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News | June 6, 2024 | 5:00 PM
The integration of women into the Dutch armed forces is a difficult process. Too often, female soldiers are frustrated in their fight for equal opportunities compared to male soldiers. This is the conclusion drawn by historian Kim Bootsma in her thesis “From ‘reasonable discrimination’ to limited integration”. Today, she defended her doctoral research at the University of Groningen.
In the late 1970s, the Dutch Armed Forces opened all positions and training to women.
Combat functions were no exception. In short: women could sail, fly, and serve in the infantry, provided they met the requirements.
Yet Butsma’s research shows that there is a lot of debate within organizations about their positions.
In the 1970s and 1980s, executives from all walks of life tried to limit opportunities for female soldiers. As a result, the integration of women is not a linear process but a variable one.
protracted war
This study therefore provides a unique insight into the history of the armed forces. So far, the emancipation of women in national defence has been presented in historical studies mainly as a success story.
Butsma shows that formal equality between men and women is only the beginning of a long struggle for equal opportunity. She also concludes in her paper that the battle is not over yet.
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Nurse
By the way, the first women joined the armed forces during World War II. Then they were organized into separate women’s corps. Women soldiers were only allowed to serve in nursing and administrative positions. For example, they worked in BroadCast Unitedligence units, on nursing staff or in soup kitchens and canteens.
Kim Bootsma is a historian at the Faculty of Military Science at the Netherlands National Defence Academy.
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