6 More women working in the Armed Forces

General compulsory military service implies that all men who are approved as serviceable have a duty of national service and to be available to the nation from the age of 19 to 44. Conscripts therefore carry out this obligation even though they are not drafted to complete national service. Today, there is an obligatory examination of young women for military service, and women who are considered suitable and are themselves willing may be assigned official duty.

The issue of gender-neutral compulsory military service is currently topical and part of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence’ recommendation to the long-term plan for the defence sector, Recommendation no. 388 S (2011-2012) in which the Committee underlines that the introduction of gender-neutral compulsory military service is primarily a political issue. The purpose of this chapter is to lay the foundations for a political debate on this subject.

6.1 Retrospectively

Compulsory military service is laid down in section 109 of the Norwegian Constitution which states: “As a general rule every citizen of the State is equally bound to serve in the defence of the Country for a specific period, irrespective of birth or fortune.” This is a gender-neutral formulation, although it is doubtful that this was intended in 1814. However, the Compulsory Military Service Act of 1953 (section 3) states that conscripts are male Norwegian citizens. From a citizenship perspective, the right to vote and compulsory military service are interrelated. Compulsory military service was introduced in 1814 when parts of the male population were also assigned the right to vote. Norwegian citizens were thus accorded an obligation and a right as members of society. Compulsory military service was introduced for the entire male population in 1897. When women won the right to vote in 1913 however, they were not subjected to compulsory military service.

Nonetheless, compulsory military service for women is not a new phenomenon. This was introduced by the London government as a provisional scheme in 1942 and applied to Norwegian women living in Great Britain. The scheme was not seen to be particularly revolutionary, given that the host nation had introduced similar schemes for its citizens at the start of the war. The Armed Forces needed women, primarily to occupy support functions and thereby allow more men to move into combative roles. However, there are also examples of women taking active part in battle during the Second World War, for example during the liberation of Finnmark.

Since the scheme to call up women for voluntary examination for military service was introduced in 2007, the ratio of women who have completed national service has almost doubled. Obligatory examination of women liable for military service was introduced from 2010, cf. Odelsting Proposition no. 41 (2008-2009), as a means to achieve the goal for increased recruitment of women to the Armed Forces. At the time of writing, it is too early to draw any conclusions on the impact of this initiative. Experience to date indicates that this initiative alone has not resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of women completing national service.

6.2 Equal rights and obligations

Compulsory military service and national service represent an institution with deep roots in society. From a principled perspective however, gender-based compulsory military service can be seen to conflict with the fundamental value within Norwegian society that obligations and rights do not rely on gender. From a legitimacy perspective, it is important for the Armed Forces to maintain solid roots within the population and to reflect the society which it is charged with protecting. Gender-neutral compulsory military service may help strengthen these roots by making the Armed Forces more representative of the entire population. Gender-neutral compulsory military service may therefore strengthen compulsory military service as a social institution.

The need for diversity, including a better gender balance, also has a normative aspect. Diversity is in line with the ethical principles and values of society, as it promotes inclusion. The issue of gender-neutral compulsory military service is therefore also an ethical one, with an independent objective to achieve the highest possible degree of inclusion and equal rights within the Armed Forces, as in society at large.

Globally, Norway is regarded as a vanguard nation within equal rights and not least in the work to implement United Nations resolution 1325 regarding women, peace and security. Despite this, the ratio of women in the Armed Forces remains higher in a number of other nations. Equal opportunities play a key role in ensuring an inclusive and competent working life with high value creation and equal distribution of rights and obligations. By improving the gender balance at all levels within our Armed Forces, Norway will be able to remain at the forefront in terms of practising equality and equal opportunities.

** The figures include both those who have demobilised from national service, those who have taken officer training as part of national service and apprentices doing their apprenticeship with the Armed Forces.

6.3 The needs of the Armed Forces

Compulsory military service and national service form an important source of recruitment and selection mechanism for the Armed Forces. A modern and high-tech defence with new operational models implies new needs for competency and skills among personnel. The role of the soldier in modern times and in the future requires, for example, both operative skills, good social skills, a much wider understanding of cultures and a high ethical standard when working for the Armed Forces both at home and abroad. It is essential for the Armed Forces to be able to draw upon the competency held by the Norwegian population, both women and men. The soldier of the future requires a much wider combination of skills and qualities than the traditional soldier. By attempting to reflect the diversity within society, the Armed Forces will achieve new competency and a much broader base of experience. An increase in the ratio of women will provide a necessary increase in cultural and competency-related diversity in the Armed Forces.

6.4 Challenges and consequences

Today, the number of men who are motivated for service is actually higher than that required by the Armed Forces. As such, coercive means are not that necessary. However, there should be no doubt as to the fact that compulsory military service inherently grants a right to society to make use of sanctions and coercive means for persons who resist national service.

If compulsory military service is extended to cover both genders, the relative percentage of the viable population to actually carry out national service will see yet a further reduction. This may weaken the link between the population and the Armed Forces, and may weaken the relevance of compulsory military service as a social institution.

The use of coercive means and exemption criteria in order to ensure a more even balance between the sexes may undermine the level of motivation among those who carry out military service. The discussion on gender-neutral compulsory military service must therefore also address the use of coercive means and exemption criteria. These must be perceived as fair and adapted to particular considerations for both men and women.

It is claimed that women are physically less able for service in the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces still requires employees with very good physical health for a number of missions, but an increasing number of positions will also require other skills. The Armed Forces have therefore implemented a review of positions for conscripts. This will have an impact on selection requirements and allow for an improved distribution of conscripts based on the individual’s competencies.

Obligatory examination of women liable for military service was introduced in 2010. In order to gain more extensive foundations for examination, this scheme will be reviewed in 2014. To date, experience indicates that there has been no significant impact in relation to increasing the ratio of women.

A gender-neutral compulsory military service must also be seen in light of the ongoing work to enhance the status of national service and to make national service more meaningful and commendable. This work may help sustain the level of motivation to complete national service and to portray national service as attractive, relevant and fair to both women and men. The scheme is in line with the recommendation from the standing committee for defence policy, entitled A strengthened defence (Official Norwegian Report 2007:15) which was based on the claim that a development of the system for compulsory military service had to take place gradually, based on the experience gained from voluntary examination for military service for women. Moreover, an evaluation is required of whether the current scheme for obligatory examination for women, combined with other motivational measures, will help increase the ratio of women.

An increased number of women carrying out national service will have some practical consequences for the Armed Forces. Existing maintenance and upgrade plans already take into account the need to adapt buildings to a more even gender balance. As long as national service is practised in line with the needs of the Armed Forces, these costs are a consequence of the Armed Forces’ need for a higher ratio of women.

6.5 The road ahead

The Norwegian government intends to evaluate the scheme for obligatory examination of women for military service in 2014. This evaluation must be seen in light of the measures to heighten the status and commendability of national service and other measures to increase the ratio of women. The Government will come back to the issue of gender-neutral military service.

Photo: Media centre for the Norwegian Armed Forces/Peder Torp Mathisen