This at a time when Britain faces a greater threat to its security than at any period since the outbreak of World War II in 1939.īy supplying Ukraine with military hardware and finance to help it combat Russia’s invasion, we have made ourselves a target of Putin’s ire. Where is the upside in elbowing people out of their dream career on the sole basis of their gender or the colour of their skin? Just over 31 years ago, on July 14, 1991, Julie Ann Gibson was awarded her wings and became the first female pilot in the service’s then 73-year history To be clear, there is no positive in ‘positive discrimination’. I believe that ethnicity and gender shouldn’t come into it. What’s more, he set a target of half of this proportion coming from ethnic minorities.Īs I’m a woman of Ghanaian heritage, you could be forgiven for assuming I’d welcome this approach, but nothing could be further from the truth. Her departure comes in the wake of the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) committing the RAF to doubling the recruitment of women to 40 per cent of the intake by 2030. The female Group Captain involved, whose identity has not been disclosed, left her post in disgust at what reports claim is the imposition of a de facto recruitment freeze on white men in favour of women and candidates from an ethnic minority background. If defence sources are to be believed, an internal dogfight over hiring policy has led the head of the RAF’s recruiting team to quit in protest at demands to achieve ‘impossible’ diversity targets. But not if you’re a member of the top brass in the painfully woke world of the modern Armed Forces. Only last December the Commons Defence Committee reported that women represented 15 per cent of the RAF’s regular UK personnel and 23 per cent of its reserve personnel, making it a bigger employer of women than either the Army or the Navy.Īn admirable record, you might think. Two years later, in 1994, Flight Lieutenant Joanna Salter became the RAF’s first female combat jet pilot.Īnd, in 2017, the RAF became the first branch of the British military to open up every single one of its roles to both men and women. The following year, Flight Lieutenant Sally Cox was the first female pilot to be selected for fast jet training. That’s because 31 years ago, on July 14, 1991, she was awarded her wings and became the first female pilot in the service’s then 73-year history. Julie Ann Gibson may not be a household name but in RAF circles she’s something of a celebrity.