European countries have had varying policies that confine women and military service or the extent of their participation in the national armed services of their respective countries, especially combatant roles in armed conflicts or hostile environments. While most of the countries have always allowed women to participate in military activities involving no direct aggression with the enemy, most began seeing the value of servicewomen in the armed services during the First World War when they began losing unprecedented numbers of servicemen. In the modern era, many of the European countries allow women to voluntarily pursue a career path or profession in the national armed services of their country as well as permit conscription equality, with minimal or no restrictions at all.

In 2015, Norway introduced female conscription, making it the first country in Europe as well as the first NATO member to have a legally compulsory national service for both men and women. In 2017, Sweden followed suit, and Denmark did the same in 2025.Danish women to face conscription by lotteryDenmark Begins Drafting Women as Russian Threat Looms

Armenia In 2013, the Armenak Khanperyants Military Aviation University and the Vazgen Sargsyan Military University were opened to women for the first time. During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the spouse of the Armenian Prime Minister founded the Erato Detachment, which is the first all-women military unit in the Armenian Armed Forces.

Denmark

Women were employed in the Danish armed forces as early as 1934 with the Ground Observer Corps, Danish Women's Army Corps and Naval Corps in 1946 and the Women's Air Force since 1953. In 1962 the Danish parliament passed laws allowing women to volunteer in the regular Danish armed forces as long as they did not serve in units experiencing direct combat. 1971 saw the enlistment of women as non-commissioned officers, with military academies allowing women in 1974.

In 1978, based on the reports of studies on the topic, women were allowed to enlist in an all areas of the Danish armed forces, with combat trials in the eighties exploring the capabilities of women in combat. In 1998 laws were passed allowing women to sample military life in the same way as conscripted men, however without being completely open to conscription. Women in the Danish military come under the command of the Chief of Defense.

the highest rank reached by a woman in the Danish armed forces is Colonel (Susanne Bach Bager, Telegrafregimentet), with 5.2% (832) women in the services: 153 officers, 176 NCOs, and 503 privates (not counting women serving as "concripts").Der er sket en fejl From the summer 2007 to July 2009 a total of 84 women have served in the Danish Battalion in Helmand province, Afghanistan. This includes frontline service in infantry units and active participation in combat. However recent recruitment of women has been low in Denmark due to rising job opportunities elsewhere. NATO reports also indicate that the Danish military does not promote women to positions of leadership.

As with many nations with women in their armed forces, Denmark has different basic physical requirements for men and women in their armed forces, however the requirements for the more physically demanding jobs do not differ for either sex.

In 2025, Denmark became the third European country to extend conscription to women.Danish women to face conscription by lotteryDenmark Begins Drafting Women as Russian Threat Looms

Finland

The Finnish Defense Forces does not conscript women. However, since 1995, women between 18 and 30 years of age have the possibility of voluntarily undertaking military service in the Defence Forces or in the Border Guard. Females serve under the same conditions as men, with the exception that during the first 45 days of service they have the option to leave the military without consequences. After that, they must complete the service which lasts 6, 9 or 12 months. After the service, the females face the same reserve obligations as the males who have done the obligatory military service. If the female in national service experiences a conscientious crisis which prevents her from fulfilling her military service or reserve obligations, she is ordered to the alternative civilian service, which lasts 12 months.Law on the voluntary military service for women (194/1995) Retrieved 2-20-2007

All services and units in the Finnish Defence Forces and the Finnish Border Guard accept females. In garrison environment, the females are lodged in separate rooms and are given separate toilet and bath facilities. In exercises and aboard ships, women are lodged with men. The women in national service are given an extra allowance of €0,40 per diem for sanitary articles and smallclothes.Finnish Defence Forces. Naiset armeijassa. Retrieved 2-20-2007 The females in military service are usually well motivated and some 60% of them receive either NCO or reserve officer training. Yearly, some 500 women complete the voluntary military service, while some 30,000 men complete the obligatory conscription.Finnish Defence Forces. Naiset voivat hakea kaikkiin joukko-osastoihin. Retrieved 2-20-2007

The women who have completed the voluntary military service are eligible for further military employment. If they have at least NCO training, they can apply for career NCO positions or for officer training. These career paths have been open since 1996, when the first women completed the military service. In 2005, 32 female career officers were in service. The number of female warrant officers was 16 and the number of female specialist officers 7. In comparison, there were a total of 2.584 officers and 894 specialist officers in service. The women made up about 16% of the total career NCO cadre. However, most of these career NCOs were grandfathered former female enlistees who had not undertaken military service.Finnish Defence Forces. Puolustusvoimien henkilöstötilinpäätös 2005, pp. 10–11 Retrieved 2-20-2007

The history of women in the Finnish military is, however, far longer than just since 1995. During the Finnish Civil War, the Reds had several Naiskaarti (Women's Guard) units made of voluntary 16- to 35-year-old women, who were given rudimentary military training. The reactions on women in military were ambivalent during the Civil War. The fighting women of the Reds were shunned in the White propaganda but in the Red side propaganda they were admired and also compared to the "amazons of old".Hakala, A. Naissoturin muotokuva. Turun yliopisto. Retrieved 3-9-2007. The White side founded their own female organization, Lotta Svärd in November 1918. While the Lottas were not front line fighting units per sé, as a paramilitary organization they handled several important second-line duties freeing men to the actual fighting service. A voluntary Lotta unit manned a searchlight battery of Finnish anti-aircraft artillery in defense of Helsinki in 1944.Valonheitinlotat - ainutlaatuinen osa historiaa . Ruotuväki 19/2004. Päivi Hautalahti. Retrieved 3-9-2007. After the Continuation War, Lotta Svärd was declared a "paramilitary organization" and absolved in 1944.Lotta Svärd -järjestön lakkauttaminen . Syvärannan lottamuseo. Retrieved 3-9-2007

In 1961, the Finnish Defence Forces started to enlist females for second-line duties. The duties available to women were radar operator, sea-control person, and C3 person. Most of the female enlisted served in coastal artillery and Finnish Air Force. The women enlisted all served in the rank of värvätty (enlisted), using a special female uniform.Sotilasammattiliitto SoAL ry. Naisten virkapuvut. Retrieved 10-2-2007. Sotilasammattiliitto SoAL ry. Värvätyistä sotilasammattihenkilöiksi. Retrieved 10-2-2007. In 1994, the female enlisted were given the same status as military persons as the male enlisted. At the same time, the women who had undergone the voluntary military service received the possibility to be recruited for all military careers. In the beginning of the year 2007, the term enlisted (värvätty) was changed to NCO (aliupseeri) to better recognize the change in the duties of this personnel group. The female enlistees who had not undertaken military service were grandfathered. They remain in the rank of enlistee unless they complete the conscript NCO course.Aliupseerit: Sotilasammattihenkilöistä aliupseereiksi. Finnish Defence Forces. Retrieved 10-2-2007. [Puolustusvoimat perustaa aliupseeriston vuoden 2007 alusta]. Finnish Defence Forces. Retrieved 10-2-2007.

The non-combat duties in Finnish Defence Forces peace-keeping operations opened to women in 1991. At first, the women without previous military training experienced rather large problems in the Finnish peace-keeping units, most remarkably in the Republic of Macedonia in the mid-1990s. Since the introduction of the voluntary military service, the women have mostly the same training as the men which has lessened the problems. Only a handful of women without military training, mostly nurses or social service personnel, are serving with the Finnish peace-keeping forces. All duties in Finnish foreign operations are open to women, provided they have the necessary military training.Naisista tasa-arvoisia rauhanturvaajia. MTV3 news service. Retrieved 2-10-2004. Naiset rauhanturvatehtäviin vapaaehtoisen asepalveluksen kautta. Finnish Defence Forces 2004. Retrieved 10-2-2007..

France

In the 1800s, women in the French military were responsible for preparing meals for soldiers, and were called Cantinières. They sold food to soldiers beyond that which was given to them as rations. Cantinières had commissions from the administrators of the regiments, and they were required to be married to a soldier of the regiment. They served near the front lines on active campaigns, and some served for as long as 30 years.

The role of women in the French military grew in 1914 with the recruitment of women as medical personnel (Service de Santé des Armées). In 1939, they were authorized to enlist with the armed service branches, and in 1972 their status evolved to share the same ranks as those of men. Valérie André, a neurosurgeon, became the first woman in France to attain the rank of three-star general as Médecin Général Inspecteur. A veteran of the French Resistance, she served overseas in Indochina. During that period, she learned how to pilot a helicopter so that she could reach wounded soldiers who were trapped in the jungle. André is the first woman to have flown a helicopter in combat. She received many decorations for her achievements, including the highest rank of the Legion of Honour. She retired from active service in 1981.

Today women can serve in every position in the French military, including submarinesFrance have its first women submariners on mission , Radio France International, december 2017. and combat infantry.A l'armée, une femme est un homme comme les autres , Radio France international, march 2015 Women make up around 15% of all service personnel in the combined branches of the French military. They are 11% of the Army forces, 16% of the Navy, 28% of the Air Force and 58% of the Medical Corps.

While the Foreign Legion does not accept women in its ranks, there was one official female member, Susan Travers, an Englishwoman who joined Free French Forces during World War II and became a member of the Foreign Legion after the war, serving in Vietnam during the First Indochina War. In October 2000 it was announced women would no longer be barred from service. However, this announcement was retracted one month later and blamed on a "miscommunication"; a spokesman confirmed the policy barring women from the Legion would remain unchanged.

Germany