The Utilization of Men and Women in Enlisted US Air Force Career Fields

Abstract

Abstract : The differences in the utilization of men and women in enlisted US Air Force (USAF) career ladders were investigated to determine trends among gender groups. Career ladders were selected from Occupational Survey Reports (OSRs) published in 1995 and 1996. The results indicated that males and females performed many of the same tasks; however, at the 5-skill level, men performed more tasks than women in all the analyzed career ladders. Women reported spending more time performing general administrative and supply duties. Men reported spending more time on technical or supervisory duties. Many career ladders were not examined because of the low numbers of females at the fully qualified worker level. In 1956, the US Air Force Occupational Analysis Program was developed to research and analyze career fields within the USAF. An operational survey program was established in 1967. Every five years, an Occupational Survey Report (OSR) is produced for each enlisted career ladder. To complete this analysis, a job inventory, used to collect job and task information, is developed through face-to-face interviews with subject-matter experts from each enlisted career field in the USAF Air Force. Then, members of the career ladder are surveyed to obtain current task and equipment data for use in developing and updating training programs. The data are analyzed using the Comprehensive Occupational Data Analysis Program, which is a set of computer programs used to automate, process, organize, and report occupational data (OSR Handbook 1993). Finally, the data are examined by occupational analysts, and significant trends and implications are reported in the final Occupational Survey Report. In 1995, the HQ USAF Human Resources Development Division tasked the Air Force Occupational Measurement Squadron (AFOMS) to investigate the differences in the utilization of personnel between military, men and women.