French army: the long road to greater diversity
Students from the army health service, July 14, 2020, during the parade.
AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Denouncing a society "made by men for men", the Minister Delegate in charge of Gender Equality, Elisabeth Moreno, said on March 8 that she was in favor of "quotas" of women in the management committees of companies. .
In the French armies, the feminization of the workforce is also topical, the ministry wanting to accelerate the integration of female personnel.
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After that of Israel, Hungary and
the United States
, the French army with 16% of its troops, or 33,000 women, is the fourth most feminized army in the world.
A percentage considered however too low at the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
Each year, the forces are faced with a real challenge, that of recruiting nearly 25,000 young people.
If positive discrimination does not exist in the Armies, however, it is impossible to ignore the talent pool represented by the female population.
This is what Florence Parly conceded two years ago when a “mixed plan” was launched among the military.
“
Yes, we have one of the most feminized armies in the world
,” declared the Minister of the Armed Forces at the time, […]
but more must be done
.
This plan, which is based on three axes - "recruiting, retaining, developing" - aims in particular to encourage vocations among young women.
"
When I arrived, there were only men
"
And to convince the army to dare, the ministry is now highlighting its female staff, like the young Brigadier Mirella, who testifies to his recent commitment to the operational energy service.
“
When you get involved, you have to love adventure,
” she confides at RFI's microphone.
I was already mentally, physically ready.
A woman can do anything with the will, with the courage.
I am at the Orleans depot.
When I arrived there were only men, I was the only woman.
It never held me back.
When we go on an external operation, we are all there together to succeed in the mission.
A woman can help a man, and a man can help a woman.
"
The French army has 30 women at the rank of general officers.
When the “diversity plan” was launched, Florence Parly aimed to “
increase the proportion of women to 10%
”
at this level
, “
by 2022
”.
If since 1998, all functions have been open to women, the distribution of female personnel within the various services also remains very unequal: for example, they are nearly 61% in the military health service, but only constitute 11% of army personnel, and 15% of those in the navy.
Of the three bodies, the Air Force is almost a good student with 24% of women, according to
the latest social report of the Armies
.
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