History of Women in the British Armed Forces
Women have played a vital role in the Armed Forces since at least the Second World War, when they were employed in a wide variety of roles, many of which exposed them to extreme danger.
After the War, it was recognised that women continued to have an important role to play in the Armed forces, and the “Women’s Services” were permanently established.
The early 1990s saw the most dramatic peacetime changes in their duties, with women serving in surface ships, as aircrew for the first time, and also in a much greater range of posts in the Army.
Around the same time, women's roles were fully into the three main Service branches – the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force – and the separate Women’s Services were abolished (the Women’s Royal Air Force was never a separate Service, although the use of the term was discontinued).
Today, the contribution of Servicewomen to the combat effectiveness of the Armed Forces is essential. More women are serving in a greater variety of posts than ever before, many of them front line.
Jobs open to Women in today's British Armed Forces
(Note: Statistical information correct as at February 2006)
The proportion of jobs open to women is as follows:
| Royal Navy |
71% |
| Army |
71% |
| RAF |
96% |
Women serve in all specialisations, except those where the primary duty is "to close with and kill the enemy." Women are, therefore, excluded from the Royal Marines General Service (as Royal Marine Commandos), the Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps, the Infantry and the Royal Air Force Regiment.
The exclusion does not, however, prevent them serving on the establishment of (i.e. as part of) such units in administrative and support roles.
For health reasons relating to breathable air mixtures, service aboard submarines or as mine clearance divers continues to be precluded.
Consistent with the UK's policy on the employment of Servicewomen, women deploy alongside their male counterparts and there are no restrictions on their deployment, unless they are pregnant.
Women in the Armed Forces – Facts and figures
| Total number of women |
17,900 |
| Total number of officers |
3,670 |
| Total number of other ranks |
14,230 |
| Total of all personnel |
196,650 |
Females as a proportion (%) of the total number of personnel in the Armed Forces
|
Feb 2006 |
April 2001 |
| Total |
9.1 |
8.1 |
| Officers |
11.2 |
9.3 |
| Other ranks |
8.7 |
7.9 |
Percentage of Women By Service
| Service |
Total |
Officers |
Other Ranks |
| Naval Service |
9.3 |
8.7 |
9.4 |
| Army |
8.2 |
10.8 |
7.1 |
| RAF |
12.3 |
13.6 |
11.9 |
Where females serve
(% of number of females in Service by role)
Royal Navy
| Warfare branch |
36 |
| Engineers & technicians |
13 |
| Logistics |
33 |
| Medical |
18 |
Army
| Combat (all of these women serve in the Army Air Corps) |
1 |
| Combat Support |
21.9 |
| Combat Service Support |
77.1 |
RAF
| Ground/Officer Aircrew / Non-Commissioned Aircrew |
3
|
| Operations Support & associated trades (Not accounting for RAF Regt) |
21
|
| Other |
76 |
Highest Ranking Females officers
| Royal Navy |
1 Commodore |
| Army |
2 Brigadiers, 20 Colonels |
| RAF |
20 Group Captains |
Women in the Naval Service in 2006
- 71% of jobs in the Royal Navy are open to women and 9.3% of the Navy are females. The majority of women choose to enter the Logistics and Warfare Branches, with a high percentage of the remainder selecting Medical Branches
- As at May 2006, 12 women have now qualified as Principal Warfare Officers. There are 1191 women serving on a selection of 55 ships at all ranks and rates; a further 130 women are serving in other operational or sea-going posts with the remaining 1679 being shore based
Women in the Army in 2006
- The percentage of female soldiers has remained constant over the last year but the % of female officers continues to increase steadily with the overall figure for females in the Army being 8.2%
- Female Brigadiers are filling medical and pay and allowance policy jobs and Colonels are in several posts in the medical, dental, legal, educational, administrative, logistic and communications fields. One female Colonel is the senior Logistic Officer in a deployable Divisional headquarters
- Women are increasingly filling more command appointments with two University Officer Training Corps and the Staff and Personnel Support Training School commanded by women. In addition, a female Lieutenant Colonel has been selected to assume command of a Royal Military Police unit and a female is set to command the high profile Kings Troop which is the Ceremonial Saluting Battery of the Royal Artillery. There are also an increasing number of females commanding Reserve Forces units
- Female personnel currently fill a variety of roles in operational theatres including Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans with a female currently ADC to a 2* General in Afghanistan
Women in the Royal Air Force in 2006
- Women make up 12.3% of the Air Force and female pilots are employed in various operational theatres, including Afghanistan and Iraq
- The number of Servicewomen in command appointments continues to increase. For example, Operations Wing and the Central Air Traffic Control School at RAF Shawbury, are both commanded by women, and a female engineer has recently been appointed to the Brimstone Integrated Project Team based at MOD Abbey Wood
- Female Group Captains head up the RAF's recruitment organisation and its public relations department; additionally, there are female base commanders at RAF High Wycombe, RAF Fylingdales and Swanwick Military. Finally, four flying Squadrons in the Royal Air Force have female flight commanders. The high profile post of Team Manager of the Red Arrows, the world renowned aerobatics display team, will again be filled by a female this year