of the sexes is thus used
instrumentally, dependent on the national security situation of the nation and thus the functionality.
Moreover, some changes in the importance of biological factors due to technological advancements have also allowed for more female participation in the military (Segal, 1995). More advanced weaponry has allowed for more female involvement as males were more likely to have the strength necessary to handle the heavy weaponry in the past. This relates to the increase of more diversified jobs within the military (Goldman, 1973). Additionally, as women have been able to control their reproductive system through for example contraception (also seen as a technological advancement) they became more capable of performing jobs outside of the domestic sphere (Segal, 1995).
While the sections above have described formal and informal groups, the next sections will combine the literature to specify how the factors mentioned above are related to gender stereotypes.
3.3.3. Gender stereotypes and the choices of women to join. General research on armed groups have indicated that there are many factors that motivate females to join the forces. Contextual factors concerning society or the military organisation have been labeled influential in influencing gender stereotypes that influence female mobilisation. This next section will summarise the factors that are connected to these stereotypes.
First of all, scholars have indicated that identity factors are crucial in the decision to join the forces (Rahmawati et al., 2018) . Viterna (2006) argued for the importance of a dominant participation identity. Where participating becomes important for the sense of one’s self, becoming even more important than other identities. It is essential to know how participation in the forces adds to the creation of a self and to what extend this competes with other ways of identification.
Rahmawati et al. (2018) mentions that the sociocultural context influences the creation of one’s (participation) identity. Sociocultural identity elements are related to the way in which one for example views the relationship between gender and family responsibilities or whether one views the job market, and more specifically the military, in terms of feminine and masculine occupations (Segal , 1995). The connection one makes between gender and family
responsibilities can then also be related to biographical availability as described by Viterna, where motherhood can either be a barrier or a reason to join if connected to the caretaker task of creating a better future for their children.
Moreover, identity creation is most likely embedded in a social network, which influences personal choices through specific patterns of thinking and acting (Viterna, 2006). Thus the network or social relations of the female soldiers in Suriname is also analysed.
Beside the identity formation that takes place within social relations, Thomas and Bond (2015) have also portrayed the results of the representation and treatment of females in the state’s political system on their involvement in informal forces. For this reason, It is important to analyse how women might feel within Surinamese society, and what joining the state military offers.
Lastly, this can be related to structural changes in society. Here Segal (1995) presses the importance of overall female involvement in the labour market and gender segregation within the labour market. Thus, in order to study the influence of the political structures and female representation in the labour force, these structures and systems should be portrayed first. If there are for example unequal power dynamics within the job market, females might make a decision to fight gender stereotypes through social role fulfillment (De Groot, 2001).
3.3.4. Gender stereotypes and the choices to attract women. The cultural structures in society are not only important for the motivation of women, but also for the motivation of the military to hire women. Segal (1995) argues that the cultural construction of gender influences the connection made between the sexes and their ability to perform certain jobs. He also mentions the influence of gender considerations in female recruitment, as military organisations that focus more on individual differences are more likely to attract women than those focused on gender differences. The way in which the military views women, is thus important to consider in their recruitment process.
3.3.5. Other factors. This section will go over other important influences on female mobilisation that have been mentioned by either formal or informal organisations, or by both. These factors are however not as connected to gender stereotypes and will therefore not be studied in depth. They can however not be dismissed as they have proven to be important. The
basic human needs mentioned above, such as the individual’s economic situation or access to physical or mental healthcare, might also be applicable to Suriname (Rahmawati et al., 2018). Moreover, Segal (1995) and Van Creveld (2000) discuss the importance of the national security and biological factors (such as the ability to control one’s reproductive system and the strength needed for the job). Segal (1995) also indicated that policies (military policies or household policies) influence the ability of females to be part of the force. Furthermore, both formal (Segal, 1995) and informal (Thomas & Bond, 2015) groups have mentioned the importance of manpower to the organisation, which sometimes results to the inclusion of women. These possibilities should be considered in this case study. However, with the focus on gender stereotypes, they will not be studied in depth.
Research Design
The theoretical framework has been established, first discussing females in the overall labour market to then dive deeper into females within the armed forces. Overall, many factors have been marked important when studying the role of gender stereotypes in female soldier mobilisation. The research design emphasizes all these factors in the study of female soldiers in Suriname through qualitative data gathering and analysis.
This chapter first describes the data gathering methods: Semi-structured Interviews and Focus Groups. Then the respondents will be presented, after which an overview of the field work is provided. This is followed by the limitations and ethics of the research.
4.1. Data gathering methods
This study uses a mixed methods approach. Two main data gathering methods are used: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The reasoning behind this, as well as the way in which it is applied to the fieldwork is described in the following sections.
4.1.1. Semi-structured interviews. This type of interview is chosen in order to maintain a balance between structure and new insights. While there was a main topic list for all interviews inspired by previous research, the respondent was allowed and encouraged to elaborate on topics
posed or topics considered important by the respondent. This has by McIntosh and Morse (2015) been referred to as descriptive/interpretive semi structured interview; Through specific topics, the experiences of the respondents are revealed. Here, the interviewee is seen as knowledgeable (McIntosh & Morse 2015). While factors provided by previous research present a frame, respondents can either broaden the frame or call for the creation of new categories (McIntosh & Morse 2015). This ability to provide new categories is necessary as the field is rather under researched. Moreover, the guiding factors allow for the ability to more easily compare and contrast different interviews, while allowing for a new understanding not yet encompassed by previous studies.
This method is used to gather data from gender experts, female soldiers and military personnel. For gender experts the questions were about gender dynamics and stereotypes within Surinamese society in general as well as in the job market more specifically. Moreover, other aspects in society that influence females were also discussed. Interviews with female soldiers covered basic information concerning the individuals their private lives as well as professional experiences. Then push and pull factors to join the army were discussed, where pull factors were referred to as motivational factors and push factors as obstacles. Other aspects surrounding the female decision making process were also discussed. Moreover, female experiences within the military were also asked for. Lastly, their perspectives on gender and gender stereotypes were examined. The military personnel, on the other hand, was asked about the recruitment process in general, the gender ratio in this process and the reasoning behind the decisions concerning the ratio.
4.1.2. Focus groups. A focus group consists of a group of respondents where different topics are discussed in a short amount of time, which allows for a variety of views (Mack & Woodsong 2005). This approach has been adopted in order to better identify group norms as well as views on these group norms. As indicated by Mack and Woodsong (2005), focus groups provide “well-grounded data on social and cultural norms, the pervasiveness of these norms within the community, and people’s opinions about their own values” (p. 52). Group dynamics should then encourage respondents to participate (Mack & Woodsong 2005).
This method has been used to gather data from female soldiers as well as highschool students. The female soldiers first had to fill in a form with their basic information, after which they answered questions about their motivations, obstacles, other factors that influence the recruitment process as well as their overall experiences within the organisations. Some push and pull factors that were mentioned in the interviews were also brought up in the focus groups to obtain a group discussion about these topics. The combination of the semi-structured interviews with these focus groups is referred to as triangulation, which allows for a cross-check of findings, removing the methods bias and adding to the reliability of the results (Halperin & Heath, 2017). The female students also first filled in a form with basic information. Then the students their perspectives concerning their future occupation and the reasoning behind this was discussed. The military organisation was also discussed, after which their perspectives on gender and gender stereotypes were asked for.
After having described the two data gathering methods, the next section will provide an overview of the gathered fieldwork.
4.2. An Overview of the Fieldwork
This section describes the respondents and data collection in detail. First the selection of respondents is motivated. Then the amount of respondents will be described, as well as whether they participated in semi-structured interviews or focus group. The language and location of the data is also provided, after which respondent anonymity will be discussed. After this, some categories of respondents that are more complex and need explanation will be elaborated upon. These are female soldiers, the military organisation and gender experts.
In order to better understand the role of gender stereotypes in female mobilisation,
previous research has pressed for the importance of the societal structures. While studies on overall occupational choices have indicated that perceived gender roles within society together with the personal upbringing influence the way in which an individual stereotypes oneself and identifies with the male domain, the studies on female soldiers have indicated that the cultural context of society influences the different identities a person might take on. Because of this, it was necessary to provide information about the general and more specifically cultural context of
Surinamese society. Due to a lack of literature on these matters, this research consulted gender experts within Surinamese society. Two groups that are most important for the female mobilisation process: the female soldier and the military organisation, are also included. To understand the perspectives of females, female soldiers and female students who were in their last year of high school were contacted. The military organisation was consulted in order to better understand the perspective of the organisation.
The study consists of 51 respondents. These can be divided into 3 categories: respondents who are part of the military organisation, gender experts and female highschool students. Of the military organisation, there are 39 participants, of which 36 are female soldiers, one is a civilian working for the ministry and the last two are the director and deputy director of the National Army of Suriname. Some female soldiers participated in semi-structured interviews, while others participated in focus groups. The other military personnel participated in semi-structured interviews. Moreover, 6 gender experts participated in semi structured interviews, while 6 female highschool students participated in a focus group.
All data, except for an interview with one of the gender experts was collected in a mix between Dutch and Surinamese, later translated to English. Only the interview with one of the gender experts, Mr. Oyeleye Adeniyi was conducted in English. The research stuck to the languages the individuals spoke in society and were most confident in. This has been done in order to give the respondents the freedom to express themselves in a language they felt comfortable with. Furthermore, all the material was recorded, with verbal and written permission of all respondents. These interviews and focus groups took place in locations proposed by either the respondents or a middleman.
All female soldiers, the civilian working for the defense organisation as well as the high school students will remain anonymous to protect their privacy. Soldiers will be designated letters associated with their ranks (Enlisted Men: M, Petty Officer: PO, Officer: O) and a number. The gender experts will be named in this chapter together with the designated letter “E’’ and a number, but they will not be referred to with this letter and number combination in the rest of the thesis. The director and deputy director of the National Army of Suriname will also be
named. The subsequent subsections will describe the following groups of respondents in more depth: female soldiers, the military organisation and gender experts.
4.2.1. Female soldiers. First of all, it should be noted that only the Central office of the Ministry of Defense and the Land Forces were studied. Of these 36 female soldiers, 12 have the Enlisted Men rank: 5 people working for the Central office of the Ministry of Defense and 7 working for the Land Forces. Moreover, 11 of the 36 female soldiers have the Petty Officers rank: 5 people working for the Central office of the Ministry of Defense and 6 working for the Land Forces. The last 13 of the 36 female soldiers have the Officers rank: 6 people working for the Central office of the Ministry of Defense and 7 working for the Land Forces. Given these numbers compared to the amount of women in the forces (which is a total of 7% compared to men), this research consulted 13% of all female soldiers: 5% of the female Enlisted Men in the army, 65% of the female Petty Officers and 37% of the female Officers.
Furthermore, the data of female soldiers consists of semi-structured interviews and focus groups. First, semi-structured interviews took place with the female soldiers working at the Ministry of Defense Central office and two of the soldiers working for the Land Forces. They were mostly individual interviews, but when preferred by the women, two women were interviewed at once. This happened three times: two Petty Officers and two Officers from the Central Office, as well as two Officers from the Land forces. These women knew each other and indicated to be comfortable sharing personal information. Secondly, there were 4 focus groups in total, all with female soldiers from the Land Forces. 3 groups consisting of 4 people, all with the same rank and one focus group consisted of 6 people with mixed ranks.
The female soldiers sample also consisted of a variety in religion, ethnicity, age and years in the army. However, as these factors were not considered significant in the results of the study, these differences are not mentioned throughout the thesis.
While this section provided information about female soldiers, the next section will elaborate on the military organisation.
4.2.2. The military organisation. Of the military organisation, one civilian working for the ministry in the Personnel Development Department was present in both the semi-structured interview with the director and deputy director of the National Army of Suriname, Mr. J.
Antonius and Mr. D. Duurham, as well as the semi-structured interview with one of the female soldiers who was not only interviewed about her own motivation, but also concerning her role in the Personnel Development Department. As he military organisation has been discussed, the next section will provide information about the so called “gender experts”.
4.2.3. Gender experts. Of the 6 gender experts, 4 are representatives from organisations involved in gender matters, One person has experience doing a project with the military in Suriname, whereas the last person is a professor at the Anton de Kom University in Suriname.
First of all, many organisation in Suriname who are involved in gender matters were contacted. Of the ones who were open for an interview, representatives were consulted. These organisations were: Foundation Office for Services to NGOs (Stichting Bureau voor de Dienstverlening aan NGO’s) where Ms. S. Ketwaru-Nurmohamed (E4) was interviewed, Stop Violence Against Women Foundation (Stichting Stop Geweld Tegen Vrouwen) where Ms. C. Halfhide (E1) was interviewed and Women's Rights Centre where Ms. Bakboord (E2) and Ms. Guicherit (E3) were interviewed together.
Then, Ms. Renuka Biharie (E5) was interviewed as she is the coordinator of the Institute for Women, Gender and Development Studies at the Anton de Kom University in Suriname. Lastly, Mr Oyeleye Adeniyi (E6) was interviewed as he has spearheaded several community health and social awareness projects with the Military organisation, youth and key populations in Suriname.
While this section provided information about the gender experts who have been consulted, the next section will describe the data analysis process.
4.3. Data analysis
This section provides a brief overview of the preparatory work as well as the analysis of the gathered material, which has been done according to the information about interviews and focus groups provided for by Halperin and Heath (2017). Overall, the information was “systematically organiz[ed] and interpret[ed]... using categories, themes, and motifs that identif[ied] patterns and relationships” (Halperin & Heath, 2017, p. 304).
First a general gist of all interviews and focus groups was provided by listening to all recordings first. Then the data was first reduced by establishing coding frames. Coding is a process of assigning different quotes to categories. Close questions like for example one’s age and rank already had established categories, while other questions had several different codes and categories, referred to as a coding frame by Halperin and Heath (2017). These quotes were then reinterpretted and their codes sometimes changed according to the analysis of more data and according to the categories and codes provided for by previous literature. After the coding process, choices were made about the relevance of categories for the research question. According to this relevance some sections were included or emphasized, while others were excluded. The validity was assessed by re-visiting the data from different respondents to confirm patterns that were interpreted by the analysis of different codes together. Moreover, as mentioned in the previous section, the reliability of the data is supported by cross-addressing the data through triangulation, which gets rid of the methods bias.
The next section will elaborate on the ethics of the data gathering and analysis process.
4.4. Ethics
This section concerns the ethics of the research. In order to conduct the research ethically, the interviewees and focus group participants were first of all informed of the voluntary nature of the research (Halperin & Heath, 2017), the intentions of the researcher as well as the uses of the data. To make sure the participants understood the sincerity of this, a consent form was signed by all participants. This form also included a clear statement to inform participants that they could withdraw from the research at any time and without a reason (Halperin & Heath, 2017). Moreover, permission was requested before the material was recorded, to make sure the participants consented with this manner of data gathering (Halperin & Heath, 2017). Lastly, the research aims not to bring anyone into danger.
Overall the research is conducted in accordance with the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (KNAW, NFU, NWO, TO2-federatie, Vereniging Hogescholen, VSNU, 2018), as advised by The Association of Universities in the Netherlands. The principles that are
laid down in code (2018), such as Honesty, Scrupulousness, Transparency, Independence and Responsibility, will be followed to make sure that research integrity is guaranteed.
Having discussed the ethics of this research, the next section will go over the limitations of this research.
4.5. Limitations
This section discussed some of the limitations of this study. The topics discussed are the time constraint leading to a small research scope, the lack of research on gender stereotypes in Suriname and the military organisation, presence of a male chaperone during some interviews and focus groups, as well as a respondent selection bias.
The obvious limitation is the time constraint as this thesis is produced within a Master’s program where students were offered around 7 weeks to develop a proposal, around 6 weeks for data gathering and around 8 weeks to finalise the thesis. Because of this time limit, some decisions concerning the scope had to be made. Only women working for the central office and the Land Forces were included in the research.
Moreover, there was little research available on the Ministry of Defense. Even general information such as the ranks within the army or the structure of the organisation were not available online. Everything had to be requested and was provided in hard copies. Information about the specific functions of the women within the organisation is not available at all. The lack of information online caused a delay in the fieldwork concerning gender stereotypes, as even the most basic information needed to be gathered during the fieldwork period.
Furthermore, as the organisation has a hierarchical structure, the interviewer was not always allowed to be alone with people who have higher ranks. Thus, a chaperone was provided. While this has many benefits as it made it possible to act more easily within the organisational structure, some women might not have spoken as freely, with another military male soldier in the room.
Lastly, there might have been participant selection biases. Some of the participants were reached through own connections, which poses a possible bias. These participants concern some of the soldiers, experts and female students. Moreover, the organisation arranged contact with
most of the female soldiers. They might have also had their own selection bias. These risk of bias have been reduced as much as possible.
After having discussed the limitations of this thesis research, the next chapter will provide a description as well as analysis of the gathered material.
Results
Informed by the theoretical framework, this section will first provide an analysis of the gathered material concerning the position of women within Surinamese society, after which the Surinamese military will be zoomed into. Due to the lack of data about gender stereotypes in Surinamese society and the military organisation, this information is provided through primary data collection. The following chapters create a better understanding of the gender stereotypes in society and how this reflects upon the military organisation. The goal is to provide the reader with general knowledge about society and the military organisation, before diving into the specific push and pull factors that influence female soldier mobilisation. The chapter of the military organisation provides all push and pull factors of the military to attract women. This chapter also elaborates on some push and pull factors of females to join the army. In the last section, these push and pull factors will be combined with other push and pull factors mentioned by female soldiers as well as female high school students, which provides a broad overview of important factors to consider in female mobilisation. All the sections mentioned above should together provide the data necessary to study the role of gender stereotypes in the female mobilisation process.
4.2. Gender Stereotypes in Surinamese Society
In order to assess the role of gender stereotypes on the choices of females to join the army or those of the army to attract females, gender stereotypes within Surinamese society should first be documented. This is also necessary, as the military organisation functions within the Surinamese society. Moreover, the females make their decisions within the gender dynamics of society, so it should bring the individual experiences of the females soldiers into the broader perspective of
society. In this section, the gender experts have been consulted to provide information about gender in Suriname, as documentation on these matters was limited or outdated. This section will first discuss the definition of gender and gender stereotypes within the Surinamese society. Then, an in depth analysis of the position of females within society in general, the family and the job market will be conducted. This will be done as section 3.1 on gender stereotypes has indicated that these stereotypes are present in all aspects of an individual’s life. They should be studied in the personal and professional spheres in order to better understand the influence of gender stereotypes.
5.1.1. Gender in Suriname. Some gender experts have indicated that the definition of gender is important to consider, before diving into the implications of the concept. One expert indicated: “[In Suriname] there is still confusion about what gender is… Gender is what you cannot do [with your genitals]. Why do women have to put coffee? They don't make coffee with their vagina. They put it with their hands. So men could also make that coffee with their hands. People should be made aware of that” (E1).Another expert indicated: “If we talk about gender, we talk about social differences between masculinity and femininity. Suriname is a society where you will have to take those social differences into account. These are deeply rooted differences that are constructed, reproduced and also used in contemporary society, across almost all sectors. Those social differences make it difficult for men and women to have access to certain sectors or sources… We know that Suriname is no exception. We know that gender differences occur throughout the world" (E5).
However, many experts have also mentioned that the gender dynamics are complicated in Suriname, as it is a multicultural society. As indicated by one expert: “Suriname is a country with great diversity and we are dealing with a population that mainly lives in the coastal area, urban area, but also in the countryside. You see some differences… and besides that, a huge hinterland with 10 tribes living in a village context. you can assume 5 large native tribes and 5 large maroon tribes. And each tribe has its own peculiarities, its own characteristics. So when you talk about gender you don't have 1 concept. We often talk about the Western concept when it comes to gender equality” (E4). Thus, gender is a social construct which expresses itself differently in different cultures and societies. Hence, this report does not aim to generalise as
there are many cultural differences within the Surinamese society. Taking this into consideration, the next section will elaborate on the treatment of women in Surinamese society.
5.1.2. Female position in society. This section will go over the way in which females are treated in society in order to better understand the environment in which females make job decisions and the environment in which the military hires females.
Besides the fact that gender is a Western concept that is accompanied by cultural differences, many experts agree that there are universal gender stereotypes, also affecting the women in Suriname: “Gender stereotypes exist. we are all aware of it. it is used every day… it is identified very early on, sometimes in elementary schools… We usually assume that women have care duties and reproductive duties… and men have [to provide] financial resources in the family” (E5). Thus, there are universal stereotypes that also affect Surinamese society. Discussing cultural differences, one expert indicated: “[gender stereotypes are] expressed in certain practices… For example, with the maroons you have polygamy… and then you have practices strongly dependent on the religion. In practice it comes down to the same thing: the subordination of a woman. But the way it is expressed… can be different” (E4). As seen in this text, even though there are many cultural differences, the gender stereotypes of women in Suriname are very similar to the traditional Western gender stereotypes: women are still seen as the weaker sex (E4). The cultural difference lies in the expression of these stereotypes.
One of the stereotypes is indeed that women are often considered less than men. As indicated by a gender expert: “I notice that men too often still regard their wives or a woman as being subservient to men… subordinate to men" (E4). If the woman does not listen to her husband, “you often hear them say: she is not obedient, she is impertinent” (E4). According to one of the gender experts an older man even said: “Women are so impertinent these days, they no longer listen to men, they have to be at home and take care of the children. But now that they receive education, they have become impertinent, they think much more of themselves, they no longer listen to men” (E4). This is also part of the overall macho culture in Surinamese society. As mentioned by a gender experts: “We are simply a society with a macho culture, where men always think they should force themselves onto women. that every woman is waiting for them… men think that they are the boss, that they should adorn women, that they lead women” (E4).
Thus women are still seen as subservient and subordinate to men, which expresses itself in the macho culture of Surinamese society.
These stereotypes influence the lives of women in many different ways. First of all, it often means that women have to deal with more social control. A gender expert indicated:“In the districts too and in the inland: If the woman has to come to paramaribo, and that is often necessary because Paramaribo is the center of the entire country, they have to travel with a chaperone. They need permission… She needs to be protected but can also be adulterous if she goes outside of social control. Then she can do things that the man or the parents are not happy with” (E4). Thus, more or stricter social control can be an outcome of the perceives status of women conform to their stereotype.
Moreover, as these stereotypes have created discriminatory patterns, a gender expert indicated: “[domestic violence] and the sexual molest of women indicates that women are still considered to be secondary'' (E4). Many gender experts have pointed to the relatively new laws on domestic violence, stalking (E1, E4). While one gender expert indicated that these laws are mostly well executed (E1), another mentioned: “We are still very far away from gender equality. It may be better laid down in our legislation but in practice there is still a long way to go… we have a law on domestic violence and a law on stalking, but it still happens in reality” (E4).
Furthermore, another expert indicated that there are more laws that should be implemented to better the situation of women in society, such as maternity leave and equal pay for equal work (E5). Another gender expert mentioned a different legal issue: “A simple example is that married women in Suriname, especially if they want to take out a loan from the bank, they need the permission of their partner… so those are the barriers that exist because there are gender differences” (E5). This expert (E5) also mentioned that there are many internationally signed documents that could improve the situation of women in the country but they have yet to be implemented: “Due to the ratification of the Sidou treaty by Suriname in 1993, a start has already been made that women's rights are now being appreciated and protected. But the Sidou treaty is an international treaty, which has yet to be reflected in the national legislation and that is a matter of time, it is not that easy, some subjects require national discussions” (E5).Hence,
