Germany is changing its conscription rules. While military service has been voluntary since 2011, the government may soon reactivate conscription as the country ramps up armament and defense efforts. On top of this, politicians are eyeing the possibility of – for the first time ever – including women in a new draft system.
Under the current proposal, Germany will borrow from Sweden’s model: starting in 2026, all 18-year-olds will receive a letter inviting them to serve. Men have to respond, while women can choose to ignore it. If not enough volunteers express interest and are deemed fit, however, more will be recruited on a compulsory basis. This scenario seems increasingly likely – German chancellor Friedrich Merz said in early October: “I suspect that it will not remain voluntary.”
So conscription may be coming for young German men. Still, the thought lingers in many a politician’s mind: shouldn’t women be included too? Women currently make up around 13% (25,000) of German soldiers. Shouldn’t they step up and pull their weight? Wouldn’t that be more equal?
The recruitment problem
Germany’s military has a recruitment problem. Until a huge debt package for defense spending was announced this year, it was chronically underfunded and understaffed. Now, the government has effectively unlimited cash, but too few people actually want to put on the brand-new uniforms and pick up the shiny guns. General Carsten Breuer, the Bundeswehr’s highest-ranking soldier and direct advisor to Defense Minister Pistorius, says Germany needs around 100,000 additional reservists.
He agrees: a voluntary model won’t be enough – we’ll need conscription. To recruit all these new soldiers, why not activate the half of the population left out of the equation so far? In doing so, “equality should be established” in a potential conscription model. Sweden, Denmark, and Norway already draft women. If progressive, feminist countries up north are doing it, why not Germany? After all, conscription only for men is an archaic, patriarchal practice… Suddenly, a convenient argument to increase the pool of bodies available to fight for country presents itself: equality.
The army isn’t the only one pushing for more women in uniform: Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister President, Daniel Günther, agrees: “Compulsory military service must apply to both men and women. For us, this goes without saying in the age of equality.” The Social Democrats’ deputy leader Siemtje Möller echoes him: “If we take equality seriously, we must also discuss compulsory military service for women.”
If you’ve been paying attention so far, you may be thinking: it’s pretty convenient that gender “equality” in the military became a priority just as the force happens to need thousands of soldiers it doesn’t have. Could politicians be using gender equality to justify a coercive solution to their recruitment problem? Centuries of tradition and gendered socialisation make women less likely to volunteer – but would they really argue against equality? Probably not.
Obligation ≠ emancipation
Some argue that fairness demands shared obligations: if men have to fight, women should too. At first glance, it makes sense. Conscription for men was traditionally justified by biological characteristics and physical strength. Today, we’re long past the view of women as helpless and in need of protection.
Yet, at least one biological reality does actually complicate women’s participation in the military: childbirth. For a state to exist at all, and for there to be a pool of future soldiers to protect it, we need babies. Women, in the time they spend away from work, largely carry this responsibility and do the work needed to raise them. In fact, part of the reason for women’s historical exemption from military service were their roles in childbearing, caregiving, and other family responsibilities.
Today, women still do around 40% more unpaid care work, start their careers under worse conditions, and earn lower salaries and pensions. In 2006, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court rejected the notion that men were discriminated against by conscription, reiterating that women had greater burdens in the family sphere.
Ultimately, regardless of whether a woman has children or not, conscription would place yet another burden on their life paths without dismantling the structures that already disadvantage them. As Prof. Dr. Kathrin Groh of the University of the Bundeswehr Munich notes, a period of mandatory service would only worsen these disadvantages and further harm their employment prospects.
“Just add women” won’t work…
Alright, we get it. Women carry disproportionate societal burdens and could be even further hindered in their personal and professional development if mandatory military service were added to their list of obligations. At the same time, especially in countries like Germany, women have more freedom and career options than ever – with or without children. No one who’d rather trade a stroller for a uniform is being told they can’t. Great!
Still, the military has been declining in its attractiveness as an employer for (especially younger) women. In Sweden, Germany’s chosen role model of equality, women still spend less time in the military and are more likely to leave for other (often social) jobs. Why can’t the military convince women to join and stay on its own?
The answer should be intuitive. The army is a highly male-dominated and increasingly extreme-right environment where everything from jackets to gas masks were designed to fit men’s bodies. Women are at higher risk of sexual harassment in these conditions: According to the defense commissioner’s report from 2023, sexual assault against female soldiers is on the rise. It details a case in which a sergeant refused to report an accusation to their superior and advised the female soldier not to testify to avoid the incident “boiling over”. The report also points out that perpetrators’ assumption of innocence takes precedence over victim protection. The affected become victims not only of the act, but of a denial of their credibility, accusations of lying and complicity, and immense pressure.
Career prospects for women in the German military are also comparatively low. Only three of its 200 generals are women, and all of them serve in the medical corps. To reach the highest ranks, you have to go through different assignments and relocations every couple of years. Again, this can be unattainable for mothers responsible for childcare.
To truly improve gender equality in the military, bringing the numbers up by forcing women into potentially hostile environments shouldn’t be the first choice. At the very least, broad reforms to improve the culture of the armed forces should be introduced simultaneously. Even then, a shift won’t happen overnight.
…Nor will it fix the military
One argument for conscription of women is that their presence in equal numbers will, over time, itself dismantle prejudice and inequalities within the system. Again: not overnight, and not before worsening others.
Another argument: we’ll all benefit, because women improve the military! Women have higher interest in peace and conflict research and a more nuanced perspective on problems and dangers for civilian populations in war, as Professor Maja Apelt of the University of Potsdam tells WDR. To be honest, if it really came down to it, I would want women making decisions at the helm of our armed forces just as much as men. But I’m just not willing to get there through a coercive measure masquerading as equality.
Lastly, some argue military service leads to more collective understanding that democracies need defending, and for women to live this ideal on equal terms. The thing is: they already can. Let them! If they choose not to, we have other issues.
What to do?
Granted, conscription for women won’t happen tomorrow. Article 12a of Germany’s constitution expressly prohibits women from being required to “serve with arms”. Amending this article would require a two-thirds majority, which doesn’t currently exist. The Left Party has announced that it won’t support an amendment: “Wanting to rob women of another year of independence by forcing them into compulsory service has nothing to do with a genuine effort to achieve equality and could hardly be more cynical,” their spokeswoman for peace and disarmament said.
While efforts to amend the constitution are “not currently planned”, the option is still on the table for the future. Chancellor Merz has essentially said as much.
Yet instead of toying with unlikely coercive reforms, there are other, fairer ways to encourage societal service and solidarity. To start: making voluntary service more attractive for everyone. Not just in the military, but in any of the many sectors desperately in need of support, like healthcare, in schools, retirement homes, and so on.
As suggested by Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, President of the Caritas Association: instead of asking 18-year-olds only whether they’re willing to serve in the army, turn it into a survey about all their options. A year of voluntary service should be professionally and societally normalized, as well as decently and equally paid so anyone can afford to do it. (P.S.: 65% of people who already do a voluntary social year are women.)
So maybe that’s where we start. And as soon as childcare and parental leave are equally shared, salaries are the same, men care for their parents for the same amount of time, and women don’t face structural disadvantage and danger in male-dominated institutions, we can talk about fairness and equality in military service.
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Janina Kehrer
Absolutely brilliant!