Record number of women now serve in the Czech Army, but uniforms still don't fit them

The Czech Armed Forces currently employ almost five thousand female contract soldiers — a record figure in the country's modern history. According to data from the General Staff, provided upon request, women make up about 16% of all professional military personnel, compared to the NATO average of 13.9% in 2024.

For comparison, when the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, women accounted for just 7.4% of the army. For many years the figure hovered around 13%, only surpassing 15% for the first time last year — and it continues to grow.

Serving everywhere, but not in command

As former Chief of the General Staff Karel Řehka has previously noted, women today serve not only in offices but also as combat pilots and members of frontline units. "There are no longer any positions in the Czech Army reserved exclusively for men," he said.

Nevertheless, women have yet to make significant inroads into leadership positions. According to a gender analysis conducted by the Ministry of Defence, there are currently no active female generals in the army, and out of 343 colonels at the start of 2025, only 21 were women. As of January 1 this year, not a single military department was headed by a woman, and among commanders of brigades, regiments, battalions, platoons and companies, more than 94% are men.

Recruitment targets exceeded

The growing number of women in uniform comes amid overall success in army recruitment. According to Defence Minister Jaroslav Zůna, this year's recruitment plan has been fulfilled at 133% — instead of the planned 2,250 recruits, the army will take on 2,997 newcomers. The surge in interest is linked to last year's pay rise for soldiers under the previous government of Petr Fiala: the starting salary for a contract soldier now stands at nearly 50,000 crowns.

Interest in active reserve service is also growing: among roughly 5,200 reservists this spring, about 600 were women.

Uniforms not made for a woman's figure

One of the main complaints raised by female soldiers concerns uniforms, which are still cut without accounting for the female figure. Reservists say blouses are too loose at the waist, while long sleeves get in the way during shooting drills. Body armour and pouches for ballistic plates are another sore point, fitting poorly on women with a more pronounced bust.

Another practical difficulty is hygiene in field conditions: training grounds often have no facilities beyond a single portable toilet, and soldiers describe managing menstruation during exercises as a serious problem.

A new uniform cut, better adapted to different body types, is meant to serve as a partial solution — the General Staff has been working on it for several years. According to the current Chief of the General Staff, Miroslav Hlaváč, the plan is to fully re-equip the army, including active reserve units, with the new uniform and camouflage pattern by the start of 2029.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz