Workshop held on improving the recruitment of women into the British Armed Forces

On Tuesday 1 July, Dr Georgina Holmes and NGO SecurityWomen ran an internal workshop for the UK Ministry of Defence on the recruitment of women into the British Armed Forces, ahead of the new tri-service recruitment programme 2027.  Historically, the Royal Navy and the Royal Airforce managed their own recruitment internally, while the British Army recruitment programme was outsourced to Capita. 

The new recruitment programme aims to make it easier and faster for women and men to join either one of the three services, reducing bureaucracy. Developed in partnership with Serco, it is intended that candidates will complete one application and one medical evaluation via a single, digital system. The workshop therefore considered what the new tri-service recruitment programme might look like for women wishing to join the Armed Forces. 

Representatives from all three services came together to discuss issues and approaches for embedding gender equality and equity into the recruitment programme planning and delivery. External speakers included Major Marcelle Grace, who presented her research findings on British female soldiers’ recruitment experiences and Stefan Rider from UK Fire & Rescue Service, who shared good practice.