Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

The Swedish Armed Forces should invariably work towards an even gender distribution within decision-making and leadership positions, as stated by to the national plan of action of the implementation of regulations regarding women, peace and security at the UN security council. As it is today significantly more men than women are drawn to a professional military career. Research about gender segregated professions show that structural differences of what is considered male, and female contributes to the fact that women are not attracted to professions dominated by men.

The aim of this report is to investigate the occurrence of stereotypical images of men and women maintained by conscripts, together with an investigation of how leadership ideals within the military are attributed to men and women. 

Four hypotheses were developed and tried against data collected through a survey. The survey is based on Schein descriptive index which is a widely recognized measuring instrument for gender roles within studies of leadership. 

Alike the results of previous studies, this research confirms that men and women are attributed different character traits. Additionally confirmed is the hypothesis that men attributes the same qualities and natures to military leaders as they ascribe to men in general.