Women Serving in the Canadian Armed Forces: Strengthening Military Capabilities and Operational Effectiveness

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has a mandate to increase the representation of women to 25.1% by the year 2026. With the current rate at 15.5%, attempting to increase the representation of women remains an important goal. The purpose of this article is to examine how the military can serve as a viable and important career option for women. The first section presents a historical perspective on women serving in the CAF, and will outline historical events and trends that led to the involvement of women in the Canadian military. The next section describes the experiences of women currently working in the Canadian military and the main challenges impacting them. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion of the recommendations with respect to how the CAF can move toward a more integrated, diverse, and inclusive Canadian military.