Armed Forces: Women
(asked on 5th October 2026) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of serving personnel in regular and reserve regiments of (1) the infantry, (2) the Royal Armoured Corps, (3) the Household Cavalry, and (4) special forces units, have been women since 2018.
The tables below provide the number and percentage of women in the Trade Trained Regular Army and trained Army Reserve within the Infantry, Household Cavalry (HCAV) and Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) for each year from 2018 to 2026. The Ministry of Defence does not routinely release information on the number or composition of UK Special Forces personnel because its disclosure could prejudice operational security.
| Arm/Service | |||||
| Infantry | HCAV | RAC | |||
Strength as at | Number of Females | % of Arm/Service | Number of Females | % of Arm/Service | Number of Females | % of Arm/Service |
2018 | 6 | 0.0% | [c] | 0.1% | 9 | 0.3% |
2019 | 7 | 0.0% | 7 | 0.9% | 17 | 0.5% |
2020 | 18 | 0.1% | 21 | 2.7% | 21 | 0.6% |
2021 | 37 | 0.2% | 38 | 4.8% | 38 | 1.0% |
2022 | 52 | 0.3% | 46 | 5.9% | 52 | 1.4% |
2023 | 64 | 0.4% | 50 | 6.7% | 63 | 1.7% |
2024 | 73 | 0.5% | 48 | 6.9% | 67 | 1.9% |
2025 | 78 | 0.5% | 48 | 7.4% | 81 | 2.4% |
2026 | 85 | 0.6% | 50 | 7.2% | 99 | 2.9% |
Source: Analysis(Army) | ||||||
| ||||||
Table 2: Army Trained Reserve FR20 Female Strength in Infantry, HCAV and RAC for 1st April 2018 to 1st April 2026 | ||||||
| Arm/Service | |||||
| Infantry | RAC (Yeomanry) | ||||
Strength as at | Number of Females | % of Arm/Service | Number of Females | % of Arm/Service | ||
2018 | 17 | 0.3% | 23 | 1.7% | ||
2019 | 25 | 0.4% | 37 | 2.7% | ||
2020 | 42 | 0.6% | 41 | 3.0% | ||
2021 | 64 | 1.0% | 37 | 2.8% | ||
2022 | 78 | 1.2% | 46 | 3.6% | ||
2023 | 101 | 1.6% | 53 | 4.2% | ||
2024 | 107 | 1.8% | 61 | 4.8% | ||
2025 | 109 | 1.8% | 67 | 5.2% | ||
2026 | 115 | 2.0% | 67 | 5.2% | ||
Source: Analysis(Army) | ||||||
Notes/Caveats:
- The figures in Table 1 are for the Trade Trained Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP.
- Future Reserves 2020 includes volunteer reserves who are mobilised, High Readiness Reserve and volunteer reserve personnel serving on Additional Duties Commitment or Full Time Reserve Service contracts. Sponsored Reserves who provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also included in the Army Reserve FR20. Non Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) and University Officer Cadets and Regular Reservists are excluded.
- The Household Cavalry (HCav) does not have a dedicated part-time Army Reserve unit.
- Musicians in the Regulars are included within the Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM) Arm/Service. However, musicians in the Reserves are typically assigned to their individual Arm/Service, as there is no RCAM in the Reserves. For example, personnel in The Salamanca Band and Bugles are classified under the Infantry Arm/Service. The figures above exclude these reserve musicians, as they do not fulfil a combat role in the Reserves. This is to maintain compatibility for the purpose of this question.
- Proportions are calculated by dividing the number of Females in the Arm/Service by the total personnel (Male and Females) in that Arm/Service.
- FR20 figures do not include musician personnel who are posted to a regimental band.
- Figures include Officers and Other Ranks
- "[c]" denotes fewer than 5.
- "-" denotes zero.