Women’s Military Roles Cross-Nationally: Past, Present, and Future.

Segal argues that women’s integration into military institutions is shaped by social structure, cultural beliefs about gender, and organizational needs. She explains that women’s roles tend to expand during wartime or labor shortages but remain restricted by ideas that define combat and authority as masculine. Using comparisons and sociological research, Segal shows that resistance to women’s participation often is targeted around concerns about cohesion and hierarchy rather than performance.