Military members on exercise for Operation REASSURANCE. Photo Credit: Cpl Côté, CAF/DND
Esprit de Corps Magazine April 2019 // Volume 26 Issue 3
Let's Talk About Women in the Military – Column 2
by Military Woman
In case you missed our inaugural celebrations last month, this is a new opinion column that offers a military women’s perspective. The purpose of the column is not to be right or wrong, but a conversation starter that hopefully helps to build bridges and break barriers.
You asked:
Women are legally equal already. Why are we STILL talking about equality in the military?
We answered:
Excellent question: I sense some frustration. Let me assure you that most, if not all, military members men and women share in some fatigue on this topic discussion. We hopefully can all agree that we wish we didn’t still need to have these conversations in 2019 and yet here we are.
The Pareto principle, also known as the “80/20” rule, may be helpful here. Military men and women are agreed to be treated as “equal” about 80% of the time and situations. So, for most of us, most of the time, there is no problem to solve – military men and women are equal. For about 80% of situations there is more variation within the sexes than between the sexes.
But the devil is always in the detail, and it’s the 20% of remaining times and situations where treating everyone equal i.e., “exactly the same” may not actually be the fair or equitable approach.
The Federal government has a three-minute video explaining the difference between being treated equally and being treated equitably, “GBA Equality Equity”. Check it out!
Let me offer a military-specific example. In male infantry soldier only days, a platoon on a rucksack March would be given timed 2-minute rest periods for rest, blister care, rehydration, snack, and urination. When women were "integrated" the rules and standards were already all set by men, for men in support of men. As a result, women ordered to be treated "equally" were given the exact same 2 minutes to accomplish all the above cited tasks.
However, for the often-sole female, urination meant breaking away from the file, finding a private location away from curious eyes, unbuckling and dropping your 70-pound rucksack strategically near a strong looking tree trunk, visually clearing the target area for possible poison oak and ivy (very important in Ontario!), undressing, exposing and then relieving yourself.
After redressing, you return to the rucksack for the "turtle" maneuver in order to replace your backpack solo. (i.e., lie face up on top of your backpack, strap back in, roll over onto your front, push up onto all fours, then "walk" your hands up that strategically selected tree trunk until able to balance and stand upright again). The mad dash is then made to the waiting group who, having spent all this same time resting and relaxing, spontaneously reforms into file to continue Marching as soon as they hear you returning.
"Equal" treatment is the woman huffing and puffing to re-start the March as the sole platoon member with no rest break, no blister care break, no hydration break, or snack time.
Is it any wonder why female soldiers are prone to more repetitive strain injuries? Or prone to chronic self-dehydration medical complications in their efforts to avoid entirely the above-described experience?
So yes, women are already legally equal to men, but equal treatment in the military however doesn't always mean being treated fairly. There are times and places that being gender-blind to bona fide differences like the fact that some soldiers have outdoor plumbing, and some soldiers don't, just isn't helpful.
Gender equality must include consideration of all the different supports needed for different soldiers to provide them an equal chance to complete the assigned military task. Whether that means physio consults to help women train their muscles for standing urination or standard supply provision of products like 'Shewee' – all soldiers still need a chance for rest, food, and urination.
As poet Audre Lorde wrote: "It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences."
Update:
2022. Federal budget funding commitment of $144.3 million over five years in support of military women’s health and fitness. “Field Urination Devices” become standard issue (CANFORGEN 108/22). “Leakproof Underwear” (specialized undergarments designed to be able to absorb small amounts of urinary and menstrual flow) available via a reimbursement program (CANFORGEN 112/22).
2023. Improved military women’s physical fitness programs offered for pre-basic training and for while on maternity/parental leave.
2024. Menopausal specific physical fitness programs are under development. A new “Joint Federal Research Program” funds research specific to improved understanding of pelvic floor injury prevention and care (including for stress incontinence and uterine prolapse).
