This article has come at a great time for me.

A short thread on some of my thoughts as I apply this (make sense of) to some of my struggles right now. https://twitter.com/wavellroom/status/1313388938489458688

“More concerningly, women are experiencing comments such as ‘you only got that job because you are a woman’ as organisations try and bridge their gender gap. This then has a negative effect on the employment of women as their work ethic is undermined”

Almost daily I hear sexist comments from my colleagues. I try to call it out but it is often laughed off. I try my best to be an active bystander but then get told I am ‘rocking the boat’ and it is ‘banter’.

My main worry is, if it’s happening to me, who else is it happening to in my Regt. What can I do to help them?

“I plead to those in command to acknowledge we are physically different. Women can, and do, meet the standard required but studies show they need longer to get there to prevent injury.”

Yes, we need longer. But that’s okay. I want to be the fittest I can possibly be, so that means training before work every morning and taking part in Sqn PT. It has taken yrs to get to the standard I am at now and it wasn’t through lack of trying.

I can’t and would not expect every female in my Regt to do this, but how can we ensure they have the time needed to reach a good physical standard without injury?

As a 1RO, what would you need to see a female SP to do to achieve an A- in physical and mental robustness?

“once prejudices are overcome and you’re employed by the military, accepted you have a crotch pouch, you’re respected by your higher command and sub-ordinates, you’re passing the fitness tests but then you’re hit with the added expectation of marriage and motherhood.”

I often hear how my male colleagues are against the maternity package that the Army offers to our female SP. Even noting that there is an option for a shared leave, my male colleagues still refer to this as ‘buckshee time off’.

How is pushing a baby out of your vagina buckshee time off?

“Get together and support one another. As I see it at the moment Junior Officers are provided ample opportunities to be mentored. So, organise an event to get together and talk – that is apparently what women like to do anyway – so get talking, share what experiences you’ve had.”

This has been painful. Trying to organise a female focus event so I can tackle these issues head on has been hit with barriers at every level, including females.

Ladies getting together to discuss these issues to then back brief the Regt in a tangible way (i.e here’s the issues, here’s what you can do about it) has been accused of not being inclusive.

“The final uphill battle to women’s success and likeliness is other women that may not like it either. Sure, we accept we are in a competitive world but we should be working with each other and not against.”

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous of girls who are incredibly strong, have a successful career and have an awesome home/social life. But part of this is reminding yourself that everyone has their own struggles that we don’t see.

By talking to each other we get to figure out where other girls draw their motivations from and we should allow ourselves to be mentored by these women.

Finally, thank you to Katie for writing this piece. Reading emotive articles like this are a stark reminder that I’m not the only one tackling these issues.