APPENDIX 1
NUMBERS OF PERSONNEL IN THE BRITISH FORCES
|
ALL PERSONNEL |
|||
|
Navy |
Army |
RAF |
Total |
TOTAL |
39,710 |
107,800 |
51,240 |
198,750 |
Officers |
7,700 |
14,740 |
10,590 |
33,030 |
Other Ranks |
32,010 |
93,060 |
40,640 |
165,720 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL FEMALES |
|||
|
Navy |
Army |
RAF |
Total |
TOTAL |
3,690 |
8,140 |
6,210 |
18,040 |
Officers |
660 |
1,570 |
1,400 |
3,640 |
Other Ranks |
3,030 |
6,570 |
4,810 |
14,410 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
FEMALES AS % OF TOTAL |
|||
|
Navy |
Army |
RAF |
Total |
TOTAL |
9.3 |
7.6 |
12.1 |
9.1 |
Officers |
8.6 |
10.7 |
13.2 |
11 |
Other Ranks |
9.5 |
7.1 |
11.8 |
8.7 |
Table 1: Numbers of females in British forces and percentages of total.
Figures from www.MOD.co.uk. Updated 1st July 2005 .
APPENDIX 2
TOTAL NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF FEMALES IN THE THREE FORCES AT EACH RANKING LEVEL
Naval Service |
NO. |
% |
Army |
NO. |
% |
RAF |
NO. |
% |
Total: |
3,690 |
9.3 |
Total: |
8,140 |
7.6 |
Total: |
6,210 |
12.1 |
Officers |
660 |
8.6 |
Officers |
1,570 |
10.7 |
Officers |
1,400 |
13.2 |
Admiral of the Fleet |
* |
* |
Field Marshal |
* |
* |
Marshal of the RAF |
* |
* |
Admiral, Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral and Commodore |
2 |
1.6 |
General, Lieutenant General, Major General, Brigadier |
2 |
0.8 |
Air Chief Marshal, Air Marshal, Air Vice Marshal, Air Commodore |
- |
- |
Captain |
1 |
0.3 |
Colonel |
22 |
3.7 |
Group Captain |
15 |
4.6 |
Commander |
24 |
2.2 |
Lieutenant Colonel |
64 |
3.7 |
Wing Commander |
82 |
6.2 |
Lieutenant Commander |
130 |
5.6 |
Major |
380 |
8.2 |
Squadron Leader |
260 |
9.1 |
Lieutenant |
400 |
12.9 |
Captain |
610 |
13 |
Flight Lieutenant |
730 |
15.7 |
Sub-Lieutenant/ Midshipman |
110 |
14.5 |
Lieutenant / 2nd Lieutenant Officer Designate |
500 |
17.1 |
Flying Officer / Pilot Officer, Officer Designate |
320 |
23.9 |
Other Ranks |
3,030 |
9.5 |
Other Ranks |
6,570 |
7.1 |
Other Ranks |
4,810 |
11.8 |
Warrant Officer Class 1 |
21 |
2.5 |
Warrant Officer Class 1 |
71 |
4 |
Warrant Officer |
29 |
2.4 |
Warrant Officer Class 2 |
1 |
0.1 |
Warrant Officer Class 2 |
200 |
4.1 |
- |
- |
- |
Chief Petty Officer |
160 |
3.7 |
Staff Sergeant |
280 |
4.7 |
Flight Sergeant / Chief Tech'n |
120 |
3 |
Petty Officer |
300 |
6.3 |
Sergeant |
610 |
6 |
Sergeant |
580 |
7.7 |
Leading Rate |
620 |
9.2 |
Corporal |
1,440 |
9 |
Corporal |
1,290 |
12.8 |
Able Rate |
1,930 |
13.4 |
Lance Corporal |
1,560 |
9.7 |
Junior Technician / Leading / Senior Aircraftman |
2,570 |
15.6 |
Private (Classes 1 to 3) |
1,640 |
5.7 |
Aircraftman |
220 |
15 |
|||
|
* |
* |
Private (Class 4) / Junior |
760 |
8.1 |
|
* |
* |
- denotes zero * denotes not applicable Source: DASA (Tri-Service)
Figures from www.MOD.co.uk. Updated 1st July 2005 .
Embargo: 3.30pm 22 May 2002
The Ministry of Defence's decision not to lift the ban on women in close combat roles must not mean the end of work to widen opportunities for women in the armed forces, Jenny Watson, Deputy Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), said today.
Responding to the announcement by Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, Ms Watson said:
"This decision must not be allowed to signal the end of the debate around the role of women in the armed forces.
"The EOC still believes that automatically excluding women from armed combat posts is not the right approach and that mixed units would not have a negative impact on operational effectiveness. Each individual should be judged on the basis of their ability to carry out the job, using relevant tests. It may be that relatively few women would make it through. But that is not a good reason for denying all women the opportunity to apply.
"Although the Defence Secretary's decision is disappointing I welcome his commitment to keeping the issue under review. There have been real improvements in the position of women in the armed forces in recent years. We will continue to work with the MoD to maximise women's opportunities and look forward to seeing more women in senior military positions."
The EOC submitted evidence to the Defence Committee Inquiry into Personnel Issues in October 2000. Included in that evidence was research conducted for the EOC by Dr David Segal at the Center for Research on Military Organization in the USA . This research considers the impact of the inclusion of women on the cohesion of military units and concludes that a negative impact has never been demonstrated. Dr Segal goes on to point out that the argument of reduced cohesion was used in the USA in the past to delay the integration of black soldiers, and homosexuals.
ENDS
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