Std.cap.

Pascu Theodora Grupa E 112 C Women in the Army In 1976, women were allowed to enter the army for the first time. Now,25 years later, the Ministry of Defence says it feels satisfied with the policy that has been adopted towards women in the army. There are nowadays thousands of female soldiers, and they are given more and more important duties. Until the end of the 1980s, women were only given voluntary tasks, they were merely soldiers. Now, they have a legal access to every single job within the army. Among the land forces, women represent about 7 percent of all troops. They are also allowed to wear weapons, including during operations. In the navy, as well as in the medical corps, there is a female lieutenant-colonel. In the airforce, several women have been promoted officers, gaining their wings as men did, and many more young women are under advanced training. Nevertheless, it should be said that only the medical corps shows a significant increase in the number of women (19%). More broadly, the number of NCOs (non-commissioned officers) is also increasing. Despite the fact that there is a certain qualitative improvement, it should be said that the proportion of women has hardly increased over the past twenty years. Moreover, when considering land forces, the airforce and the navy, and apart from a few exceptions, there are still very few highly educated women in the army. The overall majority is, just as two decades ago, fulfilling duties as a soldier. So, both vertical and horizontal discrimination persists. The percentage of women has slightly increased, including on a higher level, but this is mainly due to the fact that a number of men have left the army, rather than to the fact that more women have been recruited. Most people concerned are rather satisfied with the integration of women in the army. But a survey has shown that almost half of the female population in the armed forces has suffered difficulties during their training. More than one has known the same kind of problems on their first assignment. Women regularly suffer discrimination in operational duties and other manoeuvres. About ten percent of the female military personnel admits to being entirely satisfied with the way they have been integrated in the armed forces. Two women out of three agree with the fact that the Belgian Army is doing rather well. About a quarter of all women is openly dissatisfied with the current situation, and says that a lot needs still to be done. Just over fifty percent of all women thinks that the fact that they are women does not play any role whatsoever as to their position in the armed forces, whereas about a third of all women is convinced of the opposite. One out of five women shares the opinion that women do not have the same rights as their male colleagues, one out of ten thinks that they do not have the same obligations (women sometimes are exempt of certain duties). Almost three out of four women are satisfied with the current situation, and do not fear any discrimination as they move on in their careers.