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Women's #conscription: uniting gender equality and military capability? Today's DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance newsletter shares a blog drawing from our recent work on women's conscription, https://lnkd.in/eVxnVsex In March, Denmark made headlines by announcing plans to extend mandatory conscription to women from 2026, a significant step in the evolution of approaches to compulsory military service. The Defense Minister explained the rationale as “A broader basis for recruiting that includes all genders” creating “a more versatile and more complete defense.” In April, Ukraine’s military adviser on gender issues urged conscription of women. Advocates of gender-neutral conscription argue that it promotes equality in national defence institutions, and is an aspect of women’s equal participation as citizens in society, public institutions and leadership. Some feminist organizations, on the contrary, see conscripting women as an aspect of a growing militarization that impedes genuine progress towards gender equality, peace and sustainable development. Drawing from a DCAF-convened expert discussion between five European armed forces that conscript women, the blog post explores different approaches to conscripting women, strategies to do so and the impacts. Most interestingly, I think, Norway has challenged gender stereotypes by establishing an elite Special Force: the "Hunter Troop," comprised entirely of female conscripts. The unit was initiated to respond to an identified operational need for female special operations soldiers, including to enhance intelligence gathering. Recruitment involves stringent selection criteria and physical standards — attracting women who seek a highly demanding military role. Soldiers parachute out of military aircraft, ski in the Arctic tundra, navigate the wilderness and train for close combat and fighting in urban terrain, exemplifying women’s potential to excel in the elite combat roles traditionally reserved for men.   There is growing evidence that women’s participation in conscript service can propel forward gender equality in the military. In Norway, since the introduction of female conscription, the proportion of women in the armed forces has risen substantially, including women seeking officer education. In Lithuania, approximately 40% of female conscripts continue into professional armed forces careers. As has been widely documented by militaries, NATO and the UN, the full and equal inclusion of women in armed forces significantly enhances military operations, including combat effectiveness. For militaries, women are a critical half of society’s talent pool. Conscription of women could be more widely considered as an enabler of not only gender equality but of armed forces’ capability and resilience.

The Women in Defence UK and Women in Defence Charter's joint insight and data report 2024 is here! The report delivers groundbreaking insights on gender equity in the defence sector. As a proud signatory, Envitia is committed to supporting Women in Defence's mission to accelerate gender equity for all genders. This report sheds light on key themes shaping inclusive workplaces and highlights crucial steps for retaining talent across demographics. Here are some of the most impactful takeaways 💡 - Flexibility matters: It’s a top factor in employee retention across all demographics, from working dads to Queenagers and Gen Z. - The motherhood penalty accounts for 80% of the gender pay gap: Rethinking the parental paradigm with inclusive leave policies supports all parents. - Queenagers’ impact is invaluable: These experienced professionals are cultural role models and advocates for a meaningful, balanced work experience. ✨ Some inspiring findings ✨ - Female representation has reached 25%, a near 1% increase, aligning with their 30% by 2030 goal. - Nearly two-thirds of organisations have improved female representation, with the Civil Service now at 43% and Armed Forces at 31%. - 36% of senior Civil Service roles are now held by women, while a promising 18% of women in the Armed Forces are filling command roles, nearly closing the gender gap. At Envitia, we’re proud to contribute to these insights and drive meaningful change in our industry. Link to the report below: https://lnkd.in/eFTW7JPj #Data #Insights #GenderEquity #WomenInDefence #DeedsNotWords #CriticalMass

Did you know that only 24% of women make up the defence industry? 👥 Despite accounting for 49.6% of the world population, women remain largely under-represented in the defence sector. Diversity, in any walk of life, is positive. The more diversity, the better the representation, and the better the decision-making. The UK Defence Sector pledged to work together to build a more gender-balanced environment by launching a charter for women. Organisations that sign up for this charter are dedicated to becoming leaders in fostering inclusion and diversity within their organisations, ensuring equal opportunities for women to thrive across all levels. The charter reflects the aspiration to see women represented and succeeding at all levels across the defence enterprise. Are you a part of this charter? How are you making a difference in the world of gender diversity? #wearecoex #genderdiversity #womenindefence

Did you know that only 24% of women make up the defence industry? 👥 Despite accounting for 49.6% of the world population, women remain largely under-represented in the defence sector. Diversity, in any walk of life, is positive. The more diversity, the better the representation, and the better the decision-making. The UK Defence Sector pledged to work together to build a more gender-balanced environment by launching a charter for women. Organisations that sign up for this charter are dedicated to becoming leaders in fostering inclusion and diversity within their organisations, ensuring equal opportunities for women to thrive across all levels. The charter reflects the aspiration to see women represented and succeeding at all levels across the defence enterprise. Are you a part of this charter? How are you making a difference in the world of gender diversity? #wearecoex #genderdiversity #womenindefence

I am incredibly pleased that Defence Media Ltd. has recently signed the Women in Defence Charter, an initiative that aims to improve gender balance across defence in the UK. 🙅♀️🪖 As a woman that has been working in this industry for nearly 15 years, more often than not, especially as a journalist, I was the only woman in the room. I have been mansplained to a million times, and quite often it was assumed that my role was a supporting one, or that it was a peculiarity that I was there at all. I am fortunate to have felt supported throughout my career by my employers and colleagues, and I am comfortable holding my own. But as I say, I am lucky and that is my personal experience. Others aren't so lucky, and misogyny and (unwarranted) imposter syndrome can be crippling. Underrepresentation is the problem. I don't need to explain the benefits that inclusivity and diversity bring to the industry (or do I? 🤔), because it has been proven time and time again that gender balance across all industries is good for business. However, women continue to be underrepresented in engineering industries, including defence. The Women in Defence Charter aims for 30% of the industry to be represented by women by 2030, which is an ambitious target, but a vital one. Now, our agency is only small, and 50% of our directors are female. We also use many female suppliers. So you could say that the charter is self-fulfilling and just a show for us, but I wholeheartedly disagree. I passionately believe in this, and every person, company, organisation, and government has a part to play in moving towards the important target of achieving gender equity in defence. That involves actions by individuals and companies, but also more conversation, and signing the charter is a way that we can be part of that conversation. The old boys' club has had its day. ❌ #WomenInDefence #DefenceMarketing #DefenceMedia #GenderEquity

📰NEWS: We’re proud to have joined other leading organisations working towards a more gender-balanced defence industry by signing the Women in Defence Charter. With a female founder, and many of our suppliers and associates also being women, we’ve long been champions of women in the defence industry. By signing the charter, we, and other organisations, have agreed to: ✅Support the progression of women into senior roles in the defence sector. ✅Recognise the diversity of the sector and that organisations will have different starting points in the journey to gender parity. ✅Publicly report on our progress in delivering any internal targets. ✅Enable women to thrive in the sector, and enhance the individual and collective impact of women across defence. 🔗Read more here: https://loom.ly/qia1S_E #DefenceMarketing #DefenceCommunications #MarketingCommunications #WomenInDefence

This International Women's Day, let's reflect on the vital role women play in shaping our world. The need for increased female representation in governments and decision-making bodies cannot be overstated. When women are involved in decision-making processes, policies become more inclusive and responsive to gender-specific needs.   #IWD2024 serves as an opportunity to delve into some of our publications highlighting women's contributions to peace, security, and disarmament. Despite significant progress, women diplomats remain underrepresented, particularly in international disarmament forums where only one in three diplomats are women (unidir.org/behind-curve).   UNIDIR's reports shed light on gender disparities in forums addressing arms control, non-proliferation, and disarmament. From exploring avenues to increase women's participation in weapons and ammunition management to analyzing the current landscape of gender representation in organizations dealing with arms control and disarmament, these publications offer various insights.   📘 "Women Managing Weapons," authored by our own Hana Salama and Emma Bjerten, focuses on enhancing women's participation not just on an individual level but also within institutions. Their work underscores the importance of institutional support in fostering gender equality in traditionally male-dominated fields 👉 unidir.org/women-weapons   Furthermore, UNIDIR's survey reveals a concerning trend: while women represent 63% of entry-level positions in organizations dealing with arms control and disarmament, this percentage drops significantly at middle and senior levels.   📗 In "Best Practices for Promoting Gender Equality in Conventional Arms Control: Survey Results," UNIDIR’s Renata Hessmann Dalaqua, Hana Salama and Manaved Nambiar provide recommendations to address this disparity and improve diversity in these critical spheres 👉 unidir.org/BestPractices   This International Women's Day, let's commit to amplifying women's voices and ensuring their meaningful participation in decision-making processes. Together, we can create a more equitable and secure world for all! 🌐

It was a great honor to address the OSCE Security Committee on the critical topic of "Inclusion of women in all aspects of the security sector: main trends, challenges, and priorities", framed within Security Sector Governance and Reform. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the MALTA - OSCE24 Chairpersonship, the Security Committee Chairperson Ambassador Peter Burian, and the OSCE Secretariat, a meaningful dialogue on enhancing current initiatives and exploring new ones ensued. The commitment of the institutions and the participating States of the OSCE to make substantial and impactful strides to achieve, sooner rather than later, equal inclusion of women in the security sector is encouraging. With practical examples from the field and sharing of best practices, followed by an engaging discussion with OSCE participating States, the meeting concluded with commitments for further concerted action to achieve gender parity in the security sector at all levels - and in particular in decision making roles - but also for further investment in broadening and deepening the important initiatives to promote women in the security sector that are already underway across the OSCE region. #GenderParity #GenderEquality #SecuritySector #SSGR Photo credit: Micky Kroell/OSCE

Gender and Inclusion: Women in the WorkForce. presented a paper in National Conference on 14 March at Presidency University : Women Officers in Indian Armed Forces.

From breaking barriers to driving innovation, women are reshaping the defence landscape and proving that diversity is not just a goal - it's a necessity.   Our latest case study in association with MBDA shines a spotlight on the underrepresentation of women in defence and the initiatives that are paving the way for more women to enter and thrive in a traditionally male-dominated field.     Read the full case study - 'Powered by Women' - to discover how these efforts are not only supporting gender diversity but also strengthening the industry with fresh perspectives and untapped talent.   #WomeninDefence #DiversityandInclusion #DefenceIndustry