WASHINGTON — When it comes to hiring and promotion practices at the Pentagon, "little has changed over the last 10 years."
That word comes from the Government Accountability Office, which in a new report says actions are needed to eliminate barriers to diversity in the Department of Defense civilian workforce.
The DOD employs over 700,000 federal civilians, which is over one-third of the total federal civilian workforce. According to the DOD's 2022 diversity strategic plan, the department needs diverse perspectives, experiences, and skill sets to remain a global leader, deter war, and secure the nation.
But the GAO reports states that the DOD civilian workforce "doesn't reflect the diversity of the nation," and over the past decade, "little has changed in terms of demographic representation."
"They want a more diverse workforce, but there's nothing that indiciates that over the last 10 years that they're growing in attracting and retaining a much more diverse workforce," said Brenda Farrell, a Director in the GAO's Defense Capabilities and Management team, in an interview with 13 News Now.
The GAO found the DOD has lower percentages of women and members of historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups, such as African Americans, and with women making up 32.1% of the workforce and minorities making up 32.6%.
Despite the findings, Farrell is upbeat.
"We're very encouraged that DOD has said, 'We hear you, we've got a plan and we're going to move forward.' And we will be monitoring their actions to make sure they are taking the steps that they tell us that they will do."
The report recommends that the DOD update policies to ensure it collects barrier-related data, assigns clear oversight roles, and establishes measures to track progress in eliminating barriers.
The DOD concurred with these recommendations.