The Problem With Women In Defence...

 

Its outrageous isn’t it – all these stupid demands by people to change job titles to match gender. I mean, who do these people think they are, turning up and demanding that ancient and much-loved ranks, whose meaning is well understood, should be changed just to suit their gender. If they didn’t like the rank title, why on earth did they join up – perhaps they should have stayed outside and stopped trying to impose their ‘woke’ views on the rest of us. After all, whats wrong with the use of ranks like ‘Aircraftwoman, Able Seawoman, Guardswoman’ and so on – who do these men think they are?

If that sentence made you uncomfortable, then good. It was intended to, because frankly its getting beyond silly that we’re still having this debate. We are once again in the situation in the UK where social media commentators and certain media outlets are getting hot under the collar because some women soldiers have the sheer audacity to not necessarily want to be called ‘man’ in their job title.

Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright

To some this is somehow a the devious work of “PC wokists, trans, and all the rest who are determined to make the institution they join a laughing stock” (according to a commentator on the Daily Telegraph). To others on the same website it is simple - “Any female joining the British military Guards knew when she signed on to take The Queen's Shilling she was going to be called guardsmen and they only embarrass themselves and the service moaning about the label now. If these females are that bothered they should find other employment and leave guarding our country to those with the brains to be honoured by being called Guardsmen”.  

Meanwhile according to the Daily Mail commentators, it turns out that the Army Top Brass shoudn’t  “let the minorities grind us down....they signed up for it!”  “Anyone remember the Iraq war? When it started loads and loads of women soldiers quit because they were scared and didnt want to go. They are a waste of time in the Army and this country is weaker with them in it”. Of course, those that do serve aren’t actually proper soldiers anyway “There not Guardsmen there Musicians and on operations they would stretcher bearers not front line infantry soldiers. Just because they wear a Foot Guard uniform doesn't mean there proper Guardsmen’ (but I bet they can spell), and of course “When you put on that uniform you are called what the army wants to call you, if you don't like it then get out, you are obviously not made of the right stuff for the regiment, they always said things would go to pot when they opened the ranks up to all and sundry”… 

It is genuinely scary to read the sort of bile on display in comment pages like this. The sheer level of anger, hatred and contempt for people who have signed up to serve their nation, to serve in harms way and be willing to put their life on the line so that armchair commentators can enjoy the freedom to deny their right to serve. It isn’t just pathetic, it is downright scary.

There is no getting away from the fact that there is a serious problem with women in Defence. It seems to stem from a deep rooted cultural aversion to the idea that change is a bad thing, and that even recognising gender in a job title is somehow opening the door to ‘wokist PC nonsense’. That every time even a minor suggestion for change is made, we see this avalanche of negative media coverage is frankly depressing beyond words.

It is not ‘woke’ to ask that your employer consider giving you a job title that matches your gender. We have a curious position where the MOD is pushing to increase diversity, increase the pool of recruits and talent and make it a more welcoming place, yet even the slightest hint of challenge and suggestions for change is treated externally as a threat to the existence of the organisation itself.

There are clearly some incredibly insecure men out there if they believe that changing a job title represents the end of society as we know it, yet that is what some of the comments pages suggest. You may say ‘oh but its only an internet comments page’ but the fact is that these articles always generate these comments, the same haters emerge, time after time and create this abusive atmosphere that implies that women should not be in the armed forces at all.

It may sound a small thing, but what message does it send to young women thinking about joining up that should they do so, and ask to make a reasonable change, this will become a national media story. Why put up with the anger and hate it will generate by an employer whose audience and supporters seem determined to attack you at every opportunity.

This sort of change is nomenclature, but it is also the thin end of the wedge. If it proves difficult, bordering on impossible to have a sensible debate about job titles without near hysterical abuse by deeply insecure men online, how do you fix the bigger issues. Is there any real demand for female uniforms that fit properly, and which recognise that women's bodies are different from men's?

Is there going to be any appetite for fixing issues like managing work/life balance, where women are potentially disenfranchised by a career system that rewards thrusters, not those who choose to have a family. How do we even begin to address the problem of military issues like the multiple cases of service families, where both parents serve, and the military solution is to deploy them at the same time and suggest that they put their children into care, rather than staggering deployments (and yes this has happened several times).

The fact is that it feels like the system is unable to progress at times because the external knuckle draggers seem to act as if treating an employee equally is a bad thing. The message boards light up with anger at changes to RAF rank titles, with people outraged at problems that to their mind didn’t exist – well of course there isn’t a problem if you’re a white middle class male in Defence, so clearly there is no such thing as discrimination.

The MOD has made great efforts to try to bridge the gap, to try to bring the talent in and to try to make Defence a truly inclusive place to be. Its done a lot, but it still has a bloody long way to go. But at least its trying.

The wider community, those who rant about ‘history, values and standards’ are the problem here. They’ve appointed themselves gatekeepers of the armed forces, which they are either long departed from, or only served in via Call of Duty. They see fit to decry, attack and malign others for departing from their vision of Defence and its not nice.

This gatekeeping isn’t unique to the Armed Forces. The author is a lifelong wargamer and fan of the Warhammer universe. The reaction there to recent news that Games Workshop have introduced female characters, including shock horror a female soldier has led fully grown manbabies to fits of outrage on the internet at the sheer audacity that a fictional universe set 40,000 years in the future, which has chaotic gods, giant alien spaceships, and teleporting necromantic androids can possibly even contemplate the idea that a woman could be a soldier. The gatekeeping is toxic, it is pathetic and it needs to stop.

There is sadly a toxic sub element to the military community of supporters that is extremely scary. Listening in a pub last week to older retired members of the Household Division, clearly very proud of their time in the Army, clearly still in touch with serving members and clearly keen that standards be upheld, loudly use phrases like ‘coloured person’ and ‘w*gs’ when referring to the Army of today was genuinely scary. If you were from a minority, or a female, listening to the conversation, you’d have been left with the clear impression that the armed forces were not for you, and you were not welcome in their world.

The sheer anger these people show at something as simple as a title change is beyond ridiculous. But its also a big problem – Defence needs to attract people to join on a sustainable basis. This means appealing to a population that is talented, capable and those with the highly valuable skills like engineers, cyber and other niche areas will be keenly fought over.

Why would a young woman, raised to be proud of her gender and identity, taught to be self-confident and to stand up for what she believes in, and to be proud of being a woman, want to join the armed forces where the mere mention of your gender is seen as a bad thing by other people? Why join an institution which gets angry florid men in red trousers shouting on TV or the press about how women don’t belong in it and there is no place for them? Why join an organisation whose previous members, and wider community see you as a threat to their existence and a problem, and regard you as a ‘woke trouble maker’ for daring to ask for equal treatment?

The retired online community that profess to values and standards while abusing current service members with 'banter' (hi there PPRUNE!), the ‘retired major in the pub’, the 60000 people who were all on the Balcony at the Embassy – all of them are part of the problem if they keep spouting this bile. They may say that anyone put off by their comments is too weak to join anyway, and so its better to keep them out, but that misses the point. Nobody should have to put up with others questioning your very right to be part of an organisation in the first place. White males are not subject to this sort of judgemental pressure, and no one else should be either.

It is sadly ironic too that those who see no place in the system for Women, and bemoan the at every opportunity, seem to have happily worked under the leadership of a woman for their entire career. HM Queen Elizabeth II is a WW2 veteran, former soldier and without doubt the greatest monarch in the history of our islands. The same people that have spent the weekend admiring Her service, also get outraged at equality for women in the military – a curiously hypocritical position.

There is no easy solution, and there is a serious danger of ‘mansplaining’ too. Changing these values is like turning a supertanker around – slow and laborious, but it can be done. If you feel that the language described above isn’t an issue, then perhaps you are part of the problem? If on the other hand you feel that perhaps its time to give everyone an equal shot, to not get worked up about the small things like gender correct / neutral titles, then do what you can to help – call out negative comments, call out the inappropriate behaviour and work to help shape a better future for the next generation of recruits. We need them far more than they need us.

Finally, if you get worked up about ‘wokism’ and angry at the concept of the decline in values and standards because of PC nonsense, then how you reconcile that with the news emerging of alleged orgies in Army barracks, or the appalling treatment of female service personnel by male colleagues, up to and including sexual assault (as seen in so many news articles recently) and how that links to your vision of proper conduct and values is an interesting challenge.

It is not ‘woke’ to want everyone to get the same basic treatment, or when it does not exist to seek for it to be introduced. It is simple common sense.