THE decision to make every position in the Australian Defence Forces available to women has done little to boost female representation in the armed forces, with just over 10,000 women enlisted for full- or part-time service.

The culture and treatment of women in the armed forces has been placed under the microscope with two separate inquiries set up last year to examine the treatment women in the military and the career paths available to them.

The Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, has been given extra time to complete her review of the treatment of women at the Australian Defence Force Academy in order to gather submissions from people deployed overseas. While many submissions to date - those made public - have been positive, the inquiry has also heard graphic testimony detailing sexual harassment and cases of bullying from serving and former defence female personnel.

The inquiries are the latest measures by the Defence Department and the Gillard government to publicly address a history of mismanagement of women in the military.

The government announced in September that women would be eligible to be considered for every role in the ADF, and the policy would be implemented in full within five years. But the announcement has not led to an influx of new female enrolments.

The 10,000 women enlisted in the ADF represent 18, 12 and 17 per cent of personnel in the Navy, Army and Airforce respectively, a growth on average of just 4 per cent in 12 years.

Historian, Associate Professor Melanie Oppenheimer, at the University of New England and the author of a book on women in war, said women had only been in the military here for 30 years and real change required time.

''The military reflect what goes on in normal society. There are cultural issues … endemic in our society anyway … What's happening in the military - they are just a little further behind the times,'' Dr Oppenheimer said.

''Australia is a very masculine culture … historically, the military have been very poor in dealing with that,'' she said. ''I think it takes leadership and courage at the top. But it takes time.''