Glass or Brass ceiling? Either way, Captain Sanja broke it.

By UNDP in Montenegro

 

The glass ceiling in business is the brass ceiling in the army. In the traditionally male-dominated military, there is an invisible barrier that keeps women from rising up in the ranks. But that didn’t stop Captain Sanja Pejović, a former professor of English language and literature who joined the Armed forces of Montenegro ten years ago.

Though she started her career as a civilian, her skills and potential were quickly recognised within the defence system, so she was given an opportunity to undergo professional military trainings. Despite the odds, she became the first female officer in the Armed Forces and worked her way up to earn the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in 2009. After ten years of service, she was promoted in the rank of captain and she is the highest ranking woman officer in the country now, but remains sure that “it’s just a matter of time until Montenegro will have a woman general”.

She grew up in a family where wearing a police uniform was a common thing, so joining the Army felt natural. But her family and friends were still concerned whether it was the right choice.

“Some people still tend to believe that women were not born to be soldiers, that this profession is too demanding for a woman. But I was lucky to be surrounded by people who are not prejudiced, who don’t have ingrained biases. As any other parent would, my parents asked me if I was sure I wanted to become an officer, if I was aware of the difficulties this job entails. But when they saw how adamant I was, I had their full support. I believe that every profession is challenging, there is no such a thing as an easy job if you want to succeed and be good at what you do.”

As a mother of a teenage daughter (13 years old), Sanja now fully understands her parents’ concerns. But she would have them equally for her son (8 years). If either her daughter or son wanted to join the army, she would wholeheartedly support them, but only if they were confident in their decision.

Gentle in spirit but physically tough – she can do 80 crunches in under 2 minutes - recalls what it was like for her in the beginning when she joined fellow soldiers for the morning workout.

“It was pouring rain and we were all out doing push-ups, crunches, jogging… Being the only woman officer at that time, the male soldiers maybe felt over-protective and kept saying I should go back to the office, not to suffer in that horrible weather. But I refused and stayed of course, and with time, they realised that equality means that we stand on equal footing, shoulder to shoulder, come rain or shine.”

Sanja’s confidence and determination helped her navigate to leadership position, but it also took an investment in personal development. She went through numerous professional trainings and had also obtained an MA degree in international relations, with focus on the defence sector reform. Currently, she serves as the deputy head of the Sub-centre for peacekeeping operations, an officer for English language in the Training Centre, and as Gender Equality Coordinator for the Armed Forces. She has become a regional gender trainer, training military personnel from all over the world, including African countries – Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria and Ghana.

She finds it striking that gender challenges across the globe are very similar, especially when it comes to the role of women in military operations. Gradually, armies are changing and recognizing the importance of women in all spheres, thus in the military as well, especially in war-affected communities, where women are more likely to trust and confide in female soldiers. The role of women in the military is evolving from the traditional positions of medical care and administration to being active in the armed forces on the ground.

Captain Pejović paved the path for other women and helped induce transformational changes in the Montenegrin defence sector.

“It started from the introduction of gender-sensitive language, which is now a norm. But it went beyond that – to introduction of concrete measures and mechanisms for the Army to become an equal opportunity employer. Over the past decade, the statistics have been rapidly changing in favour of women. From marginal numbers back in 2007, Montenegro made a notable leap: today there’s 12% women in the defence sector, 9% of which serve in the army, including 11 officers, 17 enlisted officers and 60 women soldiers.”

Sanja’s husband, also an officer, took part in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan. Sanja is also considering an opportunity to go for six months’ deployment. “It is not easy for a woman to leave her children and family behind and go away from home, but it is a part of the soldier’s life and I keep thinking positively and repeat to myself we’ll keep in touch via skype and I will go.”

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Sanja works closely with UNDP in Montenegro and through regional UNDP SEESAC programme on defence sector reform, with special focus on gender equality.

Footnotes: Photo by Miloš Vujović/UNDP in Montenegro

 

 

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