, but because sidelining 50% of your population for no good reason undermines your capability.
What if there is a good reason to sideline them? I think there a lot of good reasons to not recruit women. I laid just a few of many in my post above. Does the UK, or any nation, really NEED to tap into that other 50% of the population? If so why is there such a shortage of manpower? Is it because the military isn't recruiting women or is it because the economy is good and there are better prospects in the civilian market? Would it be better to increase pay or improve living conditions before tapping into the female labor pool? If there wasn't a shortage of recruits would it then be okay to not try to tap into the other 50% of the population?