Written by Anastasiia Vozovych, Immacolata Ciotta, Vasiliki Charitaki, Manel Bernadó Arjona

The involvement of women in the army con- stitutes a thorny issue in several countries where women are found in the margin com- pared to male combatants and there are sever- al nuances to the topic which will endeavour to highlight. In the same context, this paper will attempt to delineate the current situa- tion as well as explore the current initiatives taken in order to ameliorate the issues. Fur- thermore, it is essential to underline any gaps which account for an obstacle in the develop- ment of this situations. Firstly, we will reflect on the current state of art whilst we will introduce a theoretical framework to contextualise how the literature approaches the bipartition “women combatants or women civilians”. In order to have a more complete image of the situation, it is essential to utilize and compare statistical data. These data not only reflect the current circumstances but also identify what has already been done while underlying any existing gaps. The data used here can be found in the 2019 NATO The Annual Summary of the National Reports where all NATO mem- ber states submitted their national data. Fur- thermore, such National Reports are of signif- icant importance due to their comprehensive analysis of the situation for both women and men in the armed forces. Lastly, we will discuss the gaps as well as the opportunities aiming to integrate women thoroughly in the army.