Gender equality

Preparation and Planning

You will need ICT access to present the PowerPoint slides and video attached to this lesson. The class will need to be divided into pairs and each will need copies of Student Worksheets 1-4. Some extension activities require students to conduct online research, so access to the internet may be required if you choose to deliver these activities.

About the MOD Topic

Equality in the Ministry of Defence (MOD):
Below is a key statement from a policy document on Equal Opportunities in the MOD:
'The MOD and its Agencies are committed to, and operate a policy of equal opportunity for all staff and applicants for appointment. There must be no unfair discrimination on the basis of: gender, marital status, working pattern, race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, age, religious belief, physical or mental disability. This should be observed and applied in recruitment, training, staff appraisal, promotion or in any other activity.

This means that:
- We monitor our personnel procedures to ensure that they are fair and objective
- We aim to attract a wide range of competent and able applicants to our posts
- We are working hard to develop a workplace which is free from harassment and unfair discrimination
- We do our best to offer alternative working arrangements and have and have policies to help staff combine work and domestic responsibilities
- We are committed to policies which, in the long term, will enable us to reflect the ethnic diversity of our catchment communities
- We aim to provide an accessible working environment for people with disabilities
- We make clear to all our staff their rights and their personal responsibility for achieving equal opportunities in the workplace
- We offer our staff the opportunity to develop their talents
- We do discriminate - but only where it is fair to do so.'


Equality in the British Armed Forces:
Below is a statement about equality in the British Armed Forces:
'The UK Armed Forces offer a wide range of jobs, and can be called upon to operate in many roles, at home and in many parts of the globe. In an increasingly fast-moving world, troops and MOD civilians come into contact with a wide variety of cultures, situations and environments. We need people with talent, energy and motivation, who have the ability to work under pressure and thrive on new challenges. We are committed to recruiting and retaining the best people for the job from all walks of life, irrespective of race, ethnic origin, gender, religion and without reference to social background or sexual orientation.

The UK Armed Forces are equal opportunities employers and are committed to ensuring a working environment free from harassment, intimidation and unlawful discrimination, in which each individual is not only valued and respected - but encouraged to realise their full potential.

Operational effectiveness depends on cohesion and teamwork, which are enhanced by treating everyone fairly, with dignity and respect. And it is right that the UK Armed Forces should be representative of the diverse society they exist to defend.'

Women in the Armed Forces:
Women play an essential part in the Armed Forces which includes many challenging and dangerous roles that carry immense responsibility. Many of these are frontline roles such as flying combat aircraft, military diving, serving on warships and ground combat support roles. Servicewomen currently represent around 9.4% of the total Armed Forces strength. The UK Armed Forces are committed to maximising opportunities for women consistent with the need to maintain combat effectiveness. The majority of posts in the Armed Forces are now open to women: 71% of posts in the Royal Navy (RN), 67% of posts in the Army and 96% of posts in the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The percentage of women serving in the Armed Forces is increasing. In the UK's Regular Forces the percentage of women has increased from 5.7% in 1990 to 9.4% in 2008. The RAF has the highest percentage of female personnel (13.2% in 2008), followed by the Royal Navy (9.5% in 2008) then the Army (7.8% in 2008 which make up 12% of the jobs available to women). As at 1 April 2008 there were 17,620 women in the Armed Forces. 3,760 were officers and 13,860 in other ranks. The total number of Armed Forces personnel (male and female) is 187,050.

Women hold key positions in the Armed Forces and are now reaching senior ranks, such as Brigadier in the Army, Air Commodore in the RAF and Captain in the Royal Navy. The attainment of 2 Star rank (Rear Admiral, Major General or Air Vice-Marshal) and above has tended to depend on operational experience in the Combat Arms and at present there are no women in these ranks. However, as women are increasingly being deployed on operations they may attain these higher ranks with time. Continuing difficulties in reconciling family (especially child and elder care), Service commitments to go to sea or deployment overseas remain obstacles to career advancement for many women. Significant efforts are however being made to introduce more 'family friendly' policies to aid the retention of female personnel.

It should be noted that equal opportunities legislation is also strictly applied to the 100,000 or so MOD Civil Servants who organise and support the Armed Forces.

Further Opportunities for Learning

Direct students toward http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp1/gender.html which contains a comprehensive data set detailing the gender make up of each of the British Armed Services. Students could be asked to use the information in the table to create graphs comparing the numbers of men and women in each of the Armed Forces. Students can also be asked to calculate what percentage of serving members of the Armed Services is female and how this has changed over the last 5 years. This will provide an opportunity to develop and practice their numeracy skills. There are also possibilities for ICT activities to be set using this data set.

Ask students to research other discrimination laws (such as the Race Relations Act of 1965 or the 2005 Disability Discrimination act). Students could be asked to write 200 words comparing the possible effects of either of these Acts with the Sex Discrimination Act.

Student worksheet answers

Download the teachers notes PDF to access the answers for this lesson.