Armed Forces Ombudsman Criticizes Gender Imbalance in Bundeswehr
Eva Högl, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, has voiced concerns about the underrepresentation of women in the Bundeswehr. Högl, an SPD politician, shared her thoughts with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, noting that the current proportion of women in the military sits at roughly 13.1%. When excluding the medical services, this percentage drops to less than 10%. Högl claimed that the Bundeswehr is missing its self-imposed targets and has been doing so for years, with a quota of 20% mandated by law.
Högl also pointed out the low numbers of women serving in field positions and holding leadership roles. In 2023, only 47 women held pay grade A16 or higher, and this number was the same as in the previous year. Similarly, only three women held the rank of general. In her view, more efforts should be made to have women enjoy a more common presence in such roles.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense shared that the number of women applying to serve in the Bundeswehr increased last year, reaching approximately 17%. The spokesperson expressed pride in this fact, as it reflects the military as an attractive employer for women. However, they acknowledged that the percentage of women in leadership positions within the ministry itself was around 2%. Outside of the Ministry, women held roughly 16% of these roles, while nearly 46% of similar positions in the medical service were filled by women.
Hans-Peter Bartels, a former military commissioner and current president of the Society for Security Policy, suggested a return to compulsory military service with conscription for both men and women. Bartels, a former SPD member of parliament, made these remarks on Deutschlandfunk radio. This change would necessitate modifications to the Basic Law. Bartels suggested a "compulsory military service selection" model, where all conscripts would be registered and tested, with those deemed fit being asked if they wanted to volunteer for the Federal Armed Forces. He called for cross-party talks within the coalition and with the CDU/CSU to hasten the process of agreeing on suitable measures.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
The Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, urged the German Armed Forces to address their lack of women in leadership positions and field positions, as the current percentage of women in these roles remains disproportionately low. Despite an increase in the number of women applying to serve in the Bundeswehr last year, the Commissioner urged the ministry to keep up its efforts to ensure more women have a common presence in these roles.
Source: www.ntv.de
