Defence Committee needs written evidence from Women in the Armed Forces

Ahead of a meeting of the Defence Committee meeting on the 14th November, 2023, Women in the Armed Forces are needed to provide written evidence about their military service.

Background to meeting

In July 2021 a series of recommendations, from the Defence Sub-Committee on Women in the Armed Forces, were put forward in a report.

These were to improve the experiences of Servicewomen and female veterans.

The Government response, published in December 2021, agreed with a large number of the recommendations.

On 14th November 2023, the Committee intends to hold a second follow-up session hearing from the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

The Committee is calling for written evidence on whether enough change has been seen in the two years since the report was published.

Questions to be answered by you

– How much change has there been in past two years, when it comes to improving the experiences of female Service personnel and/or female veterans?
– What has helped or hindered change?
– What specific changes are you aware of against the Committee’s initial recommendations?
– Are there areas where you hope to see more change?
– Do you see ‘easy wins’ for the Services/MOD?

How you can submit written evidence

Submissions should be no longer than 3,000 words.

The main body of any submission should use numbered paragraphs. Each submission should contain:

– A short summary, perhaps in bullet point form;
– A brief introduction about the person or organisation submitting evidence, for example explaining their area of expertise or experience;
– Any factual information from which the Committee might be able to draw conclusions, or which could be put to other witnesses;
– Any recommendations for action by the Government or others which the submitter would like the Committee to consider for inclusion in its report to the House.
– Submissions should be in Microsoft Word format. There should be no PDFs or use of colour or logos.

More information on submitting written evidence, including Top Tips.

Closing date for submissions

Wednesday 25th October, 2023.