Tom - I think we shaved off another 5 or so % there. I completely agree with role models and I think that AVM West should be held up as role for both females AND males - she had a humble start as an Other Rank, started in one of the less operational branches (Admin/Pers) and got a commission and now she is a 2-star. I believe that if we want to push the message to young females from now on then it should be the job of people like yourself (a teacher) and not the press headlines. Otherwise, I fear that we play into the hands of misoganysts who exclaim that "she probably got there because of her gender/looks/behaviour and/or positive discrimination".
I believe it is the right time that poster girls and "female/women appointed as" should cease.
Dengue-Dude - I agree, once in the perdominently all-male 'sink or swim' world of a front-line sqn, the females had to prove their worth much harder to a bunch of sceptical males. However, it didn't help when some were given such an easy ride compared to their male counterparts in the early days of flying training - the RAF/MOD were so desperate for headlines in those days that we even had a female student aircrew officer who was afraid of the dark (and once they discovered this they still tried to push her through!). This was at a time when more than 5 hours of extra training (so called "flex") would get a male student chopped and some females were getting 20-50 hours extra "flex" to grab the headline.
LJ
Last edited by Lima Juliet; 25th Aug 2013 at 09:44.