Defence Minister, Stephen Smith.
by STEPHEN SMITH
Yesterday I tabled the Review by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Elizabeth Broderick, into Treatment of Women in the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
The Review and its recommendations are an important part of a broader strategy to help ensure that all Australians who choose to wear the uniform of their country are able to do so solely on the basis of their ability, rather than their gender.
It’s important to remember where this process started. As Ms Broderick said in her press conference this morning, the starting point for this Review was the so-called ADFA/Skype incident of April last year.
I made it clear at the time of the ADFA/Skype incident that I found the treatment of a young woman in the Air Force – studying at ADFA, having her character called into question while making complaints regarding alleged sexual abuse and having unrelated matters put in the spotlight at the same time – to be wrong.
I continue to hold that view, unapologetically.
Ms Broderick’s Review found widespread sexual harassment, inadequate levels of supervision, a cumbersome complaints processes and an equity and diversity environment lacking positive engagement.
The Review identified areas in ADFA’s culture which could be improved and recommended improvements to issues including providing quality staffing at ADFA, management of complaints, accommodation for students and mechanisms to better manage the risk of injury to female cadets.
The second part of the Review, dealing with the treatment of women in the ADF as a whole, deals comprehensively with the career of women in the ADF from recruitment and retention to career choices, work-life balance practices and policies, leadership, and more disturbing topics such as sexual harassment, discrimination and sexual assault.
This part of the review makes a number of recommendations, which say that as a country we need to:
Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Liz Broderick
- Actively promote a broad organisational understanding of diversity as both a core Defence value and an operational imperative linked to capability and operational effectiveness;
- Address the significant under-representation of women at decision making level;
- Increase the number of women recruited to the ADF as a whole, but also to specific occupational areas and units;
- Improve the level to which the ADF assists serving women and men to balance their work and family commitments; and
- Establish a new and more robust approach to responding to unacceptable sexual behaviours and attitudes.
The equal treatment of women should be at the core of any Australian workplace, and should be a core Defence value.
The failure to treat women equally undermines operational effectiveness.
Women are essential to the operational effectiveness of the ADF because they contribute to a diverse workforce, which strengthens the ADF’s ability to be an effective, modern, relevant and high performing organisation.
The ADF must also address the problem of a shrinking talent pool, the significant cost of unwanted departures, the lack of diversity at leadership level and its desire to be a first class employer with a first class reputation.
The practice of selecting the most senior leadership positions in the ADF from combat corps codes will be reviewed with the object of selecting from a broader group of meritorious candidates, particularly women. A critical mass of women will be built in areas that currently have a low representation of women.
Women in the ADF.
The removal of gender restrictions from combat roles was an important step in providing women equal opportunity in their work and career progression, which we’re already in the process of implementing, and is closely linked to the issue of a lack of women in senior leadership positions.
Flexible working arrangements will be put in place for both men and women to underpin capability and recruitment and retention.
A new Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Office will be established to coordinate victim support, education, policy and reporting for misconduct of a sexual nature, to include personnel with experience in responding to people subjected to sexual harassment or abuse.
The ADF will develop a more robust approach to responding to unacceptable sexual behaviours and attitudes, making the system more responsive to the needs of complainants, including allowing members to make confidential (restricted) reports of sexual harassment, sex discrimination and sexual abuse.
The Sex Discrimination Commissioner made the point yesterday that instances of sexual harassment or other abuse against women in the ADF are broadly comparable to other parts of society.
What these changes are about is ensuring that Defence, as it does in so many other ways, holds a mirror up to the best aspects of our society, not the worst.
We have a female Governor-General. A female Prime Minister. A Cabinet and a Ministry, a Shadow Cabinet and Shadow Ministry, replete with highly capable and professional women.
Senior female officials throughout the public service and in key positions throughout corporate Australia.
And this is reflective, of course, of the modern Australia in which we live.
If this is as unremarkable in important leadership positions elsewhere in the Australian community, the same must apply in Defence.
Stephen Smith is the Minister for Defence in the Australian Government.
Do you know any women who are members of our defence forces? What has their experience been?
Comments
33 Comments so far
I worked in a senior role in HR at one of our major banks for years. I have been subjected to and witnessed extreme levels of sexual harassment – lost promotions for being pregnant, being told i wasn’t career oriented as i had time off with a sick child etc and always knew that I would only get so far in the bank as I was not a ‘career banker’ but working in HR. I am surprised that Ms Broderick has suggested this as an option for the military, when it is very clear that it doesn’t work in industry. There is still an incredible imbalance between the sexes at a senior level in the public service and industry, this should not be a story about defence, but about the workplace as a whole.
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It is great to hear from people working in the services themselves rather than just a politician. It is interesting how varied people’s experience in the forces is. Please keep sharing your stories with us. I am finding it eye-opening.
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My husband and I are both Defence members, both with 23 years service. While I accept there are people in Defence who do the wrong thing (just as in any community anywhere), there are MANY MANY MANY people in Defence who absolutely do the right thing. These men and women put on their uniforms every day and do their very best in their workplaces, be it in an office in Canberra or deployed on operations in the Middle East or on ships at sea. I feel saddened and angry when the efforts of these people are ignored. These people sign up to give their lives for this country. And some of them do.
I am truly proud of our Defence force, I am proud of myself and what I have achieved, I am proud of my husband, I am proud of our friends and work colleagues. The many men I have worked with over the years in all kinds of pressure situations and workplaces have been fantastic, and these men themselves are husbands and fathers. They do not hate women, nor do they ever make women in their workplace feel uncomfortable. They are professional, compassionate, caring, loyal and dedicated to their service, their country, their families. They sacrifice family time to respond to government direction and to help others, both internationally and domestically. During times of flood and fire, these men and women drop everything to assist their communities.
I wish the statistics were accurately reported to show that the actual percentage of sexual harrassment cases is FAR LESS than the majority of organisations the size and scope of the ADF.
I wish our Defence minister would remind the Australian public of the wonderful job our military does every single day.
I wish the media did not cherry pick bits from reports, I think this does a huge disservice to its contents. This report says many Defence women have not experienced sexual harrassment. Why is that not reported?
I think its highly disrespectful to the many thousands of Australian serving men and women to suggest that the military is not a career for women. I would be extremely proud of my daughters if they chose one day to serve their country.
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Well said. Very well said indeed!
As the proud partner of a serving member with almost 25 years experience I think it is SO important to stress that the majority of ADF personnel absolutely respect the role of women in the military. And are disgusted and ashamed of the few who do not , and who drag down the reputation of the defence forces by their reprehensible actions.
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So if, as suggested in a previous post, a lack of combat experience prevents promotion to higher ranks, why not allow women to perform combat roles if that is the path they choose to take?
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Look it all sounds good, the report, but I have one issue with it. Liz Broderick recommends women in non-combat roles (like HR, management, support etc) be given better paths to end up in top roles.
This is still the defence forces. A HR manager can only go so far. To open up top roles to supporting staff just because you need to fill them with women for political reasons and not enough women have active duty experience is stupid. Many of the top roles require combat/active experience and not enough women will have that. I don’t want to see the forces dumbed down for political reasons.
The sexual harassment has to stop, flexibility is important and women definitely have a role to play. But perhaps we need to accept that the very top brass will mostly be men, as those roles require a certain skill set only men can obtain – in combat.
I believe women can do nearly anything, but sometimes you have to accept men and women are different (but always equal) and if we can’t go into combat then we don’t deserve a top role in the military just because we are female. Sometimes you have just have to accept your limitations due to your sex. Doesn’t make it discrimination, it’s just life. Until women go into combat we don’t get the top roles.
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I agree with most of what you’ve said here Thursday, except
” … those roles require a certain skill set only men can obtain – in combat.” and
“… if we can’t go into combat then we don’t deserve a top role in the military just because we are female.”
Not sure what these skills are that women are unable to obtain?? Surely a woman who receives the same combat training as a man can perform the same basic tasks … And to then say, women can’t be top brass BECAUSE they haven’t experienced combat??
“We won’t allow you to hold a combat role, and then, we won’t allow you to hold a senior position because, whoopsy daisy, you don’t have combat experience.”
Sorry, but it sounds to me like you just don’t believe women should be able to serve in combat roles, and are building your argument around that belief, to justify it.
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How can a woman be top brass in the military without experiencing combat? Liz Broderick was not talking about basic roles, she was talking about getting more women into top roles
There are strategic roles, intelligence, personnel management sure, that women can do and are probably underrepresented in. But at the very top you need combat experience and general combat training can’t make up for the lack of first hand experience. Until women are in combat we cannot have a female chief of army for example.
I am not sure if I believe women should be in combat. But I do believe you shouldn’t give some a top role where combat experience is beneficial just because they are a woman. I felt the report was a bit politically correct and suggesting women should be given pathways into roles that perhaps they are not qualified for. I dislike the idea of a woman being given a job just for being a woman.
At present, with women not on the front lines, there are certain roles closed to women. That is just how it is and it reflects the demands of those jobs. Whether women should be able to go into these roles given a lack of combat experience is one question, and the answer for me is ‘no’, whether they should go into combat is another question altogether and one I am unsure of.
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My sister went to Afghanistan with the Army and she is against women serving on the front line now because she says you have more to worry about from your own troops than the enemy, she is never going to serve overseas again because of the experience there.
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I’m an army officer, single mother and am currently experiencing being ‘pushed out’ of my hard fought career. There is no support if you don’t fit the army mould in many units. I’m a woman, a mother and don’t have a spouse to take over the child raising at the drop of the hat. I’m told I’m too difficult to work around, it makes their job too difficult to accommodate the occasional request to put my family first before service. Now they have found ways to make my life so impossible that I have to leave so my family doesn’t suffer any longer.
I have specialised skills that they complain is in so short supply. It’s a man’s world.
It’s going to be a long time before the ancient dinosaurs that control our situation retire, and the bosses who should be sacked if not charged with the appalling behaviour and treatment of their staff just get promoted.
Think long and hard ladies if you consider joining, change is not going to happen anytime soon.
It’s a shame, I loved my job, was very good at it and loved teaching junior staff; injecting passion and enthusiasm for the cause. Not long now, good riddance for to a toxic environment for women. I just wished I could protect more of my colleagues from these horrible practices instead of just having to walk away.
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Surely you could report it to your Equity Officer, or report the misconduct anonymously on the hotline?
Im sorry you are going through this, i just hope that the pigs you are dealing with are held accountable with an external investigation. Especially in the current climate, the squeaky wheels will get the grease.
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I know of dozens of complaint that have been ignored, fobbed off or told it’s just army life ‘get over it’. So many of us have tried. It’s hard to fight an organisation so top heavy with power and desperate to protect themselves.
I’m done fighting, my family must come first. There is only so much jumping up and down you can do before it affects your sanity.
Thankyou for your support. Just don’t let the PR spin they put out of working to support women let you forget the hundreds who have had to suffer to make it an issue.
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As a female member of the Air Force, I know we have it a little better than the Army when it comes to making complaints about mistreatment or when requesting flexibility in our workplace. My husband is in the Army and has been bullied by heirarchy in the past but has been afraid to speak out for fear of recrimination. He says that it may not be obvious recrimination, but they will make sure you never get promoted, get shitty postings and always get “stabbed” for the the taskings no one wants. And if you complain about that, you’ll be digging yourself even deeper. I find it interesting that there is so much talk about how women are mistreated, when it’s actually both sexes that are suffering.
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simple really, nobody pays attention until it is women that are being hard done by, then it is ‘stop the presses’
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That exactly describes the reasons I left too. I wasn’t a single parent, my husband was deployed in Iraq. So I was single parenting because the co ( disregarding all policies on respite between deployments, as my husband had only been back from his last deployment 6 months) decided to deploy my husband, we were posted interstate away from any family and it was “disgraceful” that I had to start work at 745 instead of 730 because there was no child care available anywhere that opened before 730.
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For years, the most horrific bastardisation took place, almost exclusively aimed at males. Now that females are gaining ground in the ADF, hopefully some culture change for the better results, however it is important that we dont become blinkered to only caring of issues because a female was the victim. If a crime is a crime, define it and police it equally across genders, otherwise resentment and perceived gender bias results.
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my comments have disappeared/ been eaten…
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The report results are certainly reflective of my time in ADF Training establishments. They do no not particularly reflect my experinence in the wider army. But here’s the kicker- the men and women i trained with went on to be officers in the Army, They would be at the senior Captain/ Junior Major level so those I saw commit the misconduct, drug abuse, sexual harrassment and the perpertrators of a gang rape are still out there serving,
I have written before on here about some of my experinces being young & female in the austalian army. Some good, some apalling. The most serious discrimination I was personally subjected to was when I was pregnant with my daughter.
I was told (by very senior commanders) variously that ‘ soldiers don’t get pregnant’. I was ‘encouraged’ i.e. ordered to sit in a room while a medical officer told me that no one had ever had a baby and returned to officer training and that I wouldn’t be first, and if I returned to work (as an officer) I would be a negligent mother, and the only way I could continue my career in the ADF is if I had termination. I reported this to my commanding officer who took no action.
I was told that women who get pregnant should be charged with ‘malingering” because by becoming prgenant they deliberately made themselves unfit for duty.
I am happy to say that I proved those idiots wrong, and not only finished my training and graduated but had a career in the Army. There were great things about that job, and I met some fantastic people and some amazing strong, capable and quite frankly pretty bloody fabulous women, but what it came down to for me was the blantant choice between career or family. It was made very clear to me that I could be a mother or an officer, and how you were treated and the level of flexibilty depended entirely on the personality of your boss.
I was given much more flexibilty ( and worked bloody hard) in an specialist operational (online) company then I did in a headquaters job, where the boss knocked off at lunchtime most fridays.
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Now this is a tough one, because unlike other areas in life, gender and the biological differences here matter, they affect culture, outcomes and most certainly attitudes.
It is very hard in a military situation for men who are held to a certain physical standard and are expected to fight and die for their country to take orders from and integrate with females who in this very specific situation are not physically equipped to be considered peer strength.
Make no bones about it, in an environment and culture where you are expected to fight, die, protect your peers, it is VERY important to you, who you fight with and protect or are protected by.
Males size each other up and can really walk a line in their roughhousing that, when they repeat this exact same behaviour with females is considered abuse. This leads to confusion, resentment and ostracization.
Imagine if you will, being a male grunt who roughs it with the boys and then plays rough with the girls only to find that you must treat them differently, even though you are supposed to treat them as equals…and not differently. Then imagine the ranks of officers are starting to swell with a disproportionate number of females compared with female grunts and therefor you start taking orders from someone who is not just in your opinion weaker, they are biologically, physically weaker.
There is no easy answer on how to fix this, but there are two sides to every story and the softening of the defense force comes at a price.
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Can I just remind you: there was a sex activity taped (unbeknowst to one party and viewed by many), and then the woman was ostracized for daring to complain.
There is no world (biological, cultural, envionmental or otherwise) where that is an act of equals.
And to keep this in perspective, it is the way that she was treated by the system that has everone horrified a bit more than the degrading invasion of privacy itself.
I know that you are going to say this in a one off but I have heard from a number of sources that it is not.
You say that military men do not like taking orders from women who are physically weaker. Can I mention that some men react even more strongly against women who are faster, fitter and emotionally more mature. Strength is only one of many boxes that need to be ticked to be a good soldier.
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Eddie, you are actually incorrect. She was not ostracized for complaining the CO of ADFA actually brought in the police (not Stephen Smith, which he has led everyone to believe) and she was offered every support available to her and she then took her story to the media and was still offered the support. It’s a really unfortunate situation, but it should be remembered that a male cadet reported the incident as he was so appalled by it (so not all defence force males should be tarred with the same brush) but this incident was made a hell of a lot worse by another media-whore politician trying to make a name for himself. If you actually read the report into the Skype incident, it makes you wonder why Stephen Smith is still the Minister for Defence.
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Dear Guest, both she and some of her class mates have said that she was ostracised.
I did choose to believe that it was so as it came from a number of first source reports.
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I completely disagree with you. I have been a platoon commander, company 2ic, OPSO & Adjutant in a very busy specialist unit.
Once I had proved myself as compentent and capable leader the men ( and yes, as a platoon commander it was only men) were only too willing to follow my orders. It was never without question – australian soldiers are not made that way- but once the decision/ order was made it was final. Intially, my warrant officers had reservations working with a (5’2, 50kg) female, but we forged a strong relationship and a great command team- such was my WO2 respect for me as a leader that he nominated me for a commendation.
I have been out of the army for about 3 years now (occaisionally do reserve work) and I am still in contact with most of ‘the boys’ from that platoon. Over the years I have attended their weddings, clelebrated the births of their children, provided professional and personal advice, and sadly, have grieved with them when we have lost a member of our platoon.
Rspect is a two way street, and physical strength or prowess had very little to do with how I lead my unit. As long as I wasn’t unfit or falling behind it was never an issue. Soldiers (people) respect leaders who are competent, capable and confident. They respect integrity, compassion and above all professionalism.
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Awesome comment.
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I disagree. I think you’re seriously underestimating male soldiers. If a person (male or female) proves they can be a good soldier then I think they can be accepted and adapt to work effectively together. All the ‘men are stronger’ and ‘men roughhouse’ things are just an excuse.
Being a good soldier is not just based on strength, women have a lot to bring to the table.
Throughout history there are lots of examples of women kicking ass as soldiers and fighters, we’re not as useless as we’re portrayed to be.
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” … only to find that you must treat them differently, even though you are supposed to treat them as equals…and not differently.”
Um, this is called, real life? I can’t walk up to my boss or a stranger on the street and treat them the way I treat my partner or my friends?!? If the fellas can’t get their heads around these most basic functions of society, maybe we shouldn’t be putting guns in their hands …
“Make no bones about it, in an environment and culture where you are expected to fight, die, protect your peers, it is VERY important to you, who you fight with and protect or are protected by …”
Sorry, I know it all sounds very noble about the ADF, but I’ve know a lot of folks across all three services due to the nature of my work, and many of them are shitty people, cowards, utterly disrespectful, you name it. This is neither here nor there, jerks exist in and out of the defence force – it just gets my back up when I hear this ‘nobility’ used as an argument for special treatment, consideration or allowances… when in fact, the vast majority aren’t that noble or brave, nope, not at all …
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I’m sorry, what?
“in fact, the vast majority aren’t that noble or brave”
Please explain where you get this “factual” information from?? I too know a lot of people over all 3 services – mostly females, mind you – & none fit into this basket you speak of.. Please don’t make the mistake of generalising everyone again.. It is MOST offensive! Thanks
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Stephen Smith deserves a hearty round of applause for refusing to back down on this and for his clear, unequivocal stance on sexual harassment. It is so encouraging to see a politician who stands by his convictions and who is willing to take a firm stance on an issue like this (when so many others would have used weasel words). This is some of the strongest leadership to come out of Canberra in years. Well done Stephen Smith.
As for Liz Broderick- that woman deserves a medal! And a big, shiny one, at that! She’s done so much work in this field over so many years. Such a champ.
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My husband is in the RAAF and has been for over 15 years. I have seen the odd case of sexual harassment (which were all dealt with appropriately) but nothing more than what I witnessed and experienced working for one of Australia’s top banks for 8 years.
I know many successful women in the ADF who love their jobs, love their careers and have progressed through the ranks. Although I accept some things can be improved, our personal experience of defence life has been excellent.
The main problem in defence culture is alcohol and binge drinking, as it is with society in general. Fix that problem and a lot of other things will fall into place.
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Can I just say – just because you aren’t aware of something, doesn’t mean it isn’t going on. The main problem that keeps being raised again and again is that the complaint and investigation process, embedded in the chain of command as it is, is flawed and does not offer support to the complainant.
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As the fiance of a military man, I agree with your sentiment, but i think you have to add to the list the social aspects which are falling apart in the military.
You can train someone to be a leader all you like, but you cant be sure that they are *Able* to lead. I have seen so many people with rank, who have the leadership skills of a gnat. All that does is lead to contempt, bullying and dissent.
So to me, the Defence force could solve a lot of problems by promoting on merit, rather than having a box-ticking exercise based on years of service. Good leadership is key to any organisation, and is absolutely imperative in dealing with the bad eggs.
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One of my bosses was a classic example of staying around long enough and getting promoted just to get him out of his bosses’ hair. He’d also had a lot of “sideways promotions”. He was atrocious. Had no idea what was going on in his department, played shocking favourites, and just hopeless at dealing with anything.
I never saw or experienced any sexual harassment (and that includes one person who I know who went to the media with claims that were lies). Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, but it certainly isn’t as rife as people make out.
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I really admire Stephen Smith for tackling this issue in the Defence Forces.
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