AUTHOR=Jeanlouis Andrale 

TITLE=Generational differences in gender equity and social justice beliefs among U.S. military women

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Organizational Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 3 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/organizational-psychology/articles/10.3389/forgp.2025.1667699

DOI=10.3389/forgp.2025.1667699

ISSN=2813-771X

ABSTRACT=IntroductionU.S. military policies and culture are evolving alongside broader social attitudes. This study tested whether beliefs about gender equity and social justice differ between Generation X and Millennial women with U.S. military experience.MethodsA cross-sectional, exploratory, comparative survey was conducted with 148 female-identifying adults with U.S. military experience (Generation X: n = 55; Millennials: n = 93; 16.9% currently serving). Beliefs were assessed using the Quick Discrimination Index (QDI) and the Social Justice Advocacy Scale (SJAS). Between-group differences were evaluated with Mann-Whitney U tests (α = 0.05).ResultsNo statistically significant generational differences were observed on the QDI (U = 2133.50, p = 0.09) or the SJAS composite (U = 2348.00, p = 0.51). Millennials scored higher than Generation X on the SJAS Confronting Discrimination subscale (U = 1922.50, p = 0.01). Descriptive statistics (means, SDs, skewness) indicated generally positive endorsement of gender equity and social justice across cohorts.DiscussionFindings are exploratory and should be interpreted cautiously given MTurk recruitment, modest sample size, and the absence of multivariate controls (e.g., education, race) or independent service verification. Null effects may reflect limited statistical power as well as genuine attitudinal convergence. Future research should draw verified active-duty and veteran samples, implement data-quality and service-verification procedures, adapt measures for military specificity, and use multivariate models to test mechanisms with greater precision.