For the first time in the history of the Latvian Army, the rank of colonel has been awarded to a woman. In total, there are currently about 16% women in the armed forces. Ilze Žilde, the Chief of the Personnel Department of the Joint Staff of the National Armed Forces (NAF), who has been appointed to a high military position, has been working in the military field for more than 25 years and concludes that qualifications and knowledge are not the most important. However, she explains the small number of women in the service with stereotypes of the past that may still deter women from the military profession.
Latvian Radio: Tell us about yourself, exactly about the way to the army. When and how did you join the ranks of soldiers?
Interview with Colonel Ilze ŽildiCynthia Ambote
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Ilze Žilde: I must say honestly that joining the army was not very thoughtful and purposeful at first. I was just looking for a job, and my fellow student had started working at the National Guard headquarters, but drove away from Latvia and urgently looked for someone in his place. That’s how I got to the National Guard as a contract worker. At first it was paperwork. It took skills to work with a computer, but at that time I had only seen a piece of the computer, it was 1994. But so my classmate said: you play the piano and the computer is something like that, so you could apply for this job. Well, that’s how I started, and I learned computer skills through self-study at that time.
But then there was an offer to join the National Guard, and in the summer I decided to join the organization. Then, after several years, when I graduated from university and had to decide whether to stay in the army, I decided to stay with complete confidence.
Were there any thoughts on stereotypes before entering the service, namely that it is a male profession?
At that moment, perhaps not as much as in the course of further service. But the people who made up the National Guard were a positive environment, and there were no such issues.
In addition, there were a lot of women from the very beginning, and that didn’t seem scary.
The only thing I remember was that people thought I was old because I was twenty years old. However, the people with this great life experience were positive, they even brought the furniture themselves and formed this organization. Because its environment was so supportive, it was not a difficult decision.
You have just become the first woman in the history of the Latvian army in the rank of colonel. What does this rank mean in the army hierarchy, what duties and responsibilities does it require?
These degrees are related to positions. Since 2017, I have been in charge of the personnel department – they are 6,000 professional soldiers, land guards, civilians and also very active reservists. This is my position as colonel, which I have held for three years. My decisions and any advice that management needs to give are very responsible. And any mistake I make has very serious consequences.
On the other hand, the first part of the question – a couple of days have passed since such a very serious reflection, both on inner feelings and on who I am now. First of all, it is a great honor for me, both from the leadership and from the government that has given me this degree.
Yes, it is a great responsibility to be the first colonel in the history of Latvia.
Do women have many challenges to climb the career ladder in military service?
Perhaps these are, however, stereotypes that have come from past times about their environment. Yes, it is a masculine profession, but a woman does not have to break her essence to be there. And it didn’t require me to change anything significantly.
Professionally, I would like to separate from the gender aspect, because the most important things there are qualifications, knowledge, the ability to argue, prove and think.
And it doesn’t matter if it’s a woman or a man. I think that in time it will level off, because in Latvia this percentage of women in the Armed Forces is relatively high, they are 16%. And in our society, too, the gender aspects and the work that belongs to them are not so strictly separated.
In my opinion, any woman colleague who works in this service has the opportunity to step up.
The commander of the Armed Forces has pointed out that “the first rank of a colonel in the history of the Latvian army is an answer for those who doubt that they will not be able to fulfill their military service and contribute to the development of the Latvian defense system.” Do you think it is important to try to reach this level that already has a predecessor?
I would be very happy if I could be an example and my life story or where I am now could encourage a woman to join us. It is not possible to promise an easy path, but it is nowhere to be found.
What is your daily routine?
These most difficult periods are moments of study, especially when choosing an officer’s career. For me, the longest period of training has been a year away from home. Yes, then it is emotionally difficult and there is separation from the family. But it can be overcome, and then the satisfaction is even greater that I have managed to do it.
The military environment is also very dynamic, but it is positive because it does not allow you to indulge in comfortable well-being. This requires internal mobilization and the ability to keep up with the new. And if you have people under your control, you need to be able to ask them for work and be responsible for them. And by being in such an environment for a long time, a person becomes aware of what he wants from others and from himself.
Or, after the rank of colonel, does something change in the daily form you wear. Does the colonel have any extra patches, and how does that make you feel?
The uniform is the frame that mobilizes me, because when I put on the uniform, I have the full feeling that I am a soldier. Likewise, in the eyes of society, form symbolizes the army and me as its representative. However, from the point of view of the degree, it is determined by the patch, which contains recognizable diamonds in the military environment. I now have a colonial patch on the form, which shows the lessons learned and the experience.
In addition to official requirements and regulations, what qualities must a person be endowed with in order to become a colonel? What has helped you get so far?
The main feature is full responsibility for oneself, one’s actions, decisions and the ability to justify it.
And if this mental framework is like that, then a person can also reach this level. This rank of colonel is what determines the framework and responsibilities you are aware of on a daily basis. Responsibility is what sometimes even puts itself in place when it is difficult, when you want to complain, when you want to leave this format.
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