"She's a good hand": Navy women's strategies in masculinist workplaces

Women in the Royal Australian Navy now have access to ninety-five percent of current work positions. My data show that many of these women experience pressure to adjust to and accept dominant notions of femininity, which seek to reinforce sexual divisions of labour. Discourses surrounding feminine positioning in the military are constantly reinforced through language, ritual and interaction. This paper explores the ways in which RAN women come to subvert and resist cultural givens surrounding their sexuality and gender, particularly as they fight the pressure to conform to a male-centred view of Navy work. The strategies Naval women employ as they carve out a space for themselves within various workplaces include confrontation, accommodation, resignation, intervention, avoidance, sex and sexual ambiguity and solidarity. Whether women use informal or formal channels for dealing with grievances such as sexual harassment or other forms of sexual violence, on the whole they show resilience and empowerment in their day-to-day working lives.