A Time To Celebrate Women

In the UK, today we celebrate Mothers Day, a tradition that started way before I was born but on Friday we also celebrated International Women’s Day, which has become a key date in any diary.  For me, it’s a date that is so special.

Across the Defence Enterprise in the UK, women make a hugely important contribution to the security, defence and economic prosperity of our nation, and this is something my female colleagues at Lockheed Martin are extremely proud of.

However, according to 2023 data provided by Women in Defence UK women only make up 24% of the UK Defence Sector workforce.

Depending on where you are in the sector, the figures vary. For example, the Ministry of Defence leads the sector with women making up 41% of their workforce. In contrast, just 12% of the Armed Forces are made up of women. The Defence Industry is somewhere in the middle with 29%.

Whichever way you look at it, that means the sector remains unbalanced in favour of male employees.  At a time when the sector is growing that means we’re missing out on some amazing talent that can really improve the defence enterprise.

So, what are we doing about it?

The Women in Defence Charter, which has the ambition to achieve 30% female representation at all levels across the defence enterprise by 2030, is a good starting point.

 The Charter reflects the ambition to see women represented, and succeeding, at all levels across Defence. A balanced workforce is good for government and good for business, good for customers and consumers, for profitability and workplace culture, for promoting prosperity and stability, and for showing that everyone matters in building stronger and more peaceful communities.

I believe this charter sits at the heart of how we can improve inclusion in the Defence Sector.

The Charter’s signatories, of which Lockheed Martin is one, are committed to being the very best at driving inclusion and diversity within their organisations and providing opportunities for women to succeed at all levels.

Industry is also making some positive strides.

The Defence Suppliers Forum People and Skills (DSF P&S) Steering Group, of which I am Co-Chair alongside the fabulous Jo Osburn-Hughes , works tirelessly to understand and innovate in how we can attract more women to work in the industry. 

Some of our thinking about how to make Defence more attractive to women includes:

• Making STEM subjects more accessible to female students at an early age

• Mentoring

• Showcasing inspirational women in Defence to inspire the next generation

• Increasing hybrid working and providing better working terms and conditions that take into account different life responsibilities

In recognition of International Women’s Day, I joined the first Women in Defence podcast which aired on Friday, to discuss some of these challenges and ideas Jo Osburn-Hughes , Chief Operating Officer Land at DE&S and Aidan Wood from Matchtech. Take a listen to the podcast here and let us know what you think.

Also on IWD, Nina Cope CB , the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Defence, led an International Women’s Day panel in Main Building made up of Helen Millichap, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, General Sir Jim Hockenhull, Commander of Strategic Command and myself representing industry.

 We spoke about defining moments for inclusivity and our experiences of promoting inclusivity across the defence enterprise to an audience from inside MOD and Armed Forces.

 With the IWD theme being #InspiringInclusivity, the fundamental question debated was how to go about this. There are a number or routes, but key for me are positive action and the use of mentoring. I have seen Defence come a long way in my thirty + year careerthanks to these. However, we still have a long way to go. 

For me, an annual International Women’s Day is simply one defining moment for inclusivity, but it must not be the only such moment in our year. Improving inclusion and diversity in our sector must be something we work on every day to ensure we attract the great pool of talented women out there to work in Defence.