Women in Defence UK: Strengthening the Defence Workforce
As part of our Critical Mass work, we ask our Partners to share ‘what works’. This could be great programmes they’ve introduced in the gender equity space, or insight on how best to approach tricky environments. This is what Judith Jackson-Merrick had to say had to say about strengthening the defence workforce.
By Judith Jackson-Merrick, Lead for Accenture’s Secure Transformation services
Women in Defence UK (WiD) is close to my heart, working with Ministry of Defence over the last 4 years I have seen palpable changes in diversity at every level of the organisation. But there is always more to do and there are steps we can be taking now to make a difference.
At Accenture, inclusion and diversity is a cornerstone of growth and innovation. It’s not just a nice-to-have; it’s essential for our people to thrive. The time to act is now, as European Defence comes into the spotlight, and we must have a resilient workforce and military.
We focused on three key areas where we can take actionable steps:
1. Equality and recruitment:
In our development of British Army recruitment campaigns, it was apparent how importantly young people feel about working for an organisation that shares their values (88% of people thought so). And yet, only 48% of those sampled thought they shared the same universal values of respect, help and hard work – values, which if we could represent in our communications would position the British Army as an inclusive employer and one where young people of all backgrounds can believe they’d fit in, be accepted and belong for who they are. Embedding inclusivity in the heart of campaign insight and strategy was fundamental to the progress we’ve made in appealing to diverse audience groups and consider whether to apply to the British Army.
2. Preparing for the future of work:
Defence capabilities continue to evolve at pace and bring in new technologies. There are the skills needed to build, maintain and deploy tools and for leaders. Commanders need to be equipped for cross-domain operations, where tools including AI can help, but also where human judgement, and understanding of the benefits and limitations of the technology is key. A mindset of lifelong learning is essential to evolve capability in a world of rapid change, as is equal access to training and development opportunities.
3. Opportunities and Threats of Technological Advancements:
Technology has potential to be a leveller – or an elevator for all. We train people to help address the unconscious bias which can affect recruitment decisions and promotions. We build and train LLMs with bias in mind, putting in place checks and balances use this technology responsibly. Diversity of thought is paramount in the design and monitoring of these tools and their use.
Understanding needs of individuals was a recurring theme throughout our discussion. Combining qualitative insights with honest conversations about what individuals need to belong. For those of us at senior levels, this is the time for self-awareness and heightened emotional intelligence. Now is the time to pay it forward, coaching and mentoring others. For younger colleagues, don’t be afraid to step up where you don’t meet 100% of the role description. Career paths aren’t always linear; seize opportunities to learn. Challenges to the status quo can start in simple ways. These are actions we can take now.
A big thank you to our panellists: Air Vice Marshal Simon Edwards CB from the RAF, Chris Cannell from the Army recruitment team at Accenture, Army veteran and IT Assurance consultant Beckie McAnespie, and our UKIA Executive Sponsor for People & Inclusion, Hacer Evans. Their insights were invaluable in discussing how we can recruit, retain, and develop our workforce across the sector.
