Women are crucial to realising the power of Britain's modern military

International Women’s Day this year is a particularly poignant one for the UK’s Armed Forces. 2019 marks the first time the Army, Navy, and Royal Air Force have been made entirely open to employing women, following a complete lifting of the ban excluding their serving on the ground in close combat roles late last year. As a result, employment in the military will, for the first time in its history, be determined by ability alone and not gender.

This is a watershed moment: this year will see the first women start training to become infantry soldiers, living and working alongside their male counterparts. They will be required to meet the same physical and technical standards as the men - to do otherwise would undermine them, and the strength of the nation’s fighting force.

The Ministry of Defence does not expect large numbers of women to apply for these roles, however. Experience from Canada, where women have been free to join combat arms for more than 30 years, shows they still only make up little more than two per cent in these areas: but the policy change is not about filling the ranks of combat arms with women.

It is about the military being recognised as an equally opportunities employer, and with it, attracting more women into the armed forces as a whole. Ensuring that the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force have the right combination of people, with the right skills, and the right experience, to do the job.

The reality is, women already operate on the frontline alongside combat soldiers, employed as medics, bomb disposal experts, artillery controllers, linguists, dog handlers, and many, many more, performing under fire and under pressure. Six servicewomen have been killed in action in Iraq, and another three in Afghanistan.

And women have been decorated for their bravery in service too: three women have been awarded the Military Cross, one of the country’s highest honours for bravery, to date, demonstrating that, while historically excluded from close combat roles, their value on the battlefield is not in question.

At present women account for just 10.5 per cent of the UK’s regular armed forces, a figure that is slowly rising. Yet if designed afresh today, would such an overwhelmingly male, homogenous force be the choice to meet the challenges we face? Today, we need a military that is more diverse. A military that respects different perspectives, can engage with people from all backgrounds and values skills that have not traditionally been associated with soldiering, such as empathy, tolerance and social awareness.

New challenges such as cyber-warfare, artificial intelligence, global migration, humanitarian crises, and a shifting of the battleground away from remote frontlines to populated civilian areas necessitates a military that can think creatively, respects difference and challenges received norms. Women are crucial to realising the power of this diversity of the modern military.

Providing equal opportunities for women in our Armed Forces is also about staying relevant. Relevant with the values and beliefs of British society, as well as when working alongside our allies, most of whom already permit women to serve in ground close combat roles.

When working overseas, the military also represents a projection of British society’s standards and values: we therefore also have an obligation to uphold these, including gender equality. Furthermore, as one of the UK’s largest employers, the Ministry of Defence has a duty to return men to society at the end of their service who have experience of working respectfully alongside women, and who have experience of leading diverse teams.

As one of the last bastions of masculinity, the military has come a long way towards achieving gender equality. Today the Army, Navy and RAF are considered among the top employers for women, and those across all three services have attained the rank of General, commanding brigades, ships, and flying as Red Arrows. I can only hope that more women who want to be a part of something bigger see service in the UK’s Armed Forces as a place where they will be truly welcome.