Fifty years ago the founders of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps could
not have envisaged that women would be serving near the front line in battle
fatigues in East Timor in 2000.
The WRAAC was formed in 1951 as an autonomous corps managed by women. It was
effectively disbanded 33 years later when significant changes in military
thinking, community values, and women's expectations resulted in the integration
of women in the Australian Regular Army.
This history of women in the Australian Army traces women's struggle for a
place in the most male-dominated profession. It encompasses a campaign for equal
opportunity in the workplace that culminated in women gaining the right to have
a career in the army regardless of their marital status and whether they have
children. With these gains came the alignment and integration of training,
including weapons training for women and the opening of combat-related units to
women.
Along the way, the debates have raged. Can there, or should there, be exact
gender equality? Should women have to meet male physical standards to be
considered equal? Should the military have been exempted from the Sex
Discrimination Act 1984? Do women want to find in the front line? How do
individual women negotiate the tensions provoked by such questions?
The journey was not straightforward; nor was it painless. Some women
resigned, bitterly disillusioned, and others regretted the loss of autonomy the
Women's Royal Australian Army Corp had enjoyed. All had to confront and contend
with changing community attitudes and radical changes in the role of women in
the Australian Defence Force.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Women's War Too
2. Ladies First, Soldiers Second
3. The Best Legacy
4. A Vitally Important Job?
5. Ninety-Seven Per Cent Equal
6. Mum's Army
7. Breaking Down the Barriers
8. Soldiering On
9. Into the Firing Line
Abbreviations
Appendix 1. Five tables
Appendix 2. Colonel-in-Chief, honorary colonels, and directors
Chronology
Notes
Bibliography
Index
