A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN MILITARY ORGANIZATION FROM MASCULINE TO GENDER-NEUTRAL

Abstract

The article presents the results of an empirical study of gender relations in the Ukrainian armed forces as one of the conflict zones, in which difficulties may arise during service. The study of correlation between the male service members’ psychological well-being and the change of the military organization nature from masculine to gender-neutral can tackle the occupational segregation related to gender inequality and facilitate the creation of a balanced perspective for both genders in order to achieve more comprehensive decisions on gender equality in the armed forces. The study revealed a correlation between the level of cadets’ psychological wellbeing and the process of integrating women into the armed forces of Ukraine. The integration of women into the military contributes to the psychological well-being of those cadets who perceive a female soldier as a bearer of the core values that constitute the essence of military service, and consider a female soldier as an equal member of the military collective. However, for another part of cadets the feminization of the army brings about the preconditions for experiencing negative emotions and, consequently, diminishes cadets’ psychological wellbeing. The reason of men’s negative emotions can be dissonance caused by biased thinking based on gender role stereotypes, but it can also have reasonable grounds. The main reason for the cadets’ lack of psychological well-being is the sense of injustice caused by the privileged position of women in the army in the distribution of duties, functions, responsibilities.