Now even Army celebrates International Women’s Day!
THE Army has become the latest organisation to embrace International Women’s Day as it celebrated the occasion in a recruitment advert.
The 40-second video, shown on primetime television, featured a female soldier in camouflage before proclaiming the Army’s support of the day.
The advert, called Having My Voice Heard, was originally released as part of the ‘This is Belonging 2018’ campaign in January.
But while the original clip only shows the Army logo at the end, the words ‘proudly supports International Women’s Day’ have been added to the final shot in the new version.
The recruitment video shows Captain Jo Ellett sitting in a helicopter grasping a gun as she looks out over a grassy moor.
As the helicopter lands she leaps out with her fellow soldiers and communicates with the rest of the group using military hand signals as the slogan ‘Having My Voice Heard’ appears on screen.
The clip, which was broadcast on International Women’s Day on Thursday, has also been posted on the Army website and YouTube.
On the Army website, it says: ‘International Women’s Day is just another day in the British Army with equal pay, equal dress codes and equal opportunities.’ Women have been allowed to join the army since 1917 and there are currently more than 13,000 serving in the Armed Forces.
International Women’s Day has been celebrated since the early 1900s, but was recognised by the UN for the first time in 1975.
The day is used by campaigners to push for gender equality. This year’s campaign protested against the gender wage gap.
After the advert was broadcast, some complained the Army was spending too much money on adverts. Rod Bishop tweeted: ‘The last two Army recruitment ads I’ve seen have featured a Muslim praying on patrol and a celebration of International Women’s Day? The MOD has a £20billion black hole. Go figure.’
It comes after the Army was criticised for spending £1.6million on the ‘This is Belonging 2018’ campaign, which aimed to diversify the 83,000-strong Army.
Critics said the campaign, which declares it is fine for soldiers to cry, pray and show emotion, could undermine Britain’s fighting strength. In January the head of the Army defended the adverts amid claims they made the military look ‘weak’ and ‘soft’.
General Sir Nick Carter said the Army was not fully staffed and its recruitment campaign had to better reflect the demography of the UK to boost numbers. Sir Nick told Radio 4’s Today: ‘Combat ethos and fighting power remain the highest priority... and I can’t remember a time in my career when we’ve had a more combathardened Army.’
But former corporal Brian Wood, who was awarded the Military Cross for outstanding bravery in Iraq, said at the time: ‘We are showing weakness to the enemy. People who join the military do so to serve and protect, not worry about being gay, praying and being emotional. PC madness.’
OXFORD University has apologised after a female cleaner was told to scrub out a message reading ‘Happy International Women’s Day’ from library steps. The slogan was written in chalk on steps at the Clarendon Building, part of the 400-year-old Bodleian Library. It is usual practice for graffiti to be removed, but feminists were upset that a woman was asked to remove the campaign message.