There is a battle brewing within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). But unlike most internal squabbles, this looming battle is not about money or front-line strategy. It is about the very culture at the core of the Canadian military.

Specifically, the country’s top brass appear divided on how to address a scathing April 2015 report that highlights a pervasive sexualized culture within the CAF. The author, retired Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps, recommends the need for a complete culture shift in the Canadian military. She writes, “it is essential that senior leaders, and particularly those with general oversight responsibilities, become directly engaged in cultural reform.”

Chief of Defence Staff General Tom Lawson has barely acknowledged that sexual harassment and a culture that harbours it pose a critical threat to the modernization and operational success of the Canadian military. In speaking with Peter Mansbridge, Gen. Lawson appeared to dismiss the problem by stating that sexual misconduct remains endemic because male soldiers are “biologically wired in a certain way … [to] believe it is a reasonable thing to press themselves and their desires on others.” Lawson seems to blame genetic coding for sexual misconduct rather than actively confronting it.

In contrast, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Marquis Hainse has demonstrated leadership by being proactive toward the necessary culture shift. In a remarkable all-staff memo, Hainse commanded his soldiers to accept “collective responsibility” and “be prepared to adopt a climate of change within our institution.” Sexual misconduct, Hainse states, “erodes …the very foundation on which the [army] is built.” This memo was issued a mere two weeks after Deschamps’ report and months ahead of the CAF’s formal response which, unfortunately, has yet to be released.

The lesson here is not one of leadership style. The stark difference by which the generals have handled the problem speaks volumes about their disparate visions for Canada’s military. While Lawson defends the status quo, Hainse recognizes the need for change. The number and appropriate treatment of women in uniform is fundamental not only for the future of the CAF but also for Canada as government institutions set the standard, tone and direction for all aspects of our society.

CAF leaders must do more to recruit, retain and promote women to senior ranks to secure a culture shift that will mitigate sexual misconduct and ensure units operate effectively, unencumbered by behaviours that have no place in a modern military. They must measure and report to government on their progress. To guarantee permanent change, this progress must be transparent and driven from within the military rather than imposed by a separate external agency.

Figures from the Department of National Defence (DND) in 2014 show that women represent just 14 per cent of the regular forces — far shy of the 25-per-cent benchmark set by the Employment Equity Act in 2010.

Equally important is the need to set benchmarks for the percentage of women in senior leadership positions, for numbers alone cannot enable the necessary culture change.

It is essential to stress that adequate representation of women throughout the ranks is more than an exercise in political correctness; it is central to modernization and operational success.

Additionally, representation of women in Canada’s military is important from a public trust perspective. The CAF is a vital symbol of our collective Canadian values. As Rear-Admiral Andrew Smith, then chief of military personnel, noted in 2011, it is “mission critical” that the military be as diverse as the general population to “remain credible in a democratic society.” To do otherwise would risk alienating the military from the public, thus severing the link between soldiers and civilians.

Therefore, despite the controversies surrounding F-35s and the slow pace of military procurement, the real challenge for modernization in the CAF is a cultural one. Military hardware can be bought and sold but inequality and sexism seem to be the most intractable cost.

Even more troubling is the current government’s intent to slash the military’s diversity targets. Instead of working to meet them, DND would reduce benchmark levels for women in uniform to 17.6 per cent. To put it in military terms, this is a full-scale retreat.

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What Canada needs is more women in positions of military leadership, not fewer.