From the Davy Jones’s Locker
The third in the series of ‘Davy Jones’s Locker’ articles is from the second edition of the Journal of the Australian Naval Institute. In the ANI’s early years there were often presentations given to members at regular meetings. This is an address given on 22 October 1975 by Captain Barbara MacLeod AM WRANS.
The year 1975 will undoubtedly be seen in future years as a landmark for womankind. The United Nations Organisation’s proclamation that 1975 was to be termed International Women’s Year (IWY), and that the member nations of the Organisation were to focus their energies and efforts towards women’s roles and rights in all levels of society, has been the catalyst for a kind of female revolution.
As was to be expected, concentration upon women’s rights, duties and responsibilities has generated close scrutiny of political, legal, judicial and social mores, particularly in the more developed nations. In turn, this has resulted in international conferences and commissions, national boards and surveys, and industrial, commercial and social investigations, all stimulated by enormous media interest and coverage.
Every activity, from world forums to local action groups, and embracing every possible view and attitude from the conservative to the radical, the lunatic to the rational, has brought about some form of change. The effects are largely those of identification – the crystallising of positions, the development of aspirations and on the more practical level, the recognition of the right of women to parity with men in equal contributions to a nation’s future.
In Australia, the wealth of material arising from IWY activities is staggering. Almost daily more material becomes available about the changing role of Australian women. Most reports concerning occupational equality are disappointing. Recent research by the Senior Tutor in Economics at Sydney University discloses that employment equality for women has not progressed at all over the last sixty years, that the emphasis in employment is simply a form of segregation from domestic service and factory work to sales and clerical jobs. Statistics from the Public Service Board Annual Reports support this contention. In 1973. there was one female permanent member and 850 male permanent members of the Second Division of the Australian Public Service; in 1974 the numbers increased to four and 1,122 respectively, and in 1975 to seven and 1,243. Women comprise approximately 25% of the total permanent members of the Public Service.
In one area, however, an employment review has been undertaken which not only identifies occupational inequalities pertaining to a small segment of the female work force, but which also makes realistic recommendations regarding the effective and efficient use of these women in the future. For the first time in the history of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the Women’s Services of that Force have been subjected to a fairly extensive enquiry concerning the employment and conditions of service of their members. Should (he recommendations of the Report on Employment of Women in the ADF be adopted, then the Defence Force itself will be utilizing its manpower resources to the best advantage, and the Women’s Services will be taking a giant step forward.
The Origin Of The Women’s Services
The Women’s Services were formed and developed during the Second World War 1939-1945, and were instituted for obvious manpower reasons. Initially, the paternal belief that War was for men only gave the military hierarchy a ready-made opportunity to limit the employment of servicewomen to lady-like labour such as house-keeping, cooking and typing. As the war escalated, women were employed in virtually every job for which they were physically capable, including the more technical and highly skilled tasks peculiar to defence needs. Not including the Nursing Corps, the Services reached a peak strength of 40,000 in 1944. With the exception of Army Nursing sisters and a small number of Army girl’; who served with the First Army Headquarters in Lae from mid 1945, Australian servicewomen did not serve beyond Australia.
Apart from the Army and Air Force Nursing Services, the other Services were disbanded in the late I940’s. The advent of the Korean conflict and the usual male manpower shortages called for the re-institution of the Services in the early I950’s, with the stated role of providing a nucleus of trained personnel which could be rapidly expanded in emergencies.
The re-introduction of the Women’s Services was effected much the same as in 1941. All the old shibboleths were resurrected and the first “peacetime” servicewomen were restricted to very small establishments, to serve in Australia only, to conventional domestic and clerical employments which required minimal initial training, and to centralisation of accommodation and administration. A great many of the benefits and entitlements enjoyed by servicemen, such as permanency of employment tenure, Defence Forces Retirement and Death Benefits Fund (DFRDB) and advanced training, were denied servicewomen officers. Over the years, discipline for women slowly became almost the same as for males. Retention in the service after marriage was introduced in 1969 and controversial maternity leave benefits in 1975, Other rank servicewomen began the long haul towards pay parity with their male counterparts.
Whilst conditions of service improved, the employment restrictions continued. College entry and training and Staff College courses for female officers, and technical training and apprentice entry for other ranks remained non-existent Minimum training was the fundamental basis for employment, and only in the Army did the range of female employments broaden to any degree Except for a handful of service women posted to Singapore between 1967 and 1974 (and five WRANS who enjoyed the excitement of EXPO’s in Canada and Japan). only officers of the Army Nursing Corps received the very rare overseas posting.
The Intervening Years – 1952 To 1975
The Women’s Services of the Australian Defence Force comprise the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS), the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC), the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF), the Royal Australian Naval Nursing Service (RANNS), the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps (RAANC) and the Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service (RAAFNS). Additionally, there are of course. Reserve Services which are in the main, inactive. The permanent Services comprise some 4,000 women which approximates to nearly 5% of Defence uniformed personnel.
Between 1952 and 1975 significant advances were made in establishing the Women’s Services as integral parts of their parent bodies. The establishment ceilings gradually increased to the current 5% of male numbers. In 1959, Cabinet approved permanent status for servicewomen which enabled them to contribute to the DFRDB Fund and led the way to the granting of permanent commissions for selected.
Preview Of Coming Attractions
On 22 May 1974, the Convention on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation adopted by the International Labour Conference in 1954 was ratified by the Australian Government, thus effectively abolishing in Australia discrimination in employment and occupation. The Convention defined discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation”. The terms “employment” and “occupation” include access to vocational training, access to employment and particular occupations and terms and conditions of employment.
In July 1974, the Australian Prime Minister invited the Minister tor Defence to assess the nature of service women’s present and future roles in ADF. He stressed the objectives of IWY of improving the status of women by, amongst other things, achieving equality of opportunity between women and men, and ensuring the integration of women in society by emphasising their responsibility and role in the economic, social and cultural development of Australia and in international spheres.
Later in 1974, the Prime Minister advised the Minister for Defence that it was his Government’s intention to accede to the 1955 Convention on the Political Rights of Women, and that this would extend to women the basic right to accept and hold public office on equal terms with men. In his letter, the Prime Minister stated his concern that “there are at present certain aspects of the organisation and establishment of the ADF which would bring Australia into breach of the Convention”. He mentioned in particular the exclusively male orientation of the Service Colleges (which prevents women from receiving training appropriate to the top positions within the Services), and the different pay and employment categories allocated to men and women.
In replying to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Defence stated that he was opposed to discrimination against women in the ADF. However, he considered that Australia should enter a reservation to the Convention in relation to the Defence Force regarding military tasks which require the physical capacities of men and the employment of women in occupations for possible action in a combat area. In supporting his view that his reservation to the 1955 Convention could not be regarded as discrimination, the Minister quoted from Article I of the Convention on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation, which stales that “any distinction, exclusion oi preference in respect of a particular job based on the inherent requirements thereof shall not be deemed to be discrimination”.
Against this background, two Defence Working Parties were formed. Their reports have now been rendered and the outcome of both will have a major effect on the Women’s Services. One Working Party was charged with examining the basis of female pay fixation, using the principle of equal pay for work of equal values the overriding guideline. As yet, no decisions have been reached regarding the completed report. The second Working Party was required to develop a co-ordinated policy on all aspects of the employment of servicewomen. It is on his subject I would like to concentrate because the future role of service-women will be determined by the employment review.
The Future – A Hopeful Scene
The Australian Government is resolved that its actions and philosophies, which are, in essence, the elimination of discrimination against women in employment and occupation will apply in the ADF. In setting about its task therefore, the Working Party was bound on the one hand by the necessity to pursue as far as possible the Government’s employment policies, and on the other, by the Australian reservation to the Convention on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation. As a consequence of this, Defence policy is that servicewomen will not be allowed combat roles in combat areas, and at least for the immediate future, women will not be enrolled in the Service Colleges at Duntroon, Point Cook and Jervis Bay.
Both these constraints could inhibit to a significant degree the full and effective utilization of female manpower. Contradiction can be seen in policies of occupational equality when women are prevented from gaining the experience and expertise essential to the implementation of such equality.
Common sense dictates that a direct combat role for women is not yet acceptable to Australian society or to the ADF, but arguments denying female officers a military education similar to (that of male officers are difficult to find. However, partial reconciliation of the somewhat confusing principles is relatively easy. The view could be taken that selectivity is not only justified in the ADF because of the nature and purpose of the Force, but is also the sensible approach in limiting the pressures of a changing external social environment, thus alleviating but not ignoring the need of the military to recognise, incorporate and apply these changes.
That there is discrimination against women in the ADF is undeniable, but there are realistic steps which could be taken to achieve equality of employment opportunity whilst maintaining the basic premise that it is not acceptable for servicewomen to engage in combat duties.
Government policy could be altered to allow:
- employment of servicewomen on active service in Australia and overseas,
- abolition of the current female establishment ceilings (leaving the single Services control of individual manning requirements),
- recruitment of men and women against a common establishment in each Service, and competitive and common promotional basis.
- expansion of both officers and other ranks’ career structures for servicewomen by:
- permitting female officers to undertake specified career training, specialist training, advanced specialist training, and staff courses, and be employed in duties commensurate with that training, and
- opening the range of employment to other ranks’ servicewomen, particularly in the Navy and Air Force, and
- adoption of a common approach to training of female officer trainees.
Any examination of service employments is impossible to conduct without consideration of conditions of service which affect employment. Hand in hand therefore, with an employment review, must go a study of major differences in conditions of service which currently exist between servicemen and servicewomen. Some of these matters arc female officer rank titles in the Navy and Air Force, retirement ages for female officers viz-a-viz their male counterparts, retirement ages for other ranks’ servicewomen, consideration of the entry of married women, periods of appointment (officers) and engagement periods (other ranks) and investigation of servicewomen’s benefits and entitlements such as removals, gratuities, housing, accommodation and so on.
If all this comes about, it will go a long way towards removing discrimination against servicewomen. Reasoned and realistic implementation is essential to avoid managerial headaches, because regardless of the altruistic motives aimed at achieving employment equality, inherent differences between the sexes are not overcome by Governmental decree or executive decision.
Acute problems, particularly in the career and promotion patterns for female officers, are bound to arise. The dominant male atmosphere of the Services and the sometimes parochial attitudes of servicemen towards intruders, in this case service-women, will need to change if equitable occupational opportunities for servicewomen are progressed. Servicewomen will need lo become more professional in their service knowledge, outlook and attitude and will need to accept that equal opportunity will carry no privileges. The ADF itself will need to be satisfied that the considerable investment required to implement its policies will be In the best interests of the purpose of the Defence Force.
This is an appropriate point for briefly staling my thoughts regarding the future, because I feel that in my present appointment, my professional advice and action influenced by my personal opinions, will have some bearing on what happens.
I believe that we cannot disregard the changes that are occurring in society and that must inevitably be reflected in the ADF. I am optimistic that servicewomen will be allowed to make a proper contribution to service manpower requirements, and they will be given every opportunity to demonstrate their undoubted abilities. I am hopeful that management has the strength of purpose to capitalize on the capacities of all personnel, and that equality for servicewomen will be willingly accepted. I predict that the moves made in International Women’s Year to eliminate discrimination against servicewomen are the first of many, and that, in the long term, there will be no reason for the Women’s Services to exist as entities within their parent Services.
Women now have a recognised and permanent place in the ADF and over the years, their loyalty and hard work have earned the Women’s Services a deservedly high reputation. After an apprenticeship of 25 years, the opening of a Pandora’s box of occupational opportunity for service-women can only mean that they will achieve their full potential in contributing to the manpower requirements of the Defence Force.
The Author
Captain Barbara Denise MacLeod AM WRANS, (or ‘BD’ as she was known in the Service) was born in 1929 in Bunbury and educated at Perth Girls and Bunbury High Schools. She graduated from the WA Teachers’ College in 1950 and spent three years as a primary school teacher before joining the WRANS in November 1953. She has held all key administrative appointments available to WRANS Officers and has served in all States except, to her regret, Western Australia. She was appointed to the staff of Director of Operations early in 1970, became the first Command WRANS Officer to the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Australia (FOCEA) mid 1971 and took over as Director, WRANS in April 1973.
She was promoted to acting captain in1974 and confirmed in the rank in 1975, just weeks after being appointed AM. As Director, she managed the implementation of two important conditions of service: maternity leave and equal pay. In 1976 she became the first female officer to complete the advanced course at the Australian Administrative Staff College, Mount Eliza, Victoria. The next year she was awarded the Queen’s Silver jubilee Medal and an appointment as Director of Naval Industrial Policy followed in 1979. Becoming the first WRANS officer to hold the position was a milestone in the advancement of the status of Navy women as it was outside the WRANS organisational structure. During her directorship, conditions of service continued to improve for women. Employment categories for WRANS widened, including access to the naval police and physical training instructor branches; the dental, instructor, and engineering branches were opened to WRANS officers, and they could be posted as shore establishment executive officers; the WRANS officer rank titles were abolished and replaced by the male officers’ titles; and servicewomen became entitled to married quarters. In March 1982 she became the first WRANS officer to be appointed an honorary aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II. MacLeod retired in 1983.
‘BD’ died at Mollymook on 9 January 2000. Her entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography is at:
https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/macleod-barbara-denise-32761
