It is impossible to imagine the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) functioning without its female soldiers. In the last week alone, over 30 Israeli female combat pilots and navigators participated in long-range strikes on Iran. Since 2023, hundreds of women have crossed enemy lines and fought in hostile territory; among them medics who have rescued people under fire and combat dog handlers searching Hamas tunnels. On October 7 there were countless heroic stories about female soldiers. From non-combat surveillance operators (‘spotters’) who didn’t abandon their command posts until their last breath, to navy fighters who stopped much of Hamas’s naval invasion.

The IDF – as well as being one of the world’s most effective fighting forces – is also one of the most ‘feminine’ militaries, with women making up about 35 per cent of its regular non-reserve force.

More striking is what’s happening at the sharp end: one in five Israeli combat soldiers are female – a record high in Israel’s history. While the general high number of female personnel can be explained by the mandatory draft, women in combat must volunteer for these roles.

In Britain the situation is rather different. Despite the 2018 decision to make all roles open to women, the British military is far more male-dominated. As of April 2025, women still only make up around 12 per cent of the UK’s regular armed forces.

Like other western armies, Britain continues to struggle with recruitment generally. Defence Secretary John Healey admitted last year that there had been ‘15 years of a recruitment and retention crisis in our armed forces,’ shrinking the army to the smallest it has been for more than 300 years. Could women make up some of the........

© The Spectator