Australia's top soldier has encouraged militaries around the world to open up all areas of service to women as a way of changing their culture and helping end sexual violence.
Army Chief Lieutenant General David Morrison made the call at the closing session of a London summit focused on ending rape in war zones.
"Make all areas of military service open to women," he said in his written speech.
"It wipes away the barriers to achieving potential and sends a clarion call to all who serve that talent will prevail, not gender."
Lt Gen Morrison encouraged militaries to appoint an independent statutory authority to review the treatment of women and members from ethnic minorities.
"The first step to reaching a solution is knowing you have a problem," he said.
"Know that once committed, there is no going back, but that the opportunities presented will make you more capable in every respect."
The four-day global conference was organised by British Foreign Secretary William Hague and actor Angelina Jolie, who is a United Nations special envoy.
They hope countries will back measures to help end the "culture of impunity" for wartime sex crimes.
Lt Gen Morrison argued ending sexual violence couldn't happen without fundamental reforms to how all armies recruit, retain and employ women.
Australia has lifted the restriction on women serving in combat roles with internal transfers opening in January 2013.
Women recruits will be able to apply direct for combat units from 2016.
The army chief in 2013 delivered a blunt online video message warning troops there was no place in his organisation for degrading behaviour towards women following yet another sex scandal.
It became a YouTube hit with 1.5 million views.
Lt Gen Morrison on Friday said the fact some militaries were changing their culture in order to become more capable was cause for hope.
"Armies that revel in their separateness from civil society, that value the male over the female, that use their imposed values to exclude those who don't fit the particular traits of the dominant group, who celebrate the violence that is integral to my profession rather than seeking ways to contain it - they do nothing to distinguish the soldier from the brute."
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