A combined selection board for male and female officers will be used by the Indian Army in 2024–2025 to advance them to the rank of colonel. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, this decision intends to foster gender equality inside the military. Accordingly, women officers, starting in 2009 will be subject to a joint screening process that is gender-neutral for promotions from lieutenant colonel to colonel.
Gender-Neutral Selection Board
Following a recent effort to elevate 108 women officers to the position of select-grade colonel, the army has decided to adopt a common selection board for male and female officers seeking advancement to the rank of colonel. In addition, for the first time, female officers were given leadership responsibilities in specialized branches.
The women officers will go through the special selection board and serve in a variety of weapons and services, including Engineers, Signals, Army Air Defence, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. According to a second officer who also asked to remain anonymous, “multiple policy waivers were granted for mandatory qualification, the requirement to earn reports in command of a company, and no reports earned for up to seven years by officers who had exited service and rejoined after a gap when the special selection board was conducted (for the first time in January) for considering the women officers for command assignments.
He also stated that there was no merit comparison with their male batchmates, and identical promotion ratios were ensured, however for most batches, it was greater than the matching batch of male officers. “With the common selection board in place from 2024-25, men and women officers will compete on merit for the same vacancies,” he continued. “Conducting a common selection board is a progressive move, as women officers have been demanding that they be treated on equal footing with their male counterparts,” said Captain Shalini Singh, a former female officer.
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Women’s command positions became available only after the army began issuing them permanent commissions (PC) in 2020. The first officer stated that with the grant of PC, women officers are preparing to take on tough leadership roles similar to their male colleagues. “The army has initiated a series of concurrent actions at multiple levels to ensure that the force swiftly transits towards inclusivity by empowering women officers for leadership roles,” he said.
Women are increasingly playing critical roles in all three services and are no longer seen as minor players. They are given the same opportunities as men, such as flying fighter jets, serving aboard warships, entering the people below officer rank (PBOR) cadre, being eligible for permanent commission, earning command postings, and training at the National Defence Academy.
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