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Deep Dive Recap: Women’s Recruitment and Retention in the Armed Forces
07 August 2025
3 MIN READ
On 15 July 2025, at NATO HQ, the International Military Staff (IMS) Office of the Gender Advisor (GENAD) hosted its monthly “Deep Dive” session, this time focused on the strategies employed to foster the recruitment and retention of women in the armed forces of NATO Allies.
The session featured the participation of Lieutenant Colonel Alexandra Duval, Senior Staff Officer for Policy and Doctrine at the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group Headquarters; Moa Björck, Desk Officer for Gender Equality in the Swedish Armed Forces Defence Staff; Wing Commander Sarah Tunstall, Recruiting Force Commander for the UK Royal Air Force; and Dr Megan MacKenzie, Professor in International Law and Human Security at Simon Fraser University.
Opening the session, Lt Col Duval provided an oversight of Canada’s four-pillar recruitment process, based on attraction, processing, selection and enrolment. In this regard, she underlined different measures taken at each stage to support female enrolment targets. Moreover, their candidates are evaluated according to the “Canadian Armed Forces Ethos,” which ensures adherence to core values, such as inclusivity.
In addition, inclusive behaviours are assessed through performance evaluations to foster a culture where both women and men feel comfortable remaining in the military for longer-term commitment. Finally, Lt Col Duval further highlighted how the challenges in balancing work with family responsibilities impact women’s long-term retention. In this regard, Canada has updated its policies to provide more comprehensive family obligations and parental leave.
Ms Björck continued the session by highlighting to the audience the Swedish Chief of Defence’s very relevant commitment to gender mainstreaming, as a means of maintaining military credibility, enjoying popular support and enhancing warfighting capabilities.
She noted the current imbalance between the civilian staff of the Swedish Armed Forces - where women are well-represented - and the military staff, which is only 17% female. In order to address this disparity, Sweden has taken several steps, e.g. information sessions in schools. Furthermore, the physical requirements for recruits have been adjusted to reflect ongoing technological advancements in warfare, and reduce barriers to entry for women. Finally, an anonymous support line for victims of sexual harassment was recently established, as an additional signal of attention to this issue.
Wg Cdr Tunstall focused on the United Kingdom’s approach to attracting the right talent from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds to the UK Royal Air Force. She noted that — compared to the near gender parity in the civil service of the UK Ministry of Defence — only 15% of the Royal Air Force is female.
Among the steps taken there to improve recruitment and retention efforts, Wg Cdr Tunstall noted adapting fitness and medical standards, as well as reviewing each applicant holistically to better fit the needs of the modern military. She also described measures to actively attract talent and target women who may not otherwise consider military services.In this sense, she suggested establishing “town show” and recruiting events, while ensuring that marketing materials display the diversity of people in the forces.
Finally, Dr MacKenzie, taking stock of her academic research, briefed about the need for measures to attract women to military careers, beyond simply removing barriers to service. She highlighted the experience of women in combat roles, acknowledging the pressure they can face in male-dominated environments. Dr Mackenzie also pointed out serious culture issues in the military that affect women’s attrition rates, such as the sometime-wide perception of potential exposure to sexual harassment. Finally, she emphasised the need for consistent policy commitments in order to effectively address low recruitment and retention of women in the armed forces.