Women in the Canadian Armed Forces

Some careers have, traditionally, been believed to be gender-based. For instance, nursing was thought to be for women, same as catering and other food-related businesses, while the police force or the army is for the men. Well, over time, these thoughts and mentalities have been debunked, and women are now dominating careers that were previously thought to be for men and vice versa. This is more true in the military, a career previously thought of and dominated by men only. This article is an analysis of how women serve within the Canadian Armed Forces

The Canadian Army was one of the first to allow women to serve in all occupations. It is a trendsetting military force, opening doors for women who have for long, not been associated with the army. This has made Canada a world leader in both the proportions of women in their military and the areas in which they can serve. Canadian women have been serving in the military for over a century and today play a pivotal role in defending Canada’s safety and security. The objective of the Forces is to have 1 in 4 members be women by 2026. Here is a detailed analysis of how women have served the CAF

1.     1885: this was the first time women served in the Canadian military’s history. Their first role was as nurses in the field, providing care to the troops in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The tour of duty lasted 4 weeks and a total of 12 Nursing Sisters were awarded the Campaign medal for service in the North-West in 1885. They were called “Nursing Sisters” because they were originally drawn from the ranks of religious orders

2.     The First World War: more than 2,800 Nursing Sisters served alongside the Canadian Army Medical Corps during World War I, often close to the front lines of Europe and within range of enemy attack. With their blue dresses and white veils, they were nicknamed the “bluebirds” and were greatly respected because of their compassion and courage. However, Canadian women were not permitted to serve in other military roles during the First World War.

3.     The Second World War: World War II saw the return of the Nursing Sisters and this time, about 4,500 were attached to all three branches of the Canadian military and about 66% of them served overseas. This time around, the nursing sisters wore a military uniform with a traditional white veil. These young women were commissioned officers and were respectfully addressed as “Sister” or “Ma’am.” It was such a big deal that the Canadian military nurses were the first in any Allied country to have officer status. Yes, it also means that Canadian women also served in other military roles during the war. About 50,000 of them eventually enlisted in the air force, army and navy. It is during these times that three major services relating to women were created. The Royal Canadian Air Force - Women’s Division (RCAF-WD) was created on July 2, 1941, and their slogan was “We serve that men may fly”. The Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) was established on August 13, 1941, and its members' duties were quite traditional as they worked as cooks, cleaners, tailors and medical assistants. Finally, you have the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS), established on July 31, 1942, and they performed clerical and administrative tasks so more men could be made available for duty at sea

4.     Post-Second World War: unfortunately, after World War II, the Canadian military shut down the women’s organizations. This decision later came to bite them in the rear end with the onset of the Cold War and the Korean war a few years later. This time around, the military faced a shortage of personnel, and they ended up recruiting some 5,000 women. Only a handful were sent to Korea with the rest serving back in Canada with the same kinds of roles they had served during World War II. However, with new technologies coming in, the requirements for personnel in many trades was reduced, leading to a decline in the number of women in the military. Luckily, with the unification and modernization of the Canadian military in the late 1960s, the doors finally began to open for good for women to enlist and enter non-traditional roles.

5.     Today: women have been deployed on combat missions, captain vessels and command flying squadrons, and their career paths are now as open as those of men. By the endof 2017, there were 12 women at the general and flag officer ranks in the CAF, a record high with 4 in each service. The number of women in senior non-commissioned member ranks also rose to 57 chief warrant officers and chief petty officers 1st class, as did the number of women in Special Forces roles. As of February 2020, the total Regular Force members who are women were 15.80%. Bear in mind that this number is inclusive of all Regular Force Officers and Regular Force Non-Commissioned Members (NCMs). The total Primary Reserve Members (again, this is Officers plus NCMs) was 16.60% and the Total Regular Force and Primary Reserve members who are women stood at 16%. The total number of Navy members (Officers plus NCMs) was 20.60%, total Army Members 13.50% and total Air Force Members was 19.80%.

The women in the Canadian Army have continued to break barriers and will continue to do so going into the future. The goal is to have these figures grow to at least 25% by 2026 and going by such speeds, they will be close to 50% very soon.