00:00Germany doesn't have enough soldiers, if it wants to keep its promise to NATO and meet its own goals.
00:06And there's one group that's overwhelmingly not interested in joining the Bundeswehr.
00:11Women.
00:11No, no way.
00:13I can't imagine joining.
00:14Taking stock.
00:15The promise?
00:16Germany wants to have 260,000 active soldiers ready by the mid-2030s.
00:21The target?
00:2220% of soldiers should be women.
00:24It's all part of Germany's big defense drive,
00:27With threats from Russia in the East and an increasingly unreliable US in the West,
00:32Berlin wants to show it can mount its own defenses and step up for its allies.
00:37Here's some numbers to compare.
00:38The most recent report on NATO-wide gender statistics from 2024 shows the average share of women in the military
00:45at 13.9%.
00:47Germany sits right in the middle.
00:49Hungary had the highest percentage of women, while Turkey has the least.
00:53In Germany, the number of female recruits is rising.
00:56But despite Bundeswehr attempts to appeal to young women, it's by no means rising fast enough.
01:02So, why do so few German women want to sign up?
01:05We took to the Berlin streets to ask.
01:09Anything to do with war or with violence, I don't stand for it.
01:13Because I don't want to go to war for the rich.
01:19That's one of the main reasons.
01:22Because it doesn't fit into my life plans, with studies and work later on.
01:29I know a couple of people who joined up after school, and they said that as a woman, you're often
01:34confronted with sexist situations.
01:39I also think that Germany isn't doing much for young people right now, and I think it's weird that we
01:45should still go to war for Germany in an emergency.
01:48And some of those reasons are shared by German young men, too.
01:53Even by those that do sign up.
01:55Carrie Hoppe knows firsthand.
01:56She's a reserve officer in the German Air Force.
01:59When she signed up after finishing high school, she was looking for a challenge.
02:02And I always thought it was incredibly fascinating, and was looking for a challenge, and looking for a way to
02:11challenge myself to kind of get to know my physical and mental limits, whilst also contributing something to society.
02:18Now she's also got a read on why so many others don't make that same choice.
02:22I think we've become very accustomed to the fact that we live a very safe and comfortable life in Germany,
02:29and sometimes, if you're very safe and very comfortable, you're not particularly aware of the price that that safety and
02:36that comfort and that wealth have.
02:38But women are specifically uninterested, and that's a problem for the Bundeswehr, says Sarah Nanni.
02:45She's in Parliament for the German Greens and their spokesperson for security policy.
02:49If there would be as much women as men who want to join the troops, we would not even talk
02:56about having problems with the personnel.
02:58One key issue, Bundeswehr culture.
03:01In January this year, one case caused outrage in Germany.
03:05The parachute regiment in a small town in Western Germany, ZweibrĂĽcken.
03:09The German army announced it was investigating more than 50 of its soldiers for drug abuse, right-wing extremism, anti
03:16-Semitism and sexual abuse.
03:18The defense minister called the cases deeply shocking and vowed further investigation, which is still ongoing.
03:25The same regiment had already made headlines a few years before, when two soldiers were convicted of raping an 18
03:31-year-old fellow soldier.
03:33ZweibrĂĽcken reveals a deeper problem that the Bundeswehr just can't seem to shake.
03:58The Bundeswehr has recently launched a study on sexual harassment in its ranks, and it says it's taking any offenses
04:05very seriously.
04:06Hoppe says she hasn't personally experienced any sexism in the troops.
04:11For one, I was very lucky to not experience any sort of sexism or structural discrimination just because I'm a
04:17woman.
04:18At the end of the day, the Bundeswehr is a reflection of general society, and you'll find all problems that
04:23we see in general society.
04:25What I do want to make clear, though, is that the Bundeswehr is very, very keen on handling those kind
04:31of instances appropriately and sanctioning them.
04:34But the Bundeswehr has more catching up to do if it wants to welcome more women into the service, says
04:39Nani.
04:39In the past, as women have only been allowed to serve in all the branches of the troop for two
04:46decades, we still have this tradition to think of military to be something that men do and women don't.
04:53And I think that this is a cultural factor.
04:55Built for men?
04:5625 years ago, a woman had to go to court to win the right to serve in combat roles.
05:02In 2001, Germany changed its basic law.
05:05Since then, the number of female soldiers has only risen.
05:08But still, a vast majority of those women are in support roles, mostly medical.
05:14That area is about 24.6% women, while the combat branch is only at around 10%.
05:20And with few women in high-ranking positions.
05:23While there are more today, there's still not enough role models.
05:26Here, Nani and Hopper agree.
05:28If you don't know any woman who served in the Bundeswehr, it's somehow hard or harder to kind of picture
05:34yourself doing the same job.
05:35So I think if there were more powerful female role models who've gone down that career path, I think we
05:41might see different recruitment numbers.
05:44They are visible, but of course there are not really a lot of them.
05:50And maybe also, if you look at the campaigns, even today, for the recruitment, you see five people on the
05:58billboard, and just one of them being women.
06:01And I think this representation, even in the recruitment process, is very important.
06:05The Bundeswehr is also struggling to keep women who have joined.
06:09We see that there are women coming to the troops, but other than men, they are leaving earlier.
06:15And this is also because of family planning.
06:18We see this in many businesses and many branches.
06:21But for the troops, it's especially difficult to align family and the service.
06:28The Defense Ministry says it's expanded options for working parents.
06:32Part-time models, flexible hours, childcare spots on some Bundeswehr sites.
06:37But, by their own admission, service requirements come first.
06:41Flexibility only goes as far as operational readiness allows.
06:45Getting better?
06:47So, how can the Bundeswehr attract more women?
06:50The first is representation.
06:52The second is taking seriously harassment and discrimination complaints.
06:58And the third would be to make it easier to be a mom and serve.
07:03This is also true for dads.
07:05Of course, there are still issues, but I think the Bundeswehr is generally doing a good job of addressing those.
07:10What's important is that we really make clear that there's the same framework for men and women within the armed
07:15forces.
07:15You have the same opportunities.
07:16It's incredibly empowering to serve within the armed forces.
07:19It makes you way more confident, way more aware of your own capability and your own strength.
07:25One level to hike troop numbers up would be to go back to a mandatory conscription model.
07:31But that debate is primarily circling around men.
07:34Why?
07:35Because in order to include women, the constitution would need to be changed.
07:39That would require an unlikely two-thirds majority.
07:42So, the Bundeswehr has to count on voluntary recruits for now.
07:47And it has some work ahead if it's trying to see more welcoming to women.
07:51Especially if it wants to do so fast enough to still keep up with its targets and promises.
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