Equality and diversity in the British armed forces: progress, challenges and prospects

The UK's changing political and legal landscape since 2000 reflecting transformations in wider society have elevated equality and diversity (E&D) issues to prominence in the public sector, including in the British armed forces. This research highlights key developments in the British military in relation to E&D, focusing both on areas of progress, and on the challenges still confronting the Forces. The findings reveal that the Forces have made significant strides in advancing E&D through the implementation of a range of policy initiatives but the persistence of discrimination, developments in the wider environment and the dilemmas raised by the strands of age and disability pose challenges. The value of this research is to increase our understanding of diversity management in a public sector institution that has been under-researched and views itself as “different,” and will be of interest to policymakers, E&D practitioners and academics in the field.