By Military Woman
Question:
As 2025 nears its end, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) face a looming deadline: women are supposed to make up 25% of its ranks by 2026. Where did this 25% target come from, and why does it matter? Is it just an arbitrary target?
Answ
Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, a leading expert on military culture and author of The Ones We Let Down, tackled part of this question on CBC Radio’s The Current on September 12, 2025. However, her short interview didn’t allow her to fully unpack the history behind the CAF’s target of 25% women by 2026. Far from arbitrary, the 25% target is rooted in decades of federal employment equity law, human rights rulings, research studies, and allied experience.
From Employment Barriers to Employment Equity
Until 1965, the number of women allowed in the CAF was capped at 1,500—barely 1.5% of the force. After the cap was lifted, recruitment remained low, in part because many roles were still closed to women. It took a 1989 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling to order the CAF to open all trades and occupations to women.
In 2002, the Employment Equity Act of 1986 was extended to include CAF members. This required CAF to set representation targets for women, Indigenous peoples, racialized Canadians, and persons with disabilities. These were targets, not quotas, meant to identify systemic barriers to equitable employment and to ensure the CAF reflected the population it served.
Setting the 25% Target
Despite these legal strides, progress stalled in the 2000s, prompting the CAF to set a concrete goal for women’s representation. The CAF examined whether a 50% female force was realistic and, if not, to determine what the right target would be.
In November 2010, the CAF established a target of 25.1% women. This target was viewed an “ambitious but achievable” based on the CAF’s workforce analysis updates. It balanced the ideal of gender parity with realities such as enrolment eligibility, personal interest levels, and retention challenges. In January 2011, the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) published an Employment Equity Audit report which concluded that the CAF had “achieved compliance” with the Act.
Research Supporting the 25% Target
Subsequent research confirmed that 25% was achievable. The 2015 Privy Council Office Behavioural Insights Project found the target feasible if the CAF enhanced mentorship, career flexibility, and inclusion efforts. A 2016 Earnscliffe Strategy Group report also supported the 25% target while emphasizing a need for cultural changes, such as addressing harassment and rigid career paths. These findings confirm the target was data-driven, not symbolic.
Turning Policy into Action
The 2017 Strong, Secure, Engaged defence policy laid out a roadmap to increase women’s representation from 15% to 25% by 2026. In 2019, the Prime Minister included this priority in his mandate letter to the Minister of National Defence. Progress is tracked through annual Employment Equity and Women, Peace and Security reports.
Allied Benchmarks
CAF also drew on Five Eyes allies for benchmarking women’s representation (2024 data):
• Australia: 22%, achieved through gender-targeted campaigns and cultural reforms
• New Zealand: 21%, supported by mentorship and retention efforts
• United States: 17.7%, varying by service branch
• United Kingdom: 11.7%, but aiming for 30% by 2030
Where Canada Stands
As of December 2024, women made up 16.6% of CAF Regular and Reserve Forces. The Navy (20.6%) and Air Force (20.2%) are closing in on 25%, while the Army lags at 14.2%. Slow progress reflects cultural barriers, competition from civilian employers offering more flexible careers, and, for the Army, perceptions of higher physical demands. These figures confirm the 25% target is ambitious but aligned with allied trends.
Why It Matters
Canadian military women have excelled across nearly every operational setting, in every trade and rank. While some, including Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, question the value of numerical targets, the 25% goal is not arbitrary. Grounded in decades of research and policy, it is set to strengthen the CAF’s operational capability, not its optics. CAF’s readiness depends on drawing from all its citizens’ strengths. To achieve this readiness goal, CAF must continue to progress in removing cultural barriers and inspiring more women to serve, helping to build a stronger, more inclusive, and more effective military.
Perhaps it’s time for Canada to follow the UK’s lead and set a new target—30% women by 2030.
