Ethnicity and Diversity

Practising Your Religion:

There are many myths about what you can and can’t do in the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, one of them being that you aren’t allowed to practise your religion during your time with us. This isn’t true, in fact the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines encourages people from all faiths to practice their religious observances. Occasionally there may be some restrictions for operational reasons, but whenever possible people are allowed to observe religious festivals or holidays and to say their prayers at a certain time. To help you practise your religion during everyday life we also provide Hala, Kosher and vegetarian menus and operational rations packs.

Equality of opportunity:

There may be a perception that the Royal Navy offers very few opportunities for women, but in fact women have served at sea on our surface ships since 1991. The Royal Navy is an equal opportunities employer and women can join and serve in all branches, except for the Royal Marine Commandos. This exclusion is for operational effectiveness. If you’d like to find out more about religion and equality of opportunity in the Naval Service, take a look at the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion section.