The integration of women into the armed forces of western democracies reveals a pattern of significant diversity: while some countries have integrated women, granting them real (and not only formal) access to a wide range of positions and occupations, other keep women in little more than symbolic spaces. Among the variety of factors which account for different paths and integration levels - which range from global social-economic conditions, political factors, cultural and historical patterns, military organizational structure, or time effects - there are institutional policies. One rather common assumption is that explicit organizational policies are a crucial factor to promote integration at the organizational level. However, some studies have also reached disappointing conclusions regarding the power of institutional policies to help redress culturally entrenched stereotypes that often function as obstacles to integration. This paper discusses the impact of organizational policies on gender integration using available empirical data from a comparative study conducted among NATO nations (Carreiras, 2006). It specifically addresses the following questions: what is the impact of organizational policies on gender integration? To what extent does the existence of explicit and active integration policies contribute to promote equality in military forces? Under which conditions are policies effective and under which conditions may their effects be blocked?It concludes that polices may be a necessary but not sufficient condition for integration - that their impact, while positive on formal integration, may not always be so on social integration - and that conditions for change do not depend strictly on formal policies. A final suggestion is made regarding the need to analyze the specific conditions under which the efficacy of policies might vary.

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• Psychology - Social Sciences
• Economics and Business - Social Sciences
• Sociology - Social Sciences
• Political Science - Social Sciences