The Journey through the Labyrinth: A Phenomenological Study of the Lives of Air Force Women General Officers During Their Military Careers
Open AccessThe purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how Air Force women general officers (GO) experience navigating military careers. This study was informed by Identity Theory, Role Conflict Theory and Work/Life Balance. One-on-one, in-depth semi-structured interviews with 11 active-duty Air Force women GOs resulted in rich narrative data describing their lives as senior leaders in the Air Force and how they find work/life harmony in relation to their roles as mothers, wives, and women. All had similar structure in their lives, but they employed different strategies to navigate these roles while maintaining healthy relationships, caring for themselves and serving others as Air Force officers. Findings were captured in two overarching categories with associated themes: Being an Air Force Woman General Officer (Theme 1. Role Navigation, Theme 2. Part of Something Bigger and Theme 3. Vocal Change Agents) and Work/Life Harmony Secret to Success (Theme 1. Work/Life Structure and Theme 2. Healthy Relationship Maintenance). Each role was interwoven with give and take regarding time and energy. Achieving work/life harmony was directly tied to support from family and friends. Many strategies were employed to minimize the chaos in their lives; but, one of the most important was investing time to care for themselves--making mental and physical health a priority. Unconscious bias was prevalent in the experiences of these women GOs; however, they made sure their voices were heard and they educated others, particularly on minority and women’s issues. Recommendations for future research include replicating this study with women GOs from other services; looking at how male GOs navigate their careers and how they perceive women GOs, investigating Air Force culture for unconscious bias and, finally, studying how trailing spouses perceive career navigation. Additional recommendations could help the Air Force with work/life balance and retention programs focusing on options and benefits for non-traditional family models including single parents, same sex parents and required generational care. Air Force leadership should upgrade mentoring programs for all levels of supervision. Unconscious bias training should be instituted. Finally, HAF/A1 and local wing commanders should establish male spouse support groups for a growing population of dependents.
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