More and more women are getting involved in securing Slovakia's defences

Data from the MOD's Personnel Sections shows that more and more women are getting involved in securing Slovakia's defences. A total of 4,889 women, which equates to 22.9% of all MOD and Armed Forces military and civilian staff, are currently employed in Defence.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “Generally speaking, even though the military environment is mainly associated with men – soldiers, women in Defence are an invaluable asset. They hold a variety of positions and undertake a range of tasks with a level of determination and commitment equal to that of their male colleagues – whether those in uniform or in civilian clothes.” He revealed that the MOD and Armed Forces employ a total of 1,879 female Service personnel and 3,020 female civilian employees.

MOD data shows that more than half of the MOD's positions are held by women, whereas the overall share of women in the MOD's supervisory and managerial positions is also significant, to be precise, it stands at 46.3%.

Currently, female Service personnel are also well represented in the Slovak Armed Forces, where they form 12% of all military personnel. Most of them are officers. The highest ranking female officer is Colonel, though there are also dozens commonly found in the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Captain, 1st Lieutenant and Lieutenant. The MOD's NCO cadre is mostly constituted by NCOs ranked Staff Sergeant and Sergeant 1st Class. The highest appointment held by a regular serving female officer in the Slovak Armed Forces is the Chief of the Office of the Slovak Chief of Defence, with effect from 1 December 2021.

Servicewomen are increasingly deployed on a wide array of international crisis management missions and operations abroad. Currently, 36 servicewomen are serving abroad. Reflecting on the share of active duty female personnel, Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko said: “Women have an irreplaceable role in the Slovak Armed Forces. Of course, there are certain positions which are more suitable for them than others, yet they are a firm component of our structures with a substantial contribution to the Slovak military. Equally important, I am pleased to see that with each year there is an upward trend for women having an increased interest in careers in the Slovak Armed Forces.“

Female representation in the SVK Military Police is a little bit lower. That being the case, women constitute 10% of the total actual strength of the Military Police. Over the past years this figure has changed only slightly. According to Director of the Military Police Col Valentín Cebo, the work of female MP personnel is vital to our mission. “Today, it is inevitable to have policewomen involved in policing functions on the ground as part of our incident response,” he said. As regards senior MP appointments for servicewomen, these include Senior Inspector of the Crisis Management Section and Chief of Canine Training.