Continuing on, since I am at home now.
-Don't take things personally. You may find that it appears that everyone judges you and puts you initially in a lower catagory. It isn't necessarily b/c you are a woman though that could be the reason. Here is putting it lightly: everyone is judged in the infantry. This is partially due to an esprit de corps and partially due to a survival reaction. For example, if you are new to my unit, I myself would judge you on first glance or even mere mention of your name (male and female). Can you pull you weight? Are you gonna crack under stress? Will you have my back if I have yours? It is just the simple truth. Those that get their feathers ruffled b/c 'they are being judged' usually end up having qualities that demand to be judged and come up in want (aka the sh*tpumps)
-Understand that your gender may hold you back in career progression but not due to stereotypes. One day you will find a partner and you will have kids. Even though both you and your partner can take mata/pata leave, you quite probably, will be the one to have more time off. Therefore, you peers who you were equal to prior to having a kid now have a year of Unit Experience under their belt when you come back off leave and possibly will be of a higher rank. This is when your internal question of loyalty to unit vs loyalty to family would come up and something that every member has to face in the military, let alone the infantry.
-Do not come into the job with an attitude that you 'have something to prove' (advice for males and females). I have found that those who do that tend to have a spotlight on them. Although that spotlight may be good in some situations, usually it just is a nice accent light to highlight you when you mess up. Maybe you have something to prove that 'women can do it too' but make that an internal objective and not an external one. I had something to prove when I went through, that a kid who was 130 and 6ft could play in the infantry's sandbox, but I did not overtly go around with an attitude or chip on my shoulder.
-Volunteer for things (Male/Female advice). We all put our 'excessive volunteering history' on our application, but when it comes to tasks which are less than great, you will see that no one volunteers for it. I can tell you that it usually sucks but there are benefits to it. 1, it'll create character. 2, filling sandbags or doing GD for a banquet setup is always better than sitting around and doing nothing. Idleness brings out the spite in a lot of people and makes your time in the infantry drag out and take forever. And 3, your superiors -will- take notice so when an extra sh*tty task comes down, there eyes will pass over you (b/c you always volunteer for things) and go straight for the pumps that never do anything.
-If you are gonna talk the talk, then walk the walk (M/F advice). Every infantry unit will think they are the best of the 9 out there. Every one is 'the most elite of RegForce infantry' but very few people act like they are. Even in training, nothing used to anger me more than the guys who would proclaim that they were better in fitness than I (which they usually were) but it would bring great satisfaction and personal pride when I would outperform them during a fitness test. If you are elite, then make sure your weapon is clean. If you are a pro, then be in the top 10% of everything. Your safest bet for training and all of your career is quiet professionalism. Don't brag about your capabilities, but rather show them to others.
I have served with a number of females in the infantry during my short career. I think only one of them may still be in though. Here's what happened to a few of them:
-1 knew she was attractive and used that to her advantage. She became the course, and eventually whole training Coy's super-sl*t. Everyone wanted a piece of her...curvaceous backside but no one ended up supporting her in the end. They got what they wanted from her and left her to fend for herself. She was a burden on her Pl b/c she couldn't do a lot b/c of having everyone always do it for her. Even her current bf-of-the-week would be shunned by his peers for supporting her weakness. She eventually was injured and OT'd out.
-Another played the 'poor me' card often and, like the one above, was ostracized by her training Pl. She may not have slept around but rarely did anything on her own. She was injured and VR'd.
-Another had the chip on her shoulder. This caused her to be picked on and life was made a little harder when people would only help her when needbe (for fear of bringing her attitude's wrath upon them). I think she made it through training, but last casual poll, no one liked her on course and therefore I could not see a lasting career in the infantry.
-Finally, the one that I saw but never served with. She hung around the guys, joked with them and from what I saw, was treated just like one. No one had any problems with her and would even go as far as trading ration components during mealtime. Capable during the Coy attack and never complained (above the general grumbling) when they had to do it again. I always thought that she would have a lasting career, if not a healthy one while it lasted.
;D
