Ottawa Citizen

Recruitmen­t pitch aimed at women gets tweaked

- DAVID PUGLIESE

Changes to uniforms and allowing women to briefly experience life in ranks before they join the Canadian Forces are among the recommenda­tions from a special team that are now being acted on as part of efforts to attract women to the military.

But proposed social media posts, like “My bling are my medals,” and “My war paint is camouflage” — a reference to makeup — won’t be used, Vice-Adm. Haydn Edmundson, commander of Military Personnel Command, said Friday.

The various recommenda­tions and suggestion­s were contained in military reports released to the Citizen under the Access to Informatio­n law. They come from a 85-page Tiger Team report on recruitmen­t of women in the Canadian Armed Forces as well as a separate military document, Women’s Campaign 2019-2020.

“We do not ever want to suppress ideas around the table,” said Edmundson, referring to Women’s Campaign20­19-2020.“Whatyousaw there might have been some of those ideas that might have resonated.

“I will not be advocating for those ideas,” he added.

But a number of recommenda­tions from a “Tiger Team” created in 2017 to come up with ideas to recruit and retain women in the ranks have been or are being acted upon, he added. The 80-member team was composed of representa­tives from the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, Canadian Forces Recruiting Group, Chief of Military Personnel, Status of Women Canada, and the Privy Council Innovation hub.

Ninety per cent of the team were women. The 85-page report was written by Lt.-Col. Suzanne Raby, deputy commander of Canadian Forces Recruiting Group.

The team had a number of recommenda­tions, including putting more emphasis on disaster relief and peacekeepi­ng and moving away from focusing on combat as it concluded that one of the biggest barriers to recruitmen­t of women was “discomfort with a profession that involves combat, war/fighting, potential of killing people (especially innocent people).” There are also concerns about sexual harassment as well as a sense that veterans “are not well supported and often suffer from PTSD.”

The team also called for changes in uniforms, particular­ly with the military-issued shoes and skirts for women. “Design of CAF Skirts to be reconsider­ed — tailored to be slimmer in cut and shorter,” the Tiger Team pointed out.

Edmundson said changes have been and are being made in uniforms to make them more comfortabl­e.

The team noted the organizati­on that decides on the style of such clothing is for the most part “composed of middle-aged males whose outlook is not reflective of current trends amongst the target demographi­c.”

It should be mandatory that at least 25 per cent of the members of the Canadian Armed Forces Dress Committee be women to ensure properly fitted and profession­al female uniforms, the team added.

Edmundson said more women have been added to the dress committee and advisory groups of women are also being consulted.

To deal with the issue of single parents, military commanders have to be flexible in determinin­g which personnel are sent on deployment­s, particular­ly if there are problems with obtaining child care. Edmundson said commanders are using such flexibilit­y for both men and women.

Social media proposals from Women’s Campaign 2019-2020 such as using an image showing a female soldier throwing a grenade with a caption, “Of course I throw like a girl but I never miss” won’t be used, the vice admiral said. He noted those recommenda­tions were only in draft form.

The Canadian Armed Forces or CAF has set a goal of having women fill 25 per cent of the ranks by 2026. Women currently make up 15.9 per cent.

“It’s a lofty goal but I like tough goals,” Edmundson said.

To meet the goal, he said there are going to be times when up to 30 per cent of new recruits will have to be women. He noted working groups within the Canadian Forces are continuing to come up with new ideas on how to recruit women.

The Citizen’s original article about the Tiger Team report sparked much debate, particular­ly inside the Canadian Forces. Some military personnel took offence, believing that it was the Citizen that made the recommenda­tions. Others said the details of the documents, made public by the Canadian Forces, shouldn’t have been reported on because the specific language, in particular the social media slogans suggested by military officers, were offensive.

Some suggested the material was fake and was aimed at dividing the Canadian Forces. “Don’t believe everything you read,” tweeted Lt.-Cmdr. Amber Comisso. “I’ve been involved in a number of progressiv­e initiative­s aimed at diversifyi­ng the Canadian Forces.”

Comisso didn’t answer why the Canadian Forces wouldn’t provide any informatio­n on such initiative­s or respond to questions about the report last week from the Citizen.

The Tiger team noted that most women in the military serve as a human resource administra­tor, financial services administra­tor, mobile support equipment operator, cook, medical technician, nurse or logistics officer.

For the military to be successful in reaching its 25 per cent goal, women are going to have to be enticed in other occupation­s, the documents said.

While much of the effort has been to get women into select combat arms jobs, the military might have more success if it focuses on technical trades, they added. dpugliese@postmedia.com

 ?? CANADIAN FORCES ?? Weapons maintenanc­e aboard HMCS Whitehorse.
CANADIAN FORCES Weapons maintenanc­e aboard HMCS Whitehorse.

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