The Austrian Armed Forces are celebrating "1 years of women in the army" on April 25 this year. On April 1, 1998, the first nine women enlisted. In recent years, the proportion of women in the Austrian Armed Forces has increased to 645 soldiers, but the proportion is still relatively low compared to other European countries. In order to increase the proportion of women, from April 1, 2023, women have the opportunity to voluntarily take up "basic military service".
„Eine wichtige Maßnahme, die wir nun ergriffen haben, ist der „freiwillige Grundwehrdienst“ für Frauen. Nach 25 Jahren haben wir es geschafft, Frauen nicht nur einen niederschwelligen Zugang zum Bundesheer zu ermöglichen, sondern auch alle Funktionen für Frauen gleichwertig zugänglich zu machen. Wir werden weiter daran arbeiten, Frauen zu integrieren und besonders den Anteil soweit zu steigern, um mehr Frauen für das Bundesheer zu gewinnen“, sagte Verteidigungsministerin Klaudia Tanner.
The "voluntary basic military service"
25 years after the first women enlisted in the federal army, from April 1, 2023, they now have the opportunity to find out about "voluntary basic military service" and to start. In this way, the Armed Forces enable female soldiers, without any further obligation, to get to know all branches of the armed forces and to decide on a career as a soldier within a period of six months. So far, women have only been able to enter the military profession by crossing an entry hurdle. 645 servicewomen are currently serving in various branches of the service – from fighter commandos to helicopter pilots to senior physicians. "We already have 19 interested parties before the start of the project and that is a very positive sign," said the minister at a press conference.
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