Recruitment of women in the Canadian Armed Forces
The Canadian Armed Forces' (CAF) goal is to increase the number of women personnel by 1% annually, with a target of reaching 25% by 2026.
Our recruiting efforts focus on raising women’s awareness of the career opportunities available in the CAF through:
- engagement and outreach
- advertising and social media
- media partnerships, and
- one-on-one recruitment efforts.
In order to show potential recruits what life in the military might look like, the CAF regularly promotes the stories and experiences of women serving in the CAF. New initiatives have proven instrumental in raising awareness about life in the CAF, enabling women to make an informed decision about a career in the military. The CAF also works with key leaders, educators and women’s professional associations to showcase the diversity of employment opportunities available.
Successful recruiting efforts saw the percentage of women enrolling in the Regular Force increase from 13.2% in 2015/16 to 17.2% in 2017/18.
Specific attention is also being paid to increasing the number of women in Special Forces roles. To achieve this goal, members from the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command have been participating in various outreach and recruiting programs. To date the percentage of women in these roles has reached 10.3%.