Beyond the Atherton Report: How Far Have the Armed Forces Come for Women Transitioning into Service?

In July 2021, the Atherton Report [1]– officially titled “Protecting Those Who Protect Us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life” – was published by the House of Commons Defence Sub-Committee, chaired by MP Sarah Atherton. More than 4,200 women contributed their experiences, offering the most comprehensive picture to date of life for Servicewomen in the UK. The findings from the landmark inquiry were stark yet clear: many women felt a persistent lack of belonging in the Armed Forces, a sense that they had to work harder than their male counterparts to gain equal respect, and a dissatisfaction with ill-fitting uniforms, equipment, and living conditions.

The report made a series of recommendations, calling on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to modernise policy, address barriers to belonging, and ensure that women could thrive across every stage of Service. In the years since, the MoD has worked to implement reforms, with visible progress in some areas. But questions remain over whether the cultural and structural barriers identified in 2021 have been meaningfully addressed.

In March 2025, the King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) added further weight to this conversation with the SUSTAIN Report [2]. Funded by the Forces in Mind Trust, the study set out to explore women’s experiences of transition from military to civilian life. It identified eighteen characteristics of successful transition and six barriers, emphasising that experiences ‘upstream,’ before and during Service, significantly influence outcomes ‘downstream’ into civilian life [2].

This news feature draws on the Atherton and SUSTAIN reports to consider:

In what ways has the MoD responded to the Atherton Report in supporting women’s initial transition into military Service, and where do barriers remain?

Women in Uniform: The Current Landscape

As of April 2025, women represent 11.9% of the UK Regular Armed Forces [3]. Recruitment of women has dipped slightly since 2022, but more women are still joining than leaving, keeping overall representation steady [3]. Women now serve across every branch and role, including in front-line combat positions that were formally opened to them in 2018 [4].

Yet progress on numbers alone tells only part of the story. Service life presents unique challenges for all personnel, but transitions are often the most difficult, as integration can challenge an individual’s sense of identity and self [5]. For women, this process is often complicated by entrenched gender stereotypes, limited institutional support, and cultural realities. Although extensive research has examined the transition out of military Service and the associated identity struggles, limited research exists on the transition into Service, despite these initial years being crucial predictors of long-term career success [6]. Early-Service experiences also influence the eventual transition to civilian life [5,7,8].

The Military-Civilian Transition: Understanding Military Culture and Identity

What makes the transition into the military markedly difficult? One reason is that the military is more than an occupation; it is a cultural system with a strong identity. Scholars often describe the Armed Forces as a “total institution,” – one that regulates nearly all aspects of a Servicemembers’ life, including work, living arrangements, and even social interactions [9,10,11]. Military integration, therefore, aims to inculcate recruits into this culture [11].

Historically, military culture has been rooted in and sustained by masculine norms [6,10]. Military leadership operated on the assumption that operational effectiveness depended on all-male combat teams [9]. Because combat was the military’s primary function, its culture came to be defined by a combat-oriented, masculine-warrior paradigm, with training designed to develop masculine warriors [12,13]. Historically, limited space and acceptance for femininity existed [12].

The past decade has seen the full integration of women into combat roles, with the UK opening all roles to women in 2018 [4,14]. These changes made women immediately eligible for deployments and positions from which they had previously been excluded, but the underlying masculine norms of military culture remained [9].

Military culture deliberately fosters identity transformation, with the shift from civilian to military life representing a pivotal stage in adaptation [6,15,16]. This transition can be especially challenging for women, as their preexisting values, beliefs, and attitudes may clash with those of the military. For women, these pressures are often compounded by the expectation to downplay femininity and adopt masculine behaviours [6]. Such conflicts between civilian and military identities may trigger an identity crisis [6]. The SUSTAIN Report found that the need to continually navigate and mask conflicting identities can have long-term consequences for mental health [2].

SUSTAIN Framework Applied

Although SUSTAIN studied women leaving Service, its life-course approach makes the findings relevant to entry as well. Both transitions involve structural change, loss and adaption, and questions of self, purpose and belonging [16,17]. Where entry demands letting go of civilian freedoms, exit requires letting go of military structure, mission, and camaraderie. In both cases, the quality of the transition depends on institutional support and inclusivity [2].

SUSTAIN identified six barriers to successful transition out of military Service, but given the parallels between transition in and transition out, the barriers remain applicable across the Service life cycle. For women joining the Armed Forces, three barriers are particularly salient:

1. Women’s identities being unwelcome or contested
2. Equipment and environments not suited for women
3. Experiences of sexism, sexual harassment, or assault

For reasons of scope, this news feature focuses on the first two. A specific future feature will focus on the third. These early-Service barriers (women’s identities being unwelcome and equipment/environment not suited for women) are cultural and material in nature, and they set the tone for how women experience the Armed Forces from the very beginning.

Barrier One: Identities Unwelcome and Contested

Recruitment campaigns offer a revealing lens on cultural change. The Army’s 2021 campaign A Soldier is a Soldier aimed to present equality by insisting that women do not receive differential treatment in the Armed Forces. In one recruitment video, the female narrator states that she is not issued “beach body rations,” or “rifles with easy pull triggers for smaller hands.” She adds, “You won’t find any signs on the toilets out here, because on operations, there is no such thing as the ladies’ team” [18].

On the surface, these statements appear to reject stereotypical gender roles by portraying women as equally capable of meeting the physical and professional demands of Service. However, the messaging risks reinforcing the dominance of traditional military masculinity rather than challenging it. By using deliberately feminised props, the advertisement frames femininity and soldiering as incompatible, implying that women only gain legitimacy by adopting masculine norms. One critic notes that such portrayals undermine inclusivity by trivialising women’s contributions [19]. More recent campaigns, such as “You Belong Here,” are more inclusive in tone and aim to dispel misconceptions among young people about fitting into the Armed Forces [20]. A 2023 Royal Air Force (RAF) Advertisement, “The Force Protecting Space,” is much more inclusive. The advertisement spotlights the RAF’s emerging role in space protection, displaying high-intensity clips of men and women working in vastly different roles: cooks, analysts, pilots, medics, and air traffic controllers. The ad ends with a voiceover reading, “It takes the whole force to protect space” [21]. Advertisements such as these help to genuinely reinforce inclusivity and to promote a cultural of professionality, rather than masculinity.

Training also reflects this tension. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) training is mandatory in initial training and repeated throughout career progression. Sessions focus on bystander awareness, reporting mechanisms, and the importance of respect. Moreover, the MoD’s Defence Diversity and Inclusion Strategy emphasises the importance of recruiting from the full breadth of society and addressing harassment and discrimination within the Services [22,23,24].

Despite these measures, challenges persist. ED&I has been increasingly perceived as counterproductive, as some soldiers are disillusioned and frustrated by the training and do not take it seriously. Others argue that the military’s increased focus on diversity and inclusion detracts from operational priorities, potentially undermining military effectiveness [25]. To counter resistance, some units now frame ED&I initiatives as “professionalism training,” but cultural pushback persists [26].

The result is that women continue to report pressure to conform to masculine norms to gain respect. This was acknowledged at a Defence Committee hearing in March 2025, when General Sir Roland Walker, head of the Army, admitted: “We should have low confidence that we are creating an environment where Servicewomen can come to work and feel valued for what they do, in a way that is treated equitably with their male counterparts” [27].

The Atherton inquiry found that 85% of women believed that female personnel faced additional challenges in the Armed Forces; 51% reported being treated differently, and of these, 91% attributed the differential treatment to their gender [1]. The persistence of these figures, along with statements from top personnel in the Armed Forces, indicate a slow pace of cultural change.

In official statements, the MoD continues to acknowledge the underrepresentation of women and contestation of their identities, and it has stated its commitment to recruiting from diverse backgrounds that reflect the broader UK population. Yet the lived experiences of Servicewomen, as documented in the SUSTAIN Report, continue to fall short of these aims [2]. MoD leadership emphasises that the issue is not confined to the Services themselves – entrenched societal gender stereotypes play a role. For example, studies report lower confidence levels among women compared to men, particularly in physical domains, making them less likely to put themselves forward for opportunities [27].

Military leaders have emphasised the need to redefine service in the 21^st century, shifting away from a culture centered on military masculinity towards one centered on professionality, but internal debates persist regarding perceived trade-offs between diversity and operational effectiveness [28]. Furthermore, aligning the lived experiences of personnel with this vision will require sustained translation of policy into action.

Barrier Two: Equipment and Environment Not Suited for Women

After receiving extensive criticism for failing to adapt uniforms and equipment to women’s bodies, the single Services have been working to make significant improvements. The Atherton Report highlighted these shortcomings, with 60% of Servicewomen reporting that equipment was inappropriate for female personnel and 77% noting that uniforms were unsuitable [1].

In March 2022, the MoD announced improvements to the Virtus Scalable Tactical Vest (STV), introducing a tailored fit for women since the original design was made for male soldiers. Alongside this, a new clothing range with expanded sizes and adjusted cuts was launched and professionally fitted sports bras were to be issued to all female recruits beginning training. These changes were trialled and reviewed by the Women in Ground Close Combat Forum and the Infantry Trials and Development Unit [27].

The Royal Navy conducted a similar review, issuing sports bras, fitted overalls and rank boards, and updating uniforms to include more sizes. Maternity variants of shirts, trousers, thermal layers, and outer layers, were planned for rollout by spring 2023. The Royal Air Force also updated uniform sizing for skirts and trousers, introduced a maternity line, and allowed post-maternity and post-menopause officers to claim tailored uniforms upon return. Additionally, a RAF policy implemented in 2022 allowed new recruits to claim sports bras, with plans for a permanent policy that would allow Servicewomen to claim reimbursement for two new sports bras a year, although this has not yet been implemented [28,29,30].

Despite these positive improvements, challenges remain with availability and distribution. Inspections across 11 training establishments between October 2023 and May 2024 found that female recruits were still being issued ill-fitting clothing and equipment, impacting their appearance and ability to fully participate in training [31]. In sum, while the MoD has progressed in providing appropriately fitted equipment and uniforms, rollout remains slow and access inconsistent.

Facilities are another persistent issue. The Atherton Survey found that 39% of Servicewomen considered existing facilities unsuitable for female personnel [27]. In July 2025, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the MoD announced a review of internal policies to ensure compliance with legal standards for gender-specific spaces, including living accommodations, ablutions, changing facilities, and single-sex areas [32]. It was also acknowledged that equipment and facility updates fall within a, “really broad area,” of planned improvements, so changes could be slow due to procurement and distribution timelines [27].

Overall, current MoD leadership considers ill-fitting equipment and uniforms a high-priority issue. While acknowledging ongoing efforts, the MoD concedes that rollout has been slow. Beyond ensuring correct fit, the Minister for Veterans and People, Alistair Carns, stressed that updated kit must be easily accessible. Servicewomen should not have to “write away and get a central store to send it forward” [27]. When pressed on monitoring for new equipment and uniform initiatives, officials noted the creation of a new workgroup linked to the Servicewomen’s network to collect feedback on functionality and rollout. In short, while progress is being made in terms of design and fit, there have been persistent issues with distribution and availability.

Recommendations for Future Practice and Research

Despite progress, the MoD’s approach remains slow and fragmented. Two priorities for future practices stand out:

• Early Mentorship and Peer Networks: In the House of Commons hearing, the importance of an effective system of role models for young Servicewomen was recognised. However, nothing to this effect currently exists for the UK Armed Forces. Mentorship can be a useful tool to enhance recruitment, integration, and retention of minority groups, such as women in the military (Heward et al., 2024). Therefore, the MoD should direct initial training units to establish a system in which each female trainee is paired with a female mentor in the Service. This could ensure that the trainee has an early connection within the Armed Forces to support her journey. Additionally, these units could create peer groups of female Servicemembers similar to the Army Servicewomen’s Network to meet in-person across military installations in the UK. Establishing support groups could increase feelings of belongingness amongst female personnel by granting them a space for open dialogue. Ultimately, this effort could help reduce identity struggles by displaying to early career Servicewomen that other women have found success in military life.

• International Discussions: As countries across the world grapple with the challenges of fully integrating Servicewomen into the Armed Forces, specifically into combat roles, an opportunity exists to engage in an international dialogue around the challenges and barriers women face. Many NATO countries, including the U.S. and Canada, as well as non-NATO countries such as Israel, have opened all military roles to women. Discussions around best practices for gender sensitive policy, women-specific uniforms and equipment, and inclusion and belonging of female personnel could greatly benefit all countries involved. At the very least, these discussions could serve as a signal to Servicewomen that their issues are being treated with the highest priority. For example, conversations between the UK and Ukrainian counterparts have already been informing new approaches to privacy, hygiene, and operational needs for women in the UK military (House of Commons, 2025).

• Future research should seek to capture the entire life cycle of a Servicewoman’s journey through the Armed Forces. Researchers should seek to empirically capture Servicewomen’s pre-Service experiences and exposures to better understand the factors that enable successful and sustainable transitions both in and out of Service.

Conclusion: A Mixed Verdict

Four years after the Atherton Report, the Armed Forces and the MoD have taken meaningful steps. Recruitment campaigns are more inclusive, kit design has improved, and leaders speak openly about the need for cultural change. Yet despite this gradual progress, Servicewomen continue to struggle with a perceived lack of belonging and identity. Additionally, while MoD leadership continues to adapt uniforms and equipment for the female body, there have been prolific issues with distribution and availability. Therefore, since the Atherton Report, the MoD has made moderate progress in addressing the barriers most likely to affect women in their initial transition to military Service, but significant challenges remain.

We thank Marley Wait, for writing this News Feature, covering research conducted as part of her Masters Degree in Public Policy at the University of Oxford, as part of her placement with us at the Centre for Evidence. Marley is a First Lieutenant and Engineer Officer in the U.S. Army.

References

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