Peacekeeping and Security

Despite clear international, regional and national norms and policies calling for gender equality, includ- ing in the armed forces, women have long been and remain underrepresented in the military, especially at senior levels. This contributes to institutional cultures that undervalue women’s leadership, agency and de- cision-making. The long time it takes to reach senior officer status and the preference within militaries for advancing soldiers with combat experience, place structural and policy barriers in front of women’s career development, which must be removed. Senior military men must be encouraged to act as allies, to ensure that cultural change is supported, and women’s contributions are recognized. Otherwise, the perspectives informing military decision-making lack breadth and diversity, with potentially damaging impacts on the effectiveness and credibility of armed forces.

Generally, the number of women in the defence sector is low but steadily rising. Member States have strengthened equal opportunity for women in defence through a range of good practices and meas- ures including on recruitment, retention, career devel- opment and promotion. Often, low-cost adjustments and adaptations in defence management and gov- ernance can go a long way towards better meeting the needs of women in armed forces and building more inclusive and responsive defence services, including changes to recruitment processes and procedures, the implementation of codes of conduct, improvements to accountability mechanisms and upgrades to existing facilities. Even where necessary adaptations carry a higher price tag, they tend to result in considerable efficiencies, improve effec- tiveness and savings in the longer term, for example by improving staff retention and satisfaction. In any case, working towards equal opportunities is a moral endeavour that should not be governed by financial considerations.