Desire to serve: Insights from Canadian defence studies on the factors that influence women to pursue a military career

Abstract

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) set a goal of having women represent 25% of its workforce by 2026 to enable greater diversity and inclusion. Within this context, this article explores the findings of internal CAF research studies to determine why women may (or may not) consider a military career. Researchers used secondary data analysis involving three internal studies to examine the factors that influence women to pursue a military career. First, the Earnscliffe Strategy Group (ESG; 2017) study focused on the perceptions of women in the Canadian public. Second, the Women in the Regular Force (WRF; 2018) study explored the perceptions of women in the CAF. Finally, the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group (CFRG; 2017) study examined the recruitment and retention of women in the CAF. The ESG study disclosed the following factors that impacted women’s decisions to join the military: negative public perceptions of the military, lack of familiarity with the Canadian military, and motivators and perceived benefits that define career choice. The WRF study revealed the following factors that motivated women to join the military: subsidized education, job security, challenging opportunities, physical fitness, familiarity with military culture, and concerns from family/friends. The CFRG study uncovered the following factors that influenced women in a military career: family and work-life balance, posting cycle, and physical fitness standards. The findings highlight the need to examine these factors alongside public outreach, impacts of policies, and organizational culture change to improve the representation of women in the military.