The “voluntary basic military service” model for women was launched a year ago. The aim was to give women low-threshold access to the armed forces to the armed forces. There are currently a total of 755 female soldiers in the armed forces. 257 women have registered for “voluntary basic military service”. Of these, 143 women have already been called up, 137 have already enlisted and 100 are currently active.
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner said: “One of our department’s goals is to increase the proportion of women and in particular the proportion of female soldiers in the Austrian Armed Forces. And we have succeeded! With the introduction of voluntary basic military service, we have been able to increase the proportion of female soldiers to five percent, the highest level since 1998. the highest level since 1998. This measure not only strengthens the number of personnel in our department, but also shows that our innovative projects are having an impact. We will continue on our path to integrate even more women into the ministry and increase the proportion of female soldiers in the armed forces.”
Since April 1, 2023, “voluntary basic military service” has enabled women to get to know the armed forces without any further obligation and to decide on a career as a soldier within a period of six months. Previously, female soldiers could only enter directly into a cadre career as an officer or non-commissioned officer by taking their own aptitude test. They first had to complete an aptitude test and then the cadre candidate training. The “voluntary basic military service” project for women gives them the opportunity to decide over a period of six months whether they are mentally and physically willing to take up the military profession.
“We will continue on our path to integrate even more women into the ministry and increase the proportion of female soldiers in the armed forces.”
Verteidigungsministerin Klaudia Tanner
Further, ongoing measures such as Girls’ Day, mentoring for female soldiers and childcare options are intended to make the profession of soldier even more attractive to women.
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