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Equal opportunities
“The Armed Forces diversity goal is to achieve an environment free from harassment, intimidation and unlawful discrimination, in which all have equal opportunity and encouragement to realise their full potential. The Armed Forces respect and value every individuals unique contribution, irrespective of his or her race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, social background and sexual orientation, and seek to enhance their operational capability by maximising that contribution.”
The British Armed Forces is committed to the equal opportunity and diversity goal – guiding corporate principals include:
- leadership and commitment from the top down to the principles of diversity
- respect for all individuals
- education of all personnel in diversity through effective training programmes
- the moral courage to take appropriate action, in line with the expressed core values and standards of the Services, against bullying, harassment,
- unlawful discrimination, prejudice and negative attitudes
- to deal with complaints expeditiously and fairly
- to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of our policies regularly, learning from best practice
- to comply with equality legislation, including the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 duty to promote race equality
- tolerable variation will not apply
For further information on the MoD’s corporate principals with regard to equal opportunities and the practical steps being used to implement change go to the MoD website – equal opportunities 2007.
Gender
In 2004, over 11 % of the recruits were female, and women made up nearly 27% of RAF officer intake in the same period.
Among civilian staff there has also been a rising trend in the proportion of female staff from around 30% in 1994 to around 35% in 2004. The proportion of both female UK Regular Forces and of female UK-based civilians has been rising steadily over the past ten years.
The pattern of work is different between men and women. Around 17% of women work part-time compared with about 1% of men.
Since 1994, the proportion of female service personnel has increased from 7% to nearly 9%. The proportion of female service personnel in operational areas (7%) is lower than in military support areas (11%) and HQ, Defence Procurement Agency and other areas (17%). This largely reflects the fact that some areas of military service, such as the Infantry, the Royal Marines General Service, and submarines, are closed to women for combat effectiveness and health reasons.
All cap-badged posts in the Regular Infantry (and Household Cavalry/Royal Armoured Corps) are presently closed to women on the grounds of combat effectiveness.
Source: DASA 2004 and Employment of Women in the Armed Forces Steering Group 2002
For current facts and statistics about women in the Armed Forces go to the MoD website.
For more statistics on the numbers of men and women employed in the sector by employment status see:
UK regular forces and civilians by employing budgetary area and sex, 2004
Source: DASA 2004, page B-9. Headquarter contains the Defence Procurement Agency, research and support.
For trend data on the percentage of female service and civilian personnel see:
UK regular forces by age and sex, 2004
Source: DASA National Statistics website 2004. DASA (Tri-Service) TSP 08 (April 2004) UK Regular Forces (including Trained and Untrained personnel) excludes Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment, mobilised Reservists and Naval Activated Reservists. In addition to the figures, about 535 men and 10 women are 55 years and older.
Ethnicity
The proportion of ethnic minorities within the UK Regular Forces has increased steadily in the last few years. This growth, however, has only taken place within ranks other than officers. The proportion of ethnic minority officers has remained stable since 2002.
Source: DASA National Statistics website 2004
Since 1996 the MoD has been working with the Commission for Racial Equality to promote racial equality practices and eliminate all forms of racial discrimination and harassment in the Armed Forces. In 1998, the MoD and the Commission for Racial Equality signed a five-year Partnership Agreement.
The MoD, the Army, the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force have all won several awards for their commitment to addressing racial equality including the Race for Opportunity Benchmarking Model, the Best Diversity Practitioner, the Gold Award for Best Diversity Practice by a Government Department, the 1998 British Diversity Awards and the 1999 Windrush Awards.
Source: MoD website – equal opportunities 2005 (current information on equal opportunities in the MoD is available on the MoD website)
UK regular forces by ethnic origin and military rank, 2000-2004
Source: DASA National Statistics website 2004. DASA (Tri-Service) TSP 04. 1. April 2000-2004. UK Regular Forces includes Nursing services and excludes Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised Reservists. Figures are based on those with a known ethnic origin. Full coverage estimates (FCE) show the number of ethnic minorities that would be expected if these data were known for all personnel.
For more statistics on ethnicity see the DASA National Statistics website 2004 - data for 2004 and trend data 1999-2004.
Click here for the MoD Race Equality Scheme (RES).
Click here for the Race Equality Scheme 2005 Progress Report for the Armed Forces, Civil Service and Ministry of Defence Police.
Disability and health care
People with disabilities cannot join the Services, as they are not expected to meet physical and other selection requirements. However, the Services retain some people who have become medically unfit.
The MoD Civil Service employs people with disabilities. The MoD offers a guaranteed interview to all disabled applicants who have the essential criteria for the post. Around 5% of the civilian workforce of the Ministry of Defence have a declared disability.
Health care and promotion have been identified as cornerstones within the defence health programme 2003-2007.
Source: MoD website – Equal Opportunities in the Armed Forces 2004 (current information is available on the MoD website) and MoD website - Recruitment 2004
Click here for the Defence Health Programme 2003/2007.
Click here for the a report on Suicide and Open Verdict Deaths among Males in the UK Regular Armed Forces. Comparison with the UK civilian population and the US military.
Last cached: 2008-05-07 10:29 AM