Despite a staffing shortage, Canada’s Department of National Defence have patted themselves on the back for deploying more female military members than other countries.
In a recently released a performance update, the department admitted that they are still experiencing significant shortages in terms of personnel and equipment, but boasted about the fact that Canada is a world leader when it comes to deploying non-White females.
“DND/CAF continued to make efforts to remove barriers and increase opportunities to deploy diverse women to international operations,” the report states.
It continues, “Of note has been RCAF and Op PRESENCE Roto 22-1, where 30% of the mission’s Air Detachment were women. This is one example where the RCAF is outpacing international partners and the United Nation’s target of 15% for women serving in military contingents by 2028.”
The DND’s update also reveals that their “gender-based analysis plus” initiative currently has three gender advisors who were employed in all CAF international operations. This is part of the Canadian Military’s efforts to promote DEI “across all initiatives.”
Furthermore, the report states that the Canadian Forces Health Services and the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service (RCChS) are actively trying to recruit non-White members and religious minorities.
Meanwhile, less than 50% of the military’s maritime fleets such as warships and frigates were serviceable in FY 2023 – 2024. And, only 49% of key land fleets and aerospace fleets were serviceable, despite targets of 80% and 85%, respectively.
