Breaking the glass ceiling: More Israeli women join frontline military units

According to figures from the IDF’s Manpower Directorate, more than 20,000 women eligible for combat service enlisted last year.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

The Israel Defense Forces recorded a historic milestone last year, enlisting over 5,000 women in combat roles, a tenfold increase from just 500 a decade ago, the military announced on Monday.

Female soldiers are now serving at the core of Israel’s defense operations, not only in support roles — including in the Artillery Corps, mixed-gender battalions, and air defense units — but also advancing to senior command positions.

The surge comes amid growing pressure on Israel’s reserve forces, where draft evasion and desertion continue to rise despite tens of thousands of new conscription orders each year.

Still, the IDF’s data, presented to the country’s Defense Ministry, shows that “the military’s glass ceiling has been broken,” with more than 5,000 female soldiers entering combat service from the 2024 recruitment class.

At the same time, the IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, recently announced the suspension of a pilot program to train women for elite combat roles, citing professional assessments on operational mobility and other operational considerations.

According to figures from the IDF’s Manpower Directorate, more than 20,000 women eligible for combat service enlisted last year.

These recruits were assessed as medically, physically, and mentally fit for frontline duty. Of these, 35% participated in preparatory combat assessment days, and 76% of those went on to formally enlist as combat soldiers.

In total, roughly 5,300 of the 7,000 women expressing interest in combat roles completed the process.

“As of today, one in four women found fit for combat service actually enlists in a combat role,” said Major-General David Bar Kalifa, head of the Manpower Directorate.

Female soldiers are now a major component of units stationed along Israel’s borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as along the separation barrier in Judea and Samaria.

In some battalions, women constitute over 60% of personnel, and some even serve aboard Israel’s main battle tanks, the Merkava.

In recent years, these units have carried out operational missions in the Gaza Strip.

The proportion of women in artillery and Home Front Command units is also rising, while attention is increasingly focused on female recruits in the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, currently in training.

The numbers reflect untapped potential in Israeli society, especially given a persistent shortfall of roughly 7,000 combat and combat-support personnel.

In mixed-gender battalions, artillery, air defense, and Home Front Command units, women are increasingly advancing to leadership positions, highlighting their growing operational significance.

Bar Kalifa also stressed the army’s efforts to retain personnel.

“We are working intensively to maximize human resources—not only before enlistment but also throughout service—to prevent attrition across the army.”