At the end of 2021, the UK government published a report looking into some of the institutional barriers women face within the military. Shockingly, over half of servicewomen surveyed had faced bullying, harassment or discrimination – but the majority had not reported it.

Why are women hesitant to report these incidents? What obstacles do women face in these institutions? What can we do to tackle biases and systems that are preventing women from speaking up?

In this special edition episode for International Women’s Day, Dr Anna Brinkman-Schwartz and Helene Olsen join us to answer these questions and more. We discuss some of the issues faced by women within the military, security, and academia, and explore what we – and institutions – can do to "break the bias".

Further resources:

• Journal article: 'Women Academics and Feminism in PME' Brown, Katherine, Syme-Taylor, Victoria. DOI:10.1108/02610151211235460
• Fight Like a Girl, Kater Germano. This is a book written by the woman in charge of the US Marine Corps Women's training programme when it was still segregated by gender.
• Managing Sex in the U.S. Military: Gender, Identity, and Behaviour eds. Beth Bailey, Alesha Doan, Shannon Portillo, and Kara Dixon Vuic. (This does not come out till May)
• Women's International Thought: A New History eds. Patricia Owens and Katharina Rietzler
• The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq by Helen Benedict
• Shade it Black: Death and After in Iraq by Jess Goodell
•Report "Protecting those who protect us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life": https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/6959/documents/72771/default/