Man overboard! Sailors told to stop using male-themed Navy terms like ‘unmanned’ and ‘manpower’ to avoid turning female recruits off sea career

• There is an acceptance in the service some terms are no longer appropriate
• But one officer called it ‘a pathetic, woke distraction from keeping Britain safe’ 
• The word ‘seaman’ was dropped by Canadian Navy due to its ‘double entendre’ 

By TOM PYMAN FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 10:20 AEST, 18 July 2020 | UPDATED: 10:43 AEST, 18 July 2020

The Royal Navy is to replace ‘seaman’ in rank titles and ban the use of ‘unmanned’ and ‘manpower’ in a bid to fight fears of sexism.

First Sea Lord Tony Radakin has called for the changes to be rolled out to avoid female recruits feeling excluded.

Sources said there was an acceptance within the force that some terms are no longer appropriate and considered problematic and that leaders wanted to get rid of gendered terms where possible.+3

First Sea Lord Tony Radakin has called for the changes to be rolled out to avoid female recruits feeling excluded+3

The Royal Navy is to replace ‘seamen’ in rank titles and ban the use of ‘unmanned’ and ‘manpower’ from vessels including HMS Queen Elizabeth

One senior officer told The Sun: ‘This is a pathetic, woke distraction from keeping Britain safe. The only reason to change the labels is if it’s a barrier to recruiting women, but recruitment has never been stronger.’

A source added: ‘The problem is that sea-person sounds a bit rubbish. There’s a lot of history attached to the seaman rank and we know there will be resistance.’

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The Navy has found it difficult to recruit women in recent years, and it wasn’t until 2012 that Sarah West, from Grimsby, became the first female captain of a major warship in the force’s 500-year history. 

Commander West was responsible for a 185-strong crew on HMS Portland, a Type 23 frigate bristling with submarine-hunting kit, Sea Wolf and Harpoon missiles, Stingray torpedoes and a Lynx attack helicopter.

She told the Mirror in 2014: ‘I’m really proud to be the first woman but I’m not reinventing the wheel. Lots of women in the services have challenging roles. It’s just that I happen to be newsworthy at the moment. 

‘There are drawbacks though. Years at sea probably explains why I’m single. But every person in the military makes sacrifices.’+3

The first woman in the Royal Navy to command a major warship, Commander Sarah West

Among Britain’s other armed forces, there are a number of male specific ranks including guardsman in the Army, with no female equivalents, but no similar plans to make changes have been unveiled, while the RAF is the only service with specifically female ranks. 

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