Military Leadership Diversity Commission

Decision Paper #8: Metrics

February 2011

MLDC decision papers present the Commission-approved, subcommittee-specific recommendations. 

These recommendations are the product not only of the logic and evidence presented in the decision 

papers but also the values and judgments of the Commissioners. Legally imposed time constraints 

naturally limited the Commission’s ability to undertake extensive research. Thus, the decision papers 

present the evidence that was available and that could be collected during the discovery phase of the 

Commission. The decision papers were reviewed by subject-matter experts external to the Commission.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

CONTENTS

Introduction .....................................................................................................................1

Charter Tasks and Strategy.................................................................................................................. 1

Guiding Assumptions and Key Definitions......................................................................................... 1

Commission-Approved Recommendations Related to Metrics .......................................................... 4

Organization of This Paper ................................................................................................................. 5

DoD and Service Diversity Plans and Policies.....................................................................6

DoD Diversity Policies........................................................................................................................ 6

Service-Specific Diversity Policies..................................................................................................... 10

Summary............................................................................................................................................ 12

Diversity Metrics Currently Used by the Services..............................................................13

Measuring Force Diversity................................................................................................................. 13

Tracking Demographic Diversity ...................................................................................................... 13

Tracking Other Dimensions of Diversity .......................................................................................... 16

Assessing Organizational Climate ..................................................................................................... 17

Tying Diversity to Readiness and Mission Capability ....................................................................... 19

Data Issues .....................................................................................................................21

Consistency Across Services .............................................................................................................. 21

Accuracy ............................................................................................................................................ 21

Availability......................................................................................................................................... 22

Summary............................................................................................................................................ 22

Public and Private Sector Practice ....................................................................................23

Barrier Analyses in Federal Agencies................................................................................................. 23

Using Diversity Metrics in the Private Sector.................................................................................... 25

The Proposed Strategic Metrics Framework .....................................................................28

Characteristics of Strategic Metrics................................................................................................... 28

Key Questions Guide Strategic Metrics Development...................................................................... 31

Recommendations and Conclusion ..................................................................................33

Recommendations ............................................................................................................................. 33

Conclusion......................................................................................................................................... 36

Appendix A: DEOMI Climate Scale Descriptions............................................................38

References ......................................................................................................................40
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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INTRODUCTION

Incorporating diversity management into the critical business practices of the military in order to 

optimize its mission readiness requires sustained strategic leadership by the Service Secretaries and 

Chiefs. Top leaders must transform the military through its vision and values, culture and climate, 

and structure and systems, as well as through its diversity strategy. To drive this level of strategic 

change, the Service Secretaries and Chiefs must continuously measure and assess the military’s 

effectiveness using a set of well-crafted metrics. Further, the Service Secretaries and Chiefs should be 

held accountable to the President, to Congress, and to the American public whom they have sworn 

to protect and serve. 

The recommendations presented in this decision paper focus on establishing a set of strategic 

metrics that would support a sustainable diversity strategy led by the Office of the Secretary of 

Defense (OSD) and would allow the Services to continue with their own diversity work consistent 

with OSD goals. 

Charter Tasks and Strategy

The Commission’s charter had one task focused on metrics: “Examine existing metrics and 

milestones for evaluating DoD diversity plans (including those of the individual Services) and for 

facilitating future evaluation and oversight.” Based on this charter task, the Metrics Subcommittee 

mapped out three overarching topics to investigate:

• Department of Defense (DoD) diversity plans (including the plans of the individual Services): 

The subcommittee sought to characterize current diversity plans and how progress 

toward their goals is tracked.

• Existing metrics and milestones: The subcommittee sought to determine the metrics and 

milestones used by DoD and the Services to evaluate their diversity programs.

• Future evaluation and oversight: The subcommittee sought to identify methods of using 

metrics to improve evaluation and oversight efforts. The subcommittee addressed this by 

looking at practices in the private and public sectors.

The subcommittee considered developing a metrics set for DoD and the Services to track that 

would include variables of interest, methods of measurement, and benchmarks that determine 

whether appropriate progress is being made. However, members of the subcommittee believed that, 

in order for OSD to lead in this area, the Secretary of Defense must feel ownership over the set of 

metrics and, thus, that OSD must develop the metrics itself. In order to facilitate development of this 

metrics set, the subcommittee developed a strategic framework for the metrics development and a 

proposed set of questions, variables, and measures for DoD to consider. Subcommittee members also 

focused on how to institutionalize the use of the metric set, not just the collection of metrics, which 

influenced its recommendations. 

Guiding Assumptions and Key Definitions

Based on the Military Leadership Diversity Commission (MLDC) charter, Commission discussions, 

and the results of its own investigation, the subcommittee developed four sets of assumptions to 

guide its work.
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Strategic Metrics

The subcommittee wanted to stress that DoD and the Services should track metrics that can be used 

to drive improvement toward diversity management goals. To represent this concept, the 

subcommittee adopted the term strategic metrics, which it defined as metrics that

• encompass some conceptual whole relative to the definer’s responsibilities

• are linked directly to key organizational priorities and goals

• are actionable

• are actively used to drive improvement (McGregor, 2005).

Metrics Versus Benchmarks

In the course of its investigation, the subcommittee noted that there is some confusion regarding the 

term metrics. Specifically, Service representatives balked at the idea of “common metrics,” but the 

Metrics Subcommittee found that these reservations concerned establishing common benchmarks, 

not establishing common measures. For the purposes of this paper and the Commission’s

recommendations, the concept of measurement is separated from benchmarks. The term metrics

refers to measures of key variables of interest and their measurement, and benchmarks refers to targets 

against which to judge progress.

Implications of a Broad Definition of Diversity

How an organization defines diversity has significant implications for what to measure. Thus, the

recommendations and the strategic metrics framework proposed in this paper intentionally align with 

the Commission’s proposed broad diversity definition, which encompasses all the different 

characteristics and attributes of individuals that are consistent with DoD core values, integral to 

overall readiness and mission accomplishment, and reflective of the nation.

Following from this broad definition, there are two assumptions that underlie the proposed 

framework that the Commission wants to make explicit. First, in order for the U.S. military force to 

remain the best in the world, it must continue to attract, pursue, and access the nation’s finest talent. 

To meet the demand for talent, the military must recruit from all groups. Second, the mix of skills 

required to meet military missions can change, and this implies the need to revisit the developed 

strategic metrics set on a periodic basis, perhaps after release of each Quadrennial Defense Review

(QDR), in order to ensure that the strategic metrics adequately match the desired end state.

The Relationship Between Metrics Recommendations and Other Commission

Recommendations

Although the Commission’s work was divided among multiple topical subcommittees, there was 

some overlap across subcommittee boundaries. In particular, several of the recommendations from 

the other subcommittees include an aspect of measurement and evaluation (Table 1). The 

recommendations outlined in this paper are intended to supplement those recommendations, not to 

supplant them.
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Table 1. Metrics and Evaluation Included in Other Recommendations

Subcommittee Metrics Mentioned

Branching and Assignments To assess demographic diversity patterns across the military life cycle, the Secretary of Defense shall 

hold annual accountability reviews with the individual Service Secretaries, Service Chiefs, and Chief, 

National Guard Bureau. The Coast Guard should be subject to a similar review.

Promotion The Services should report enlisted and officer promotion rates based on a common definition of 

demographic groups, a common methodology, and a common reporting structure to the Secretary of 

Defense. Specific deviations for demographic groups and career fields should be investigated for 

underlying causes, and corrective actions should be taken as appropriate. Each Service shall make the 

promotion and/or selection rate of underrepresented groups a key metric of the Services’ success in 

creating an inclusive environment.

DoD should continue to require that its Services use a common survey instrument to monitor and 

periodically report on servicemembers’ perceptions about promotion opportunities. The Coast Guard 

should participate in this effort. DoD and the Services should take corrective actions whenever negative 

perceptions emerge or persist.

Retention DoD shall establish a universal qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis system that 

tracks career progression over time, including branching and assignments, promotion, and retention.

Implementation and 

Accountability

DoD should institute mechanisms for accountability and internal and external monitoring at OSD and 

Service levels, including the Reserve Component, by

• embedding diversity leadership in performance assessment throughout careers

• establishing diversity leadership as a criterion for nomination and appointment to 

senior enlisted leadership positions and flag and general officers, including 3-star and 4-

star positions and Service Chief:

– Formalize the process and requirements for 3- and 4-star selection in the DoD 

instruction 1320.4, Military Officer Actions Requiring Approval of the Secretary 

of Defense or the President, or Confirmation by the Senate:

• service laydowns 

• slates of candidates

• broadened pool to include nontraditional sources

• describe vetting process to emphasize accountability.

– include diversity leadership statement in the Senate Armed Services 

Committee questionnaire.

Diversity Leadership DoD will determine the framework for how (e.g., through curricula, content, methods) to inculcate such 

education and training into leader development, including how to measure and evaluate its 

effectiveness.

Guard and Reserve The Commission recommends that Congress include the following text in Title 32:

a. The National Guard Bureau shall report annually to Congress and DoD on the status of diversity for all 

ranks of the Army and Air National Guard in each state, territory, and the District of Columbia. This 

report shall show how reflective each district, territory, and state National Guard is of its respective 

general population, relevant labor pool, and eligible population.

b. Based on the report to Congress, the National Guard Bureau shall produce a dashboard of diversity 

metrics to be used by the Army and Air National Guard. This dashboard shall show comparisons across 

states, territories, and the District of Columbia and highlight best practices.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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Commission-Approved Recommendations Related to Metrics1

Based on its understanding of metrics from the Services, examples from private and public sector 

practice and the business literature, testimony presented at the Commission meetings, and the 

judgment and experiences of subcommittee members, the subcommittee developed a set of 

recommendations intended to encourage the development of a top-level set of common strategic 

metrics to support a sustainable, OSD-led diversity strategy that would also allow the Services to 

continue with their own, unique diversity work. To this end, the Commission recommends the 

following:

1. Congress should revise Title 10, Section 113, to require that 

• a. The Office of the Secretary of Defense develop a standard set of strategic 

metrics and benchmarks that enables the Secretary of Defense to track progress 

toward its goal of having a dynamic and sustainable 20–30 year pipeline that 

yields (1) an officer and enlisted corps that reflects the eligible U.S. population 

across all Service communities and ranks and (2) a military force that is able to 

prevail in its wars; prevent and deter conflict; defeat adversaries and succeed in a 

wide range of contingencies; and preserve and enhance the all-volunteer force. 

• b. The Secretary of Defense meet at least annually with Service Secretaries, 

Service Chiefs, and senior enlisted advisors to drive progress toward diversity 

management goals.

• c. The Secretary of Defense send an annual report to Congress and the President 

on the progress made toward diversity goals in the Services, including the 

National Guard and Reserve.

• d. The Secretary of Defense report to Congress annually an assessment of the 

available pool of qualified minority and female candidates for the 3- and 4-star 

general and flag officer positions.

2. The Office of the Secretary of Defense must revise and reissue existing DoD diversity 

policies to

• a. Require DoD to define clear measures of its diversity goals.

• b. Require DoD to establish standards that allow for the accurate collection and 

analyses of data needed to measure progress towards diversity goals.

• c. Provide oversight and support for the Services’ respective diversity initiatives 

and metrics to ensure that, as a minimum, they align with the end state 

established by DoD.

3. DoD and the Services must track regional and cultural expertise and relevant Reserve 

Component civilian expertise and continue to track language expertise upon military 

 1

 The recommendations discussed in this decision paper are the Commission-approved, topic-specific 

recommendations that resulted from the Commission’s understanding and interpretation of the findings from this 

subcommittee. Following the approval of all of the subcommittee-specific recommendations, the Commission 

developed its final recommendations by combining recommendations across subcommittees to reduce overlap and 

repetition. Therefore, the recommendations presented in this paper do not map directly to the recommendations 

presented in the Commission’s forthcoming final report.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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accession and throughout servicemembers’ careers in order to better manage personnel 

with mission-critical skill sets.

4. The Secretary of Defense must ensure that all qualified candidates (including minorities 

and women) have been considered for the nomination of every 3- and 4-star position. If 

there were no qualified minority and/or female candidates, then a statement of 

explanation should be made in the package submitted to the Senate for the confirmation 

hearings.

Organization of This Paper

This paper reviews the findings from the Metrics Subcommittee investigation that influenced its 

recommendations and explains the rationale underlying the Commission-approved 

recommendations. It starts by reviewing the DoD and Service diversity management policies that are 

relevant for diversity management metrics. It then describes the diversity metrics and benchmarks 

currently being used by the Services, including a discussion of data problems encountered in the 

course of the Commission’s work. The next section presents key concepts from the business literature 

that helped guide the creation of the proposed strategic metrics framework. The final section 

describes the Commission-approved recommendations and the rationale for their development.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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DOD AND SERVICE DIVERSITY PLANS AND POLICIES

The charter task assigned to the Metrics Subcommittee directed the Commission to examine the 

metrics used by DoD to evaluate its diversity plans. Thus, the intended first step in addressing this 

task was to examine the plans themselves to understand DoD’s overall diversity vision, as well as to 

identify goals, interim milestones, and other concepts of progress or success to which metrics are 

being or might be applied. The charter task also asked the Commission to cast its net beyond DoD 

to include an examination of the Services’ diversity plans as well.

In fact, the subcommittee found that, as of spring 2010, DoD had no published diversity plan, 

and the Services were at varying stages of creating theirs. At that point, only the Coast Guard had a 

published, public diversity plan, although the Air Force released a plan in November 2010.

2

 DoD 

and all of the Services did, however, have diversity policies and/or policy statements that gave the 

subcommittee and the Commission as a whole some insight into what each organization might be or 

should be measuring in order to evaluate progress toward diversity-related goals. These policies are 

summarized below. Although the discussion begins with the DoD policies, it should be noted that, 

for the most part, the Services’ policies preceded the current DoD policy.

DoD Diversity Policies

DoD Directive 1020.02

On February 5, 2009, DoD released Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 1020.02, Diversity 

Management and Equal Opportunity (EO) in the Department of Defense. This directive is now DoD’s

primary policy statement about diversity and diversity management. Three elements of the policy are 

particularly relevant to thinking about diversity metrics because they inform what attributes in the 

force should be tracked and what goals should be used to define benchmarks and milestones. They 

are (1) the directive’s overall purpose; (2) the definitions of diversity and diversity management; and 

(3) the diversity management policies, especially the requirement for tracking and reporting 

progress.3

Purpose

Under the leadership of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD [P&R]), 

DoDD 1020.02 was written iteratively over the course of two years by members of the DDWG and 

the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity (ODMEO). The original intent of the 

directive was to institutionalize diversity management as a separate addition to longer-standing EO

 2

 Interviews with representatives from the Defense Diversity Working Group (DDWG) indicate that a DoD plan is 

currently under development (see Issue Paper #7), and representatives from the Army indicated that they are also 

developing a plan. 

3

 The directive and its implications for effective and accountable diversity management are discussed in detail in 

Issue Paper #50, which concludes that the directive represents a good first step but that it also contains some 

internal tensions that may undermine the establishment of diversity management as its own effort, separate from 

equal opportunity (EO) programs.
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programs (known as EO, MEO, or EEO programs4) and to establish policies for diversity programs 

to keep the Service diversity offices and DoD on the same course (Issue Paper #7).5

An important implication of this purpose is that diversity management programs are different 

from MEO/EEO programs and, therefore, that the metrics associated with them should also be 

different. However, the Commission believes that a good EO climate is a necessary, but not 

sufficient, condition for a good diversity climate and that strong, well-functioning EO programs are

important, but again not sufficient, for the establishment of successful diversity management 

programs. This position seems consistent with the provisions of DoDD 1020.02, which distinguishes 

diversity management policies from MEO/EEO policies but nevertheless keeps them under the same 

umbrella. Therefore, MEO policies that effect MEO metrics are discussed below.

Definitions

DoDD 1020.02 provides these definitions of diversity and diversity management:6

Diversity is the different characteristics and attributes of individuals.

(U.S. Department of Defense, 2009, section 3b)

Diversity management is the plans made and programs undertaken to 

identify in the aggregate the diversity within the Department of Defense 

to enhance DoD capabilities and achieve mission readiness. (U.S. 

Department of Defense, 2009, section 3c)

These definitions matter for the discussion of metrics because they inform, respectively, what 

attributes in the force should be tracked and what goals should be used to define benchmarks and 

milestones. Based on the directive’s definition of diversity, diversity metrics should track more than 

just the demographic mix of the workforce. The directive’s definition does not, however, exclude 

tracking demographics, though such tracking should already be part of MEO metrics.

The directive’s definition of diversity management implies that the objective of diversity-related

efforts is to enhance DoD capabilities and achieve mission readiness. Both the Services’ diversity 

statements and the empirical literature on diversity in the private sector workforce suggest that 

enhanced organizational capability is the right goal for diversity management (Issue Paper #3; Issue 

Paper #14; Issue Paper #20). The directive’s definition of diversity management, however, suggests 

an oddly narrow set of activities—solely identifying the diversity within DoD that can enhance DoD

capabilities and help achieve mission readiness—which, in turn, suggests a narrow set of metrics. The 

diversity management policies in the directive broaden the scope, however.

 4

 DoD has both military and civilian programs: Military equal opportunity programs are known by the MEO 

abbreviation, and civilian equal employment opportunity programs are known by the EEO abbreviation. EO is 

shorthand for both programs. 5

 Although the formal policy designed to coordinate the Services’ diversity efforts is relatively new, ODMEO was, 

to some extent, filling a coordination role since 2005 via the DDWG, which is the primary collaboration and 

execution body for diversity management in DoD. The DDWG meets quarterly, and its main objectives are to 

synchronize the efforts of the Services by establishing common diversity goals and policies and to provide a forum in 

which the Services can share best practices (Issue Paper #7). Note, however, that the role of the DDWG is about 

coordination, not oversight.

6

 Note that the directive was released about four months after the passage of legislation establishing the MLDC, 

which explains the existence of the charter task directing the Commission to develop a diversity definition for DoD.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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Diversity Management Policies

The diversity management program defined in DoDD 1020.02 has the following five elements, 

stated in terms of what the program should do:

1. Encourage DoD organizations to value diversity, thus establishing a 

DoD culture that values inclusion of all DoD personnel, military and 

civilian, as part of the DoD team and views diversity throughout the 

workforce as a potential force multiplier in DoD mission 

accomplishment.

2. Ensure that all military and civilian personnel understand they are 

valued; ensure they are able to achieve their full potential while 

contributing to accomplishment of the DoD mission.

3. Establish training, mentoring, and development approaches that 

ensure all DoD personnel have the skills to navigate career progression 

successfully.

4. Provide culturally aware training and appropriate assistance to enhance 

organizational capabilities.

Develop management systems that measure and report diversity 

management and 5. EO progress. (U.S. Department of Defense, 2009, 

sections 4c(1)–4c(5))

Program elements (1) and (2) are about creating a positive, inclusive diversity climate in the 

service of mission accomplishment. The importance of climate and its role in creating missionrelated diversity benefits is discussed in several MLDC issue papers.

7

 Program element (3) is about 

providing tools for personnel to manage their own career progression. At first glance, this part of the 

program may appear to be more about MEO/EEO than diversity management. However, 

comparing the language in this section with the language in the sections defining the MEO and 

EEO programs shows that MEO and EEO are about identifying and removing barriers to 

advancement at the organization level rather than providing tools that allow individual members to 

proactively manage their careers.8 Program element (4) appears to call for training that will help 

personnel generate capability benefits from diversity.9 The issue paper on effective diversity 

 7 The issue paper on business-case arguments for diversity describes the positive impact of a healthy diversity climate 

on retention (Issue Paper #14). The issue paper on effective diversity leadership says that developing an inclusive 

environment is an important role for leaders at all levels (Issue Paper #29). Specifically, Issue Paper #29 notes that 

inclusion preserves and leverages individual differences to enhance capability and that key elements of a positive 

diversity climate are leader-dependent. Finally, the issue paper on internal private-sector practices notes that it is 

important for supervisors to support upper leadership’s diversity statements and organization-level diversity policies 

with actions that embrace inclusion (Issue Paper #48).

8

 Issue papers on the Services’ mentoring programs (Issue Paper #33), career development resources (Issue Paper 

#38), and servicemembers’ knowledge and perceptions of the promotion system (Issue Paper #43) address the extent 

to which the Services are doing this now and whether the current activities and tools are equally effective for all 

members, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender.

9 There may be other ways to interpret this part of the diversity management program (i.e., section 4c[4]). Absent 

additional information regarding the actual intent of this provision, this is our operating interpretation.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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leadership describes key practices and tools that individual leaders can use to do this in their units 

and workgroups (Issue Paper #29).

Program element (5) gets to the heart of the metrics issue by requiring measurement of and 

reporting on the progress of the diversity management program toward its goals. There are two types 

of measurement and reporting that can be done to satisfy this program requirement: first, 

documenting what activities are being undertaken and noting that they are consistent with the 

program’s goals and, second, tracking the outcomes of those activities using metrics that are goal 

appropriate.

The four substantive parts of the diversity management program suggest that at least three 

outcomes should be monitored. The first is the diversity climate. Using multiple survey instruments, 

the Services and DoD are already doing this under various efforts; these are discussed in the next 

section. The second outcome is the extent to which career development programs adequately prepare 

personnel to manage their career progression. The issue paper on the career development resources 

provided by the Services indicates that these resources are extensive but that there has been no 

systematic effort to evaluate their effectiveness, either overall or for specific demographic groups 

(Issue Paper #38). Demographic differences in retention and promotion rates are also indirect, but 

bottom-line, indicators of both the diversity climate and the extent to which personnel of all 

demographic backgrounds are able to successfully manage their career progression. These outcomes 

should be tracked as part of the MEO and EEO programs, as discussed below and in the next 

section. The third outcome is the extent to which diversity is being managed to enhance capability. 

This is the most difficult outcome to measure, and the extent to which the Services have attempted 

to do this is discussed with other metrics in the next section.

These metrics are, however, only implicit in the directive: Beyond requiring the development of

systems to measure and report progress, the directive provides no specifics on what to measure or in 

what format or with what frequency to make reports. It is implied that clarity on reporting will be 

provided in future instructions. Furthermore, ODMEO reported to the Commission that it does not 

administer a centralized reporting system and that it does not require the formal reporting of 

diversity metrics from the Services.

DoD Directive 1350.2

Although DoDD 1020.02 does not provide specific guidance regarding what to measure as part of a 

diversity management program, there explicit, well-developed guidance on metrics and reporting for 

MEO/EEO programs is provided in DoDD 1350.2, Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity 

(EO) in the Department of Defense. Two provisions in this directive are important for this discussion 

of diversity metrics.

First, the directive stipulates that commanders are accountable for the EO climates in their 

commands and, thus, requires commanders to assess their organizational EO climates, “preferably as 

part of their assumption of command” and to schedule additional assessments periodically during 

their command tenures.

Second, DoDD 1350.2 requires each DoD Component to submit to the USD (P&R) an annual 

MEO assessment (MEOA) for each fiscal year (FY).10 According to the directive, each assessment is 

required to include

 10 The reporting period is defined as each year ending September 30, and the reports are required to be submitted no 

later than February 1 of the following year.
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• an executive summary providing an overall assessment of each Component’s affirmative 

action plans (AAPs) and EO programs

• an enclosure that includes an assessment of each affirmative action in the ten categories 

listed below (the assessment in each category should include quantitative data in the basic 

race and/or ethnic classifications for officers and enlisted personnel broken down by sex):

– recruiting and/or accessions

– composition

– promotions

– professional military education

– separations

– augmentation and/or retention

– assignments

– discrimination and/or sexual harassment complaints

– utilization of skills

– discipline.

Accompanying DoDD 1350.2 is DoD Instruction 1350.3, Affirmative Action Planning and 

Assessment Process, which provides additional detail on what should be reported in each category. 

Enforcement of and compliance with the reporting requirement of this directive have, however, been 

lacking: The last MEOA report, submitted in 2004, summarized data for FY 2002.

Service-Specific Diversity Policies

In general, the Services’ diversity policies are framed by one-page policy statements issued by top 

leadership. These policy statements identify the goals of diversity management programs and also 

include embedded diversity definitions. Thus, as with these same components of the DoD policy, 

these components of the Services’ policies matter because they inform what attributes in the force 

should be tracked and what goals should be used to define benchmarks and milestones.

The policy statements have been released over the past several years and were developed with 

considerable investment of resources and time.11 Commission interviews with Service representatives 

identified the following motivating factors behind the development of these policy statements:12

• Differentiating diversity management from EO. The Service representatives cited an 

organizational need to distinguish diversity, and therefore diversity management, from 

EO. For each Service, EO is a legal concept in place to ensure that no servicemember 

experiences discrimination because of his or her gender, religion, race, or ethnicity or by 

being a member of any other legally protected group. In contrast, diversity management 

is about the spirit or intent of equity and inclusion.

• Mission readiness. Each Service representative noted that diversity was important to being 

mission ready, either for recruiting or operational purposes. For example, the Navy’s 

policy statement indicates that it wants to increase its ability to “attract, recruit, and 

 11 Release dates for each Service are Army: April 1, 2009; Air Force: March 27, 2008; Coast Guard: 2006 or 2007; 

Marine Corps: February 2008; and Navy: August 27, 2007. See Issue Paper #20 for information on the processes 

that the Services used to develop their diversity definitions and policy statements.

12 See Issue Paper #20 for additional motivating factors and more information about each Service’s policy statement 

and diversity definition and the process by which they were developed.
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retain,” while the Marine Corps statement indicates that diversity is expected to 

introduce “fresh ideas and innovative capabilities.”

• Demographic representation. As described in greater detail below, the Navy strives to 

match its enlisted force with the future national population and to ensure that the officer 

corps reflects the enlisted force. The Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard see the 

U.S. population as their benchmark. The Coast Guard’s diversity statement sees such 

representation as important to its relevance: “To ensure that we continue this level of 

excellence and thus maintain our hard-earned relevance in the minds of the American 

people, it is imperative that our workforce be reflective of the society that we serve” (U.S. 

Coast Guard, n.d.).

Thus, the Services characterize a dual relationship between diversity and capability. First, 

recruiting and retaining members of all demographic groups is considered necessary to man the allvolunteer force and to maintain legitimacy. Second, diversity of thought and skill is expected to 

contribute to mission readiness via increased flexibility and creativity. As a result, the Services define 

diversity broadly to include not just demographic differences but also differences that can enhance 

mission capability.

In April 2010, Dr. Andre Sayles, Deputy, Army Diversity Office, clearly articulated to the 

Commission how these two arguments inform his Service’s approach to diversity management:

The Army’s diversity strategy and measurements will support the mission 

in many ways. Most importantly, we would like to represent the 

American people and hold their confidence. To attract our Nation’s best 

talent, we must understand our Nation’s diversity, including generational 

differences and the challenges related to eligibility for military service. To 

retain that talent, we must be inclusive and monitor the environment. To 

achieve high performance, we must know how to develop diverse talent 

and measure associated outcomes. To be able to fight and win our 

Nation’s wars, we must be culturally astute and understand the human 

dimension of conflict. This understanding starts with the diversity in our 

own ranks, and follows with leveraging that diversity to build stronger 

teams, solve complex problems, and take innovative approaches to 

missions down range. (Sayles, 2010)

Given this vision, one would expect the Services to measure the diversity of their forces across 

multiple dimensions, organizational climate, and final performance outcomes. However, to date, the 

Services’ policies regarding diversity metrics and reporting focus primarily on EO-related metrics—

tracking race, ethnicity, and gender throughout the career life cycle.

For example, the Navy’s diversity policy statement was supplemented with SECNAV Instruction 

(SECNAVINST) 5354.2, Department of the Navy Equal Opportunity, Equal Employment Opportunity, 

and Diversity Oversight. Issued on January 26, 2009, this instruction requires the Navy and Marine 

Corps to submit annual diversity reports covering, “at minimum,” the following topics:

• current demographics of military and civilian personnel in the Department of the Navy

(DoN)

• assessments of changes in demographic data that occurred during the reporting period, 

including barrier and root cause analyses
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• descriptions and evaluations of pertinent aspects of military and civilian accession, 

training, development, and retention programs

• application of lessons learned to planned initiatives and program improvements and 

adaptations.

The instruction further stipulates that other information and data “that contribute to the 

understanding of the DON EO, EEO and Diversity picture may also be reported, as necessary” 

(U.S. Department of the Navy, 2009).13 This latter provision may be seen to include other aspects of 

diversity or the extent to which diversity improves capability, which is a stated goal of diversity 

policy, but explicit mention of these things is notably absent.

Summary

The subcommittee’s review of DoD and Service diversity management plans and policies revealed a 

major gap, but not a vacuum. The gap is due to the fact that DoD has no strategic plan to guide the 

Services’ efforts, and only two of the Services—the Coast Guard and Air Force—have completed 

strategic plans to guide their individual efforts. This gap is only partially filled by a collection of 

policies at both the DoD and Service levels. For the most part, the Services were ahead of DoD in 

the policy development effort, issuing policy statements with embedded diversity definitions and 

diversity management goals at different points since 2006. Recognizing the individuality of the 

Services’ efforts, DoD issued an umbrella policy, DoDD 1020.02, in early 2009, which is generally 

consistent with the approaches that were already taken by the Services. None of these policies, 

however, provides specific guidance regarding diversity metrics separate from EO metrics. In 

particular, there is no DoD-level system for coordinating the collection and reporting of diversity

metrics, and the DoD-level requirements for reporting EO metrics are not being enforced. Based on 

this review, the subcommittee concluded that DoD has not exerted sufficient leadership for diversity 

policy.

 13 Similarly, the objectives, milestones, and metrics contained in the Coast Guard diversity plan focus primarily on 

racial, ethnic, and gender diversity.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

13

DIVERSITY METRICS CURRENTLY USED BY THE SERVICES

All five Services in the Armed Forces have adopted broad definitions of diversity and identified 

improved mission capability as a diversity management goal. DoD has followed suit and done the 

same. As described in the previous section, these decisions imply a need for three categories of 

diversity metrics: those that characterize the diversity in the forces, those that describe the diversity 

and/or EO climates, and those that tie diversity and diversity management to the achievement of 

predefined capability goals. This section describes, by category, the metrics currently being used by 

the Services and concludes with a discussion of some data issues observed by the Commission.

Measuring Force Diversity

The broad definitions of diversity follow from two key factors. First, the capability-related diversity 

management goals necessitate broad definitions because research shows that many types of 

difference, not just race, ethnicity, and gender, can affect organizational capability. Specifically, based 

on the Commission’s reviews of existing literature, there are four types of characteristics that can 

affect mission capability:

• Demographic diversity ensures that the Armed Forces consist of people of different races, 

ethnicities, religion, and gender.

• Cognitive diversity refers to different personality types, such as extroverted or introverted, 

and to different thinking styles, such as quick and decisive versus slow and methodical.

• Structural diversity refers to organizational background differences, including Service, 

occupation, component (i.e., Active or Reserve), and work function.

• Global diversity occurs through contact with those (e.g., members of foreign military 

services) who have national affiliations with countries other than the United States 

(Kraus et al., 2007; Lim et al., 2008).

Second, diversity of all these types is expected to increase in the future as the result of changes in 

the demographic mix of the U.S. labor force, warfighting requirements, and personnel constructs, 

and the Services must be prepared to manage this increased diversity to their benefit.

Currently, the Services track racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in their forces using multiple 

metrics and benchmarks, but they typically do not track other types of diversity.

14 Therefore, the 

discussion of this category of diversity metrics begins by addressing the Services’ measurement efforts 

in the area of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity and concludes with a discussion of ways to approach 

measuring other types of diversity.

Tracking Demographic Diversity

Although tracking demographic diversity might be more properly considered part of an EO metrics 

program, the metrics described below were presented to the Commission as diversity metrics. This is 

appropriate for two reasons. First, as noted previously, well-functioning EO programs form a solid 

foundation for successful diversity management programs. Second, the Services all include some 

 14 There are some aspects of diversity that the Services and the Commission are not interested in measuring, such as 

cognitive diversity and some aspects of demographic diversity, such as marital status.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

14

aspect of greater representation of racial and ethnic minorities and women as a diversity management 

goal.

Dynamic Aspects of Demographic Diversity

To capture the dynamic aspects of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity as each accession cohort 

progresses through the career life cycle, the Services reported tracking racial, ethnic, and gender 

diversity at key points in a military career, including

• recruitment contact

• recruitment application

• acceptance and enrollment (for Service academies)

• accessions

• retention

• promotion

• officer milestones

• command and other key assignments.

The key element to “tracking” diversity at each of these career points is the existence of a clear 

type of benchmark against which to judge success or progress. The first four metrics on the list are 

related to recruiting, and the Services can compare the demographic profiles of contacts, applications, 

enrollments, and accessions to external benchmarks that capture the profiles of the relevant pools. 

The other metrics on the list are related to career progression, and the Services can compare 

retention, promotion, and assignment rates of racial and ethnic minorities and women to those of 

whites and men as an indicator of EO and climate. In this sense, the advancement rates of whites 

and men are internal benchmarks. For both recruiting and career progression, it is also useful to 

compare results from year to year.

Other decision papers address how racial, ethnic, and gender diversity at each of these points is

being assessed by the Services: Decision Paper #1 shows the extent to which applications and 

accessions have been demographically representative of the eligible recruiting pool; Decision Papers 

#3 and #4 show how promotion and retention rates have varied by race, ethnicity, and gender; and 

Decision Paper #2 shows the extent to which occupational assignments and key assignment histories 

(e.g., command) have varied by race, ethnicity, and gender.

Static Aspects of Demographic Diversity

The Services also assess demographic diversity by comparing static force profiles to selected external

benchmarks. It should be noted, however, that the Services were quite clear that benchmarks are not 

quotas. Their key strategy for increasing demographic diversity was to increase the number of eligible 

candidates in the selection pools. As Captain Kenneth Barrett, U.S. Navy, put it in his April 2010 

briefing to the Commission,

The Navy has no quotas or goals with respect to minority recruiting. 

That being said, Navy does monitor the number of minorities in all 

officer programs and targets advertising/outreach efforts to 

underrepresented markets. For the past three years Navy has aggressively 

executed a Diversity Campaign strategy that seeks to “move the needles” 

with respect to underrepresented minorities. We have targeted top black, 

Hispanic, and Asian markets with the mission of increasing the number 
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

15

of minority applications to the Naval Academy, Reserve Officer Training 

Corps (ROTC), and Officer Candidate School (OCS). (Barrett, 2010)

There are three commonly used external benchmarks against which to measure the demographic 

diversity of the military as a whole: the national population, the future national population, and the 

eligible population. The Services use a variety of these benchmarks. The Navy set the most ambitious 

benchmarks for accessions, comparing incoming officer pools to the future population (30 years in 

the future).

15 The Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard use the national population, and the 

Army reported comparing the enlisted force profile against the population of youth ages 17–24 (a 

type of eligible population).

Which benchmark to use depends on the question being asked and the demographic diversity 

goals that have been set. Each of the external benchmarks has implications for a “standard” against 

which to hold the military and influences how one views the current demographic representation in 

the military. The implications of each are discussed below.

Use of the national population as a benchmark implies that the military should be 

demographically representative of the entire national population. Because the military is a closed 

system that develops senior leaders over a course of 20–30 years, if a Service believes that the 

demographic composition of its leadership should reflect the current national population, concern 

about the match between its incoming force and the future national population is warranted.

However, as described in MLDC issue papers, not all members of the U.S. population are 

eligible to serve in the U.S. military (see Issue Paper #2, Issue Paper #5, Issue Paper #10, and Issue 

Paper #11). Officers must be citizens, must possess a college degree, meet height and weight 

standards, must have no disqualifying medical conditions, and, on commission, must be of a certain 

age (e.g., between ages 18 and 28 for the Marine Corps). Enlisted personnel must meet their 

Service’s requirements concerning education, aptitude, age, citizenship, number of dependents, moral 

eligibility, substance abuse history, height and weight, physical fitness, and medical conditions. Thus, 

the eligible population may be considered a more practical demographic benchmark for DoD and the 

Services.

However, the “true” eligible population is difficult to compute, given the number of eligibility 

requirements. For instance, in an effort to look at the effect of enlisted eligibility standards on 

Hispanic accessions, Asch et al. (2009) used data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of 

Youth to compute compliance with the Armed Forces Qualification Test, weight, and dependent 

standards; the 2003 Youth Poll to examine compliance with standards related to drug use and 

criminal behavior; and the 2000 Census to examine the impact of high school graduation.

Compounding the difficulty of such estimation, these estimates contain inaccuracies because

applicants can obtain waivers for certain enlistment standards on a case-by-case basis.

Because of the complications of estimating a “true” eligible population, a proxy for the eligible 

population is often constructed. Such proxies are used in the DoD Population Representation 

Reports. These reports rely on Current Population Survey data and use citizens ages 18–44 as a 

civilian comparison for the enlisted force and citizen college graduates ages 21–49 as a civilian 

comparison for the commissioned officer corps.16

 15 In addition to these cross-sectional comparisons, Navy develops “moving the needle reports” that track progress in 

demographic diversity against the past year. 16 For the National Guard, the national population benchmarks are not appropriate, since State Guards only draw 

from within their own states. Instead, each State’s Guard would use its state population as the analogous population 

benchmark.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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The subcommittee compared DoD and Service-specific force profiles to each of these 

benchmarks to determine the extent to which benchmark selection might influence how one judges

the demographic diversity in the military (see Issue Paper #26). The subcommittee found that the 

extent to which different race or ethnicity groups are underrepresented or overrepresented in the 

military does vary depending on the benchmark. For example, 

• For company-grade officers, using the U.S. population as a benchmark would show that 

blacks and Hispanics are underrepresented (particularly Hispanics). Using the eligible 

officer population would show a slight overrepresentation for blacks and a much lower 

rate of underrepresentation for Hispanics.

• For junior enlisted personnel, using the U.S. population as a benchmark shows 

overrepresentation of blacks and underrepresentation of Hispanics. Using the eligible 

population shows lower overrepresentation of blacks but higher underrepresentation for 

Hispanics.

• Using a future U.S. population benchmark shows increased representation imbalance for 

certain groups. Because future population projections show Hispanics and Asians 

increasing and whites decreasing as a proportion of the total population, using the 2030 

U.S. population estimates as a benchmark shows greater overrepresentation of whites and 

greater underrepresentation of Hispanics for company-grade officers and junior enlisted 

personnel.

By any of these external comparisons, women are heavily underrepresented among both officers and 

enlisted personnel.

Tracking Other Dimensions of Diversity

DoD and the Services have the ability to track many of the other dimensions of diversity that have 

been shown to affect capability in civilian settings. For example, the Services’ personnel files include 

data on other demographic characteristics, such as age, religion, and marital status. And, as part of 

standard personnel management practices, the Services track members’ functional specialties and 

additional qualifications earned in the military. Representatives from DoD also told the Commission

that language expertise is tracked, though regional and cultural expertise are not, despite the fact that 

they are increasingly considered critical to mission success. Finally, rank, entry cohort, and 

component are fundamental identifiers for every servicemember.

However, in briefings to the Commission, the Marine Corps was the only Service to describe 

tracking anything other than gender, race, and ethnicity as part of its annual diversity report. 

Specifically, the Marine Corps tracks skills, including SAT scores, grade point averages, leadership 

scores, and military skill scores (U.S. Marine Corps, 2010), though the goal is not to have a diverse 

population on those measures but rather an appropriately elite ranking to help meet mission goals. 

This distinction highlights an important difference between tracking gender, racial, and ethnic 

diversity and tracking certain other kinds of diversity: the existence of a clear set of benchmarks.

For racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, one can establish clear benchmarks stated in terms of how 

much diversity to seek: As described above, all of the Services have some type of representation goal 

to which specific external or internal benchmarks can be applied. In contrast, the other dimensions of 

diversity are tied to capability goals that shift based on mission requirements (e.g., functional and 

skill diversity). In order for the Services to ensure that they obtain the benefits from diversity, and to 

avoid potential diversity costs, they have to manage diversity. Thus, the relevant metrics for these 

types of diversity are ones that help determine whether diversity is being well managed.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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Assessing Organizational Climate

Although increased diversity can improve the capabilities of the military if it is managed properly, 

diversity can lead to conflict if it is not managed properly. Indeed, prior industrial organizational 

research has found that a major organizational problem with managing diversity stems not so much 

from an inability to hire as from the difficulties experienced in making the best use of each 

employee’s potential and in retaining and promoting talent after initial recruitment (Thomas, 1990). 

Organizational research has also found that climate perceptions are associated with both individual 

job performance (Brown & Leigh, 1996; Pritchard & Karasick, 1973) and organizational 

performance (Lawler et al., 1974). Consequently, measuring aspects of organizational climate can 

indicate how well diversity is being managed and can be viewed as an intermediate outcome of 

performance.

Climate factors can be grouped into three categories: general organizational climate, EO climate, 

and diversity climate. Below, we briefly describe these facets of climate that are currently measured,

the content of some surveys currently used across the Services, and some of the analytic methods 

currently used to determine whether there are differences by groups.

Climate Factors

Organizational climate refers to employees’ shared perceptions or experiences of the policies, practices, 

and procedures of their workplace and the behaviors that are expected, rewarded, and supported. In 

the literature on industrial organizational psychology, climate questions are usually framed in terms 

of what respondents perceive to be the behaviors and actions that leaders or managers take with 

respect to some specific organizational goal. Here, we use the term organizational climate more 

colloquially, so it encompasses such concepts as morale, trust, leadership, and teamwork found in the 

workplace. Analyzing such data by demographic group allows leadership to determine whether 

certain demographic groups perceive and experience the organization and their individual job 

situations differently than others. 

Interest in measuring EO climate emerges directly from EO laws. A positive EO climate 

describes an environment in which people are not excluded based on such immutable traits as race, 

ethnicity, and gender and in which all receive equal treatment and respect, ensuring that no 

discrimination or hostile environment exists in the workplace. Prior research has found that, among 

active-duty personnel, a positive EO climate is associated with positive organizational commitment, 

job satisfaction, and perceived workgroup effectiveness (Estrada et al., 2007; McIntyre et al., 2002), 

whereas negative EO behaviors (e.g., racist behaviors and sexual discrimination) are associated with 

lower job satisfaction, lower organizational commitment, and lower workgroup effectiveness 

(McIntyre et al., 2002).

Emerging from efforts to measure the EO climate are efforts to measure the diversity climate. 

Prior literature has identified two aspects of diversity climate: an individual aspect, meaning 

individuals’ views and feelings toward people who are different from them, and an organizational 

dimension, which encompasses leadership’s policies and procedures targeted toward women and 

minorities (Mor Barak et al., 1998). Diversity climate often encompasses the concept of inclusion—

the degree to which an employee is accepted and treated as a full member of the group by others in a 

work system (Pelled et al., 1999).17

 17 Inclusion has been defined differently by different sets of researchers. Other definitions include
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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Existing Climate Surveys

The military uses several surveys to assess these aspects of climate. First, the Defense Manpower 

Data Center (DMDC) administers three climate-related surveys: the Armed Forces Workplace and 

Equal Opportunity (WEO) Surveys, the Armed Forces Workplace and Gender Relations (WGR) 

Surveys, and the Status of Forces Survey (SOFS).

The WEO and WGR surveys are conducted by DMDC as part of a quadrennial cycle of human 

relations surveys mandated by law. Specifically, Title 10, Section 481, requires the Secretary of 

Defense to conduct four cross-Service surveys to identify and assess racial, ethnic, and gender issues 

among members of the Active and Reserve Components of the Armed Forces: The WEOA and 

WGRA address these issues for the Active Component (AC), and the WEOR and WGRR address 

these issues for the Reserve Component (RC). A similar requirement is specified for the Coast 

Guard in Title 6, which covers the Department of Homeland Security.

The surveys target military personnel who had at least six months of service at the time the survey 

was first fielded and were below flag rank, and they are designed to solicit information on the 

following: 

• indicators of positive and negative trends for professional and personal relationships 

among members of all racial and ethnic groups and between men and women

• the effectiveness of DoD policies designed to improve relationships among all racial and 

ethnic groups and between men and women

• the effectiveness of current processes for complaints on and investigations into racial, 

ethnic, and gender discrimination.

On the completion of each survey, the law requires the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress a 

report containing its results.

The SOFS, in contrast, is not required by law and has a different target population and schedule. 

The SOFS is administered to AC servicemembers three times a year and to RC servicemembers 

twice a year. The SOFS is also administered to DoD civilian employees once a year. The Coast 

Guard does not participate in the SOFS.18

The SOFS also has a broader focus than the WEO and WGR surveys. It is designed to assess 

the attitudes and opinions of DoD members on a variety of personnel and policy issues, and its 

results can be parsed to determine whether attitudes differ along any relevant dimension of diversity. 

Topics of particular interest for assessing the organizational climate are job satisfaction, especially 

satisfaction with the “military way of life,” and organizational commitment, including retention 

intentions and career intentions.19

In addition to the DMDC surveys, the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute 

(DEOMI) administers two climate surveys for the Services: the DEOMI Organizational Climate 

 

• “[t]he removal of obstacles to the full participation and contribution of employees in organizations”

(Roberson, 2006)

• the extent to which diverse individuals “are allowed to participate and are enabled to contribute fully”

(Miller, 1998)

• an organization “in which the diversity of knowledge and perspectives that members of different groups 

bring to the organization has shaped its strategy, its work, its management and operating systems, and its 

core values and norms for success” (Holvino et al., 2004).

18 See Klerman, 2009, for more information on the SOFS. 19 See Decision Paper #3 for a summary of recent results on these topics.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

19

Survey (DEOCS), which measures organizational climate dimensions that can affect organizational 

effectiveness, and the DEOMI Diversity Management Climate Survey (DDMCS), which measures 

climate factors associated with diversity and inclusion. With the exception of the Air Force, which 

uses its own Unit Climate Assessment, all the Services use these DEOMI surveys.

Finally, the Services also administer separate climate surveys and conduct exit interviews. In the 

appendix, Table A.1 lists the surveys and exit interviews that were provided to the Commission by 

the Services and DEOMI. The table shows the purpose of the survey, the response format, and the 

topics measured by each survey. The table shows that some topics are of interest across the Services,

such as leadership, unit cohesion, attachment to the Service, and the EO environment. However, 

each of these surveys or interview protocols measures these topics in different ways. Note that the 

word topics is used purposefully because, except in the case of the DEOMI surveys, information was 

not provided regarding whether the survey items under these topics are merged into scales that are 

reliable and valid for analysis. Survey scales provide a quantitative measurement of an abstract 

theoretical concept (e.g., leadership, unit cohesion).

Analyzing Survey Results

DEOMI provided definitions of the constructs that it measures through the DEOCS (e.g., racist 

behaviors, job satisfaction, workplace effectiveness, trust in the organization, leadership cohesion) 

and the DDMCS (justice, benefits, inclusion), which can be found in Tables A.1–A.2. DEOMI also 

supplied information on how data from these surveys are analyzed. First, analysts calculate the 

averages of each climate factor for the unit and compare them with the overall average for the 

respective Service and with the overall average for all Services combined. These averages are 

calculated using DEOCS data from the most-recent six months, which creates a contemporary 

comparison. Comparisons between complementary groups of respondents across the 13 climate 

factors are also provided in the DEOCS report. These comparisons are intended to highlight 

potential climate problems that may exist among subgroups within an organization. Examples of 

such problems include women reporting lower trust in the organization than men, civilian members 

reporting lower job satisfaction than their military counterparts, and enlisted members reporting a 

higher likelihood of witnessing racial discrimination than officers. DMDC provides these analyses to 

commanders. The information generated at the unit level is considered confidential to that 

commander.

In thinking about analysis, it is important to note that prior research has found that the 

workgroup to which an employee belongs has great influence on his or her views of the 

organizational diversity climate. For instance, a woman who is a member of a workgroup that gives 

her more professional and promotional opportunities may view the organizational diversity climate 

more favorably than one who belongs to a workgroup that discriminates against women (Mor Barak 

et al., 1998). Thus, for the purposes of the military, examining these measures by unit and 

community or occupational specialty—not just by Service—may be important. 

Tying Diversity to Readiness and Mission Capability

The last category of metrics implied by the Services’ diversity definitions and stated diversity 

management goals are direct measures of the impact of diversity and diversity management on 

readiness and mission capability.

The Services have various methods for assessing such final outcomes as readiness and mission 

accomplishment. For example, the Services assess unit operational readiness using the Status of 

Resources and Training System (SORTS). Based on both quantitative indicators and the judgment 
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

20

of commanding officers, SORTS ratings measure whether units have the personnel, equipment, 

training, and supplies needed to go to war. These ratings are called C-ratings (C stands for category) 

and they range from 1 to 5, with a score of C-1 or C-2 indicating that a unit is “fully” or 

“substantially” read to carry out its wartime mission. Scores of C-3 to C-5 indicate a lower level of 

readiness for units that are undergoing maintenance or are otherwise not adequately manned or 

equipped (Congressional Budget Office, 1997).

In addition, the Secretary of Defense is required Title 10, Section 482, to submit to Congress 

quarterly reports on personnel and unit readiness. Specifically, the law stipulates that each report shall 

include evaluations of seven “Comprehensive Readiness Indicators for Active Components,” three of 

which are directly related to personnel and, therefore, potentially to diversity: 

• personnel strength

– personnel status, including the extent to which members of the Armed Forces are

serving in positions outside of their military occupational specialty, serving in 

grades other than the grades for which they are qualified, or both

– historical data and projected trends in personnel strength and status

• personnel turbulence

– recruit quality

– borrowed manpower

– personnel stability

• other personnel matters

– personnel morale

– recruiting status.

According to the law, for the AC, this information should be reported at the unit level as “Unit 

Readiness Indicators” for any unit that received a readiness a rating of C–3 or below for any month of 

the calendar-year quarter covered by the report.20

To the Commission’s knowledge, neither DoD nor any of the Services has attempted to directly 

link a unit’s diversity or diversity management to its readiness according SORTS ratings for 

personnel or to actual performance in any other area. The Air Force, however, has taken steps in this 

direction by sponsoring a series of studies on the relationship between force diversity and force 

capability.21

The Commission acknowledges that these final outcome measures are dependent on multiple 

inputs that go beyond diversity, so making these strong links between outcomes and diversity is likely 

to be difficult. In particular, mission capability and readiness are difficult to quantify, and attributing 

improvements in them directly to diversity management will be even harder still. Nevertheless, 

effective diversity metrics should link intended goals, strategies, and actual execution, so this area 

warrants further research.

 20 For these purposes, the law defines unit level as “the battalion, squadron, or an equivalent (or higher) level” (10 

U.S.C. 482).

21 See Kraus et al., 2007; Riche et al., 2007; and Riche & Kraus, 2009.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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DATA ISSUES

As indicated, the Services are doing a lot to track demographic diversity throughout their ranks. In 

the course of its efforts to fulfill its charter’s tasks, however, the Commission encountered several 

areas in which the data either fell short, were difficult to obtain, or were even entirely unavailable. 

These shortcomings fit in three categories: consistency, accuracy, and availability. 

Based on information provided by DoD and Service representatives, it appeared that the data 

shortcomings were, at least in part, attributable to lack of enforcement of existing reporting 

requirements. As mentioned earlier, DoD has not required its components to submit annual 

MEOAs recently, and the last MEOA report, submitted in 2004, summarized data for FY 2002.

The Commission wondered whether lack of coordination at the DoD level, including the lack of a 

DoD strategic diversity plan, was also a contributing factor.

Consistency Across Services

Because the Services’ diversity tracking efforts were not coordinated, each Service’s data and 

reporting were developed to meet internal Service needs, and their systems and metrics vary in terms 

of key dimensions. For the purposes of the Commission’s research effort, a particularly troublesome 

area of inconsistency was in how the Services analyze and present data by race (e.g., white, black, 

Asian) and ethnicity (i.e., Hispanic or Latino origin). For example, some Services reported race and 

ethnicity separately, such that shares by race total to 100 percent and shares by ethnicity total to 100 

percent. In contrast, other Services created mutually exclusive race and ethnicity groups, such that 

Hispanics and Latinos of all races constitute one share of the whole and non-Hispanics of different 

races constitute the remaining shares of the whole. These inconsistencies existed despite the fact that 

there is explicit guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on how federal 

agencies should collect and report data based on both race and ethnicity. As described in Issue Paper

#1, the OMB guidance favors the latter approach.

The Services also measured key life cycle outcomes, such as retention and promotion rates, 

differently and reported them for different subgroups (e.g., line officers only versus all officers). This 

made it very difficult for the Commission subcommittees to make comparisons across Services, but,

more importantly, it also made it difficult to formulate DoD-wide assessments of career progression 

patterns.

Accuracy

One way to get around the inconsistencies inherent in data supplied by each Service is to use data 

from DMDC, which collects and maintains an archive of manpower, personnel, training, and 

financial databases for DoD (Klerman, 2009). However, the administrative data kept by DMDC 

reportedly varied in terms of quality. According to Klerman (2009), some variables can be 

“unpopulated” (i.e., missing) totally for some years or for some subpopulations and are sometimes 

nonsensical (e.g., not valid values), inconsistent across years, or simply implausible. One example of 

data processing errors includes race and ethnicity. In the early 2000s, DoD shifted from one coding 

of race and ethnicity to a different coding to comply with federal information policy. Thus, over the 

period of the shift, race and ethnicity data are not comparable. Furthermore, the shift appears to have 

occurred at different times in different Services and even at different times within a given Service.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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In addition, military data—whether from DMDC or the Services—includes cases in which race 

and ethnicity is listed as unknown, which is not found in civilian data. This raises the question of 

how to conduct external comparisons. There are two options. The first is to drop the “unknown”

category of personnel when analyzing the force by race and ethnicity. This may lead to a higher 

proportion of the force being categorized in some race and ethnicity categories than may actually be 

the case. The second option is to keep the unknown category but note that comparisons to the 

civilian population for this group are not available. In either case, this “unknown” group produces 

measurement error into representation indexes that measure representation against external 

populations.

Availability

The issues associated with consistency and accuracy made getting and using data from the Services 

and DMDC difficult for an external body like the Commission. First, although the Services tried 

hard to comply with the Commission’s requests for data on basic career outcomes by race, ethnicity,

and gender, the fact that they could not turn to existing reports, such as an MEOA, made the 

Commission’s requests quite burdensome. Second, the inconsistency across Services, combined with 

the time constraints of the Commission, made it impossible for the Commission to conduct rigorous 

original analyses using the Services’ personnel data. Finally, in some cases, when detailed studies of 

career progression by race, ethnicity, or gender did exist, they were not approved for public release 

and were therefore not accessible to the Commission.

Summary

The subcommittee found that DoD and the Services have some useful metrics in two of the three 

categories implicitly required by their adopted diversity definitions and diversity management goals. 

Their most well-developed metrics are EO metrics aimed at characterizing the racial, ethnic, and 

gender diversity in their forces and describing their diversity and/or EO climates. Neither DoD nor 

any of the Services, however, has yet developed a broader set of diversity metrics or made efforts to 

determine whether their diversity management efforts are achieving the stated goal of improved 

readiness and capability. In addition, DoD has not required the Services to report their diversity 

metrics and has not provided leadership or coordination of the development of a more expanded set 

of diversity metrics.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR PRACTICE

The subcommittee looked for examples of diversity metrics and benchmarks in the public and private 

sectors. This approach follows from another task in the MLDC charter, which mandated that the 

Commission examine “[t]he incorporation of private sector practices that have been successful in 

cultivating diverse leadership.”22 In particular, although public and private sector organizations differ 

from the military Services in several key respects, they can still provide a useful basis for comparison 

because they have been actively involved in efforts to manage diversity using a wide variety of 

initiatives and have developed various metrics to assess the efficacy of these efforts. 

The results of this investigation were somewhat limited because the subcommittee had access 

only to publicly available information. However, in general, the subcommittee found that the metrics 

being used by other public sector organizations and in the private sector are similar to those being 

used by the Services: They focus primarily on tracking race, ethnicity, and gender against various 

internal and external benchmarks at various points in the career life cycle and also include various 

types of climate assessments.

In addition, research indicates that the military is not alone in lacking direct links between 

diversity and organizational capability. In a review of the public administration research on diversity, 

Pitts and Wise (2010) describe a limited research base on the link between diversity and outcomes in 

for-profit firms and even less about this relationship in the public sector. An earlier study focusing on 

private sector firms also found that “basic HR data about individuals and groups could not be readily 

linked to business-level performance data” (Kochan et al., 2003). Kochan and colleagues also found 

that conducting cross-sectional research on private sector firms was difficult because companies were 

unwilling to use common data collection elements and methods instead of those metrics they had 

developed for their own use.

The investigation did, however, yield some insights, and these are summarized below.

Barrier Analyses in Federal Agencies23

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal laws prohibiting 

employment discrimination. It covers both public and private sector employers, though the extent of 

coverage varies by type and size of employer. This subsection describes Management Directive 715 

(EEO MD-715), which was issued in 2003 and applies to most federal employers.24 EEO MD-715 

provides policy guidance and standards for establishing and maintaining “effective affirmative 

programs of equal employment opportunity,” and, in particular, it includes a requirement to 

undertake annual barrier analyses and to report their results. Although the metrics that compose a 

barrier analysis can fairly be considered EO metrics rather than diversity metrics, they are described 

 22 This task was formally assigned to the Implementation and Accountability Subcommittee.

23 The information and quotations in this subsection come from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity 

Commission (2003).

24 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2003, “applies to all executive agencies and military 

departments (except uniformed members) as defined in Sections 102 and 105 of Title 5 U.S.C. (including those 

with employees and applicants for employment who are paid from nonappropriated funds), the United States Postal 

Service, the Postal Rate Commission, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Smithsonian Institution, and those units 

of the judicial branch of the federal government having positions in the competitive service.”
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

24

here because the Commission will recommend in its forthcoming final report that the Services 

should conduct annual barrier analyses to review demographic diversity patterns across the military 

life cycle.

According to the instructions for complying with EEO MD-715, barrier analysis includes both 

barrier identification and elimination. Specifically, it is “the process by which agencies uncover, 

examine and remove barriers to equal participation at all levels of the workforce.” The instructions go 

on to define a barrier as “an agency policy, principle or practice that limits or tends to limit 

employment opportunities for members of a particular sex, race, or ethnic background, or based on 

an individual’s disability status.”

In addition, the instructions explicitly note that barriers can result from conscious or unconscious 

bias, including “prejudice, stereotyping, fear, comfort level, or customer preference” and can be built 

into or embedded in an agency’s “organizational and operational structures” and its “day-to-day 

procedures and practices.” The instructions then provide the following example: 

[A]n agency may recruit new attorneys from a limited number of law 

schools. If these law schools enroll only a few or no Hispanic students, 

the agency’s hiring pool will be limited to all or virtually all non-Hispanic

applicants. Although neutral on its face, this practice and policy is a 

barrier as it will have the effect of limiting the employment opportunities 

of well-qualified Hispanic attorneys. It also will unnecessarily limit the 

pool of talented individuals from which agency officials may draw.

The remainder of the instructions describes a four-step process for completing the required 

barrier analysis: 

• Analyze source material.

• Investigate to pinpoint actual barriers and their causes.

• Eliminate barriers.

• Plan assessment.

Although each step is necessary for the completion of the barrier analysis, which requires both 

barrier identification and elimination, Step 1 is the most relevant to the metrics focus here. In 

particular, EEO MD-715 requires each agency to take compulsory workforce snapshots and compare 

them with relevant benchmarks. Table 2 summarizes the required snapshots and typical benchmarks. 

The instructions also list other types of data and information that can be used to provide additional 

clues to the potential existence barriers.

Finally, the instructions for complying with the directive include the following guidance: 

EEO MD-715 does not require the compilation of workforce data 

simply to produce a report to EEOC. Instead, agency attention should 

be devoted to what the compiled data reveals about the agency and its 

workforce. The process itself, barrier identification and elimination, is 

much more important than the end product of a report and workforce 

tables.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

25

Table 2. Workforce Snapshots Required by EEO MD-715 and Typical Benchmarks

Workforce Snapshot Typical Benchmark

Total, Permanent, Temporary and NonAppropriated WorkforceNational Civilian Labor Force (CLF)

Major Occupations Relevant Civilian Labor Force (RCLF) for the Occupationa

Grade Level Distribution Workforce

Applicants and Hires for Major Occupations RCLF/Recruitment Plan & Efforts

Promotions Workforce/Feeder Grades

Career Development Workforce

Recognition and Awards Workforce

Separations Workforce/Rate Difference of Voluntary v. Involuntary

a

The instructions specify that RCLF data should be used with the appropriate level of geographic detail, depending on whether the 

total workforce being evaluated is agencywide or facility specific.

SOURCE: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2003.

Using Diversity Metrics in the Private Sector

To learn about metrics used in the private sector, the subcommittee took two approaches. First, it 

examined metrics that were cited as exemplary, in that they were included in one or more of the 

following lists: “The 40 Best Companies for Diversity” (Black Enterprise Magazine, 2009); “Top 50 

Companies for Diversity” (DiversityInc, 2010); and “100 Best Companies to Work For—Top 

Companies: Most Diverse” (Fortune Magazine, 2010). Since the exact criteria for effectiveness used 

in these lists were not always precisely specified, these metrics should be considered illustrative of 

ones used by companies considered successful with respect to managing diversity. Second, it invited 

testimony by diversity managers from major companies that are considered leaders in diversity 

management. This information was delivered by speakers at the June 2010 Commission public 

meeting.

Best Practices Identified in the Media25

Although the types of metrics used by private sector organizations appear to be similar to those used 

by the military, there also appear to be key differences in how these metrics are used in the private 

sector. 

First, many of these companies emphasize the role of executives and top management in 

promoting diversity initiatives by taking charge of the development of diversity strategies and 

assuming ownership of them. This helps ensure that lower-ranking people in the organization take 

these strategies seriously. For example, leaders of one global consumer-products company have 

incorporated diversity management into their firm’s business plan. They specify objectives, goals, and 

strategies, along with metrics for assessing them. These constitute what they refer to as the glide paths

for promoting diversity and are a fundamental part of how the company conducts business. 

Specifically, “the top 35 officers have developed, along with the Global Diversity Office and Human 

 25 See Issue Paper #48 and Issue Paper #49 for a more detailed discussion of diversity metrics and diversity 

management practices used in the private sector.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

26

Resources, forward-looking glide paths that will achieve full representation at all levels within the 

organization” (National Urban League, 2009, p. 25). These involve the following activities and 

metrics:

• developing five-year goals for attracting, developing, advancing, and retaining—at all 

organizational levels—workforce members who are demographically representative of the 

communities in which the company operates

• identifying and assessing annual milestones to evaluate progress toward goal attainment

• creating business plans that include assessments of the likelihood of attaining goals

• creating plans for developing employees so as to help achieve goals.

For leaders at this company, making progress along these fronts is a source of both professional 

pride and financial gain. Individual leaders and members of their business units can earn 10-percent 

increases in their stock options if they display exemplary performance, although precisely what this 

may be is unspecified.

Second, surveys that would be considered analogous to the military’s unit climate assessments are 

used explicitly in managers’ performance evaluations. For example, Allstate uses an annual Quality 

Leadership Measurement Survey to determine whether individual managers treat others with dignity 

and respect and whether people in a particular manager’s unit can advance through the ranks 

regardless of race or gender. Responses to such questions are considered during annual performance 

reviews, which determine pay decisions (Babcock, 2009). Similarly, Sodexo uses a 360-degree 

assessment, the Sodexo Diversity Index, to determine the extent to which executives embody the 

company’s positive values toward diversity. This instrument includes both quantitative measures (i.e., 

rating scales) and qualitative measures (i.e., open-ended questions) and taps both people’s efforts to 

promote diversity and their successes in that regard. Such information is used to determine a portion 

of these employees’ compensation (Sodexo, 2009). 

A third set of metrics address the effectiveness of diversity-related training. Research indicates 

that not many companies formally assess the effect of their training initiatives, leaving it unclear what 

particular training efforts are most effective (Dobbin et al., 2007). Sodexo is an exception. According 

to Sodexo (2009), the company evaluates its training in two ways. First, it assesses diversity-related 

attitudes and behavior both before and after training to directly assess its impact. Second, it uses the 

Sodexo Diversity Index mentioned above as a more indirect indicator of training’s impact.

Best Practices Identified in Expert Testimony26

What was most compelling to the Metrics Subcommittee in this area was testimony provided before 

the Commission at the June 2010 meeting. One of the key takeaway messages from the testimonies 

was that diversity initiatives must be driven from the top—the chief executive officer (CEO) level—

and that there must be an accountability structure that includes metrics that support these initiatives. 

Simply put, collecting data without an idea of how to use it will not result in improvement. To drive 

improvement, the data must be linked to organizational goals, be demanded by leadership, and form 

the basis of an accountability structure. One diversity manager noted that any initiative needs to be 

aligned with the company’s goals and values. In other words, if greater diversity is an initiative, what 

needs to be asked is how diversity aligns with the company’s current goals and corporate initiatives.

 26 Testimony was given by representatives from the following seven exemplar companies: Coca-Cola, General 

Electric, Georgia Power, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics. The transcript 

of this testimony is available at Military Leadership Diversity Commission, 2010.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

27

Another manager described how metrics can describe diversity and diversity management and how 

reporting these metrics can promote universal accountability for these initiatives.

Interestingly, the subcommittee discovered that one of the most compelling examples of top-level 

leadership using metrics to drive progress toward diversity goals was found in the Navy. In his April 

2010 briefing before the Commission, Captain Barrett described annual accountability reviews held 

by the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) with the latter’s enterprise and communities leaders. In 

these reviews, enterprise and community demographic diversity is evaluated overall and in terms of 

career path, promotion rates, retention rates, and key billets. The goal is to analyze data to determine 

root causes of trends, to identify barriers and methods of removing them, and to highlight progress. 

Three-year plans are mapped and include goals and performance measures. Successes are praised by 

the CNO and held up as best practices for others to build on.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

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THE PROPOSED STRATEGIC METRICS FRAMEWORK

Based on testimony from private sector diversity leadership, the subcommittee members determined 

that diversity initiatives and their metrics need to be valued, created, and demanded by the top 

leadership (i.e., OSD) to drive improvement toward key organizational goals. Consequently, one of 

the Commission’s recommendations is the creation of an OSD-driven strategic metrics system in 

order to improve diversity management. Here, the Metrics Subcommittee presents a framework that 

its members developed to further explicate the intentions behind this recommendation.

Metrics systems have three components: variables of interest, the method of measurement, and 

benchmarks used to determine if appropriate progress is made. The framework, described below, 

outlines variables of interest derived from a proposed end state and presents potential methods of 

measuring these variables as illustrative examples. The Commission expects that OSD will develop 

appropriate benchmarks based on its goals that take into account the different characteristics and 

missions of each of the Services. Although the Coast Guard falls organizationally under the 

Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard is one of the five Armed Forces. As such, it is 

expected that OSD would use this framework to monitor the Coast Guard force as well as the other 

Services, as the office does in some other matters.

Characteristics of Strategic Metrics

In the proposed framework, strategic metrics should advance beyond being a large inventory of 

potentially useful indices by conveying information about values and priorities. Specifically, the 

subcommittee felt that these metrics should reflect best practices from the business literature in that 

they should be

• Developed with an end state in mind and systematically linked to strategic goals. Metrics 

should link intended goals, strategies, and actual execution. Metrics not linked to a 

strategic end state do not create value for organizations.

• Clearly stated. Metrics should be easily understood and communicated.

• Value added. Metrics should deliver value to the organization by providing information on 

key aspects of performance.

• Actionable to drive improvements. Good metrics provide information that has implications 

for a clear plan of action.

• Tracked over time. Metrics must be tracked over time to provide information on the trend 

in the metric, not simply its status at one moment in time.

• Verifiable. Metrics should be based on an agreed-on set of data and a documented process 

for converting data into the measure. Given the same data and process, independent 

sources should arrive at the same metric value.

The Strategic Metrics Framework Uses Private Sector Annual Reporting as a Model

The Metrics Subcommittee entered this process considering how the Secretary of Defense would use 

a set of diversity metrics to have a discussion with the Service Secretaries, Service Chiefs, and senior 

enlisted members that would lead to change and improved practice. First, the subcommittee felt it 

helpful to look at this with a public accounting lens. Using this lens, under which DoD is thought of 

as a large company, the Secretary of Defense can be considered the CEO; the Service Secretaries, 
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

29

Service Chiefs, and senior enlisted advisors the chief operating officers (COOs); Congress and the 

President the board of directors; and the American population the shareholders or stakeholders. All 

large companies create annual reports of key strategic metrics that allow the board of directors and 

shareholders to understand the organizations’ performance, assets, and potential challenges.

Developing a strategic metrics set would allow the Secretary of Defense to hold the Service 

Secretaries and Service Chiefs accountable for achieving the desired end state, allow the President 

and Congress to hold the Secretary of Defense accountable for desired goals, and encourage 

confidence among and investment from the American public that could be manifest in increased 

propensity to serve.

Strategic Metrics and Reporting Are Linked to Desired End States

The management literature and private and public sector practice describe strategic metrics sets as 

informing and communicating about progress toward desired goals or a desired end state. If metrics 

do not measure organizational priorities, they will not drive improvement. The Commission 

proposes a two-dimensional end state that reflects the priorities of the Secretary of Defense (the 

CEO), Congress and the President (the board of directors), and the American public (shareholders

or stakeholders): (1) development of a dynamic and sustainable 20–30-year pipeline that yields an 

officer and enlisted corps that reflects the eligible U.S. population across all Service communities and 

ranks and (2) a military force that is able to prevail in today’s wars, prevent and deter conflict, defeat

adversaries and succeed in a wide range of contingencies, and preserve and enhance the all-volunteer 

force. These end states recognize that 

• Congress and the American people expect the military to be drawn from all demographic 

groups in the United States.

27 However, currently, all racial and ethnic groups are not 

proportionally qualified to serve in the military. Thus, an expectation that the 

demographic diversity of the military should reflect the eligible population is reasonable 

and attainable. 

• The military is a closed system that develops its officer and enlisted leaders over the 

course of 20–30 years. Unlike the private and public sectors and the civilian force within 

DoD, the Services cannot go outside of themselves to select senior military leadership.

• The Commission’s recommended definition of diversity moves beyond demographic 

representation to diversity of mission-critical attributes, including structural and 

functional diversity.28

• The link between diversity and mission capability is effective diversity management and 

leadership.29

The Framework Links the End State with Strategic Metrics and Accountability

The strategic metrics framework in Figure 1 shows that the Secretary of Defense plays the role of the 

CEO and is the central driver of the accountability system. The Secretary of Defense is responsible 

for establishing strategic metrics that link directly to the proposed end state (represented by a dashed 

line). Note that the Secretary of Defense and the Services each have a set of metrics. The 

 27 There is a general belief “that a force reflecting society is . . . likely to respect societal values, advance societal

goals, and receive societal support” (Kirby & Thie, 1997).

28 See Decision Paper #4 for the Commission’s recommended definition and a discussion of how it was developed.

29 See Decision Paper #6 for evidence regarding this link.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

30

subcommittee expects the Services’ metrics to include but not be limited to common metrics 

established by OSD. In other words, the Services should not feel limited by the common metrics and 

should feel free to establish additional metrics and benchmarks for their own purposes.

Figure 1. Strategic Metrics Framework

The framework also shows a line of accountability and reporting, as the Service Secretaries, 

Service Chiefs, and senior enlisted advisors are accountable to the Secretary of Defense (represented 

by arrows in the figure). The subcommittee expects this relationship to be “real” and that the 

American 

population

(Shareholders or 

stakeholders)

Secretary of Defense

(CEO)

The President and 

Congress

(Board of directors)

Metrics

Research & Analysis 

office

Service Secretaries,

Service Chiefs, and

senior enlisted 

advisors

(COOs)

End State

A dynamic and sustainable 20–30-year pipeline that yields

1. an officer and enlisted corps across all communities and ranks that reflects the 

eligible U.S. population

2. a military force that is able to prevail in its wars; prevent and deter conflict; 

defeat adversaries and succeed in a wide range of contingencies; and preserve 

and enhance the all-volunteer force.

Metrics
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

31

Secretary of Defense would hold accountability review meetings with these Service leaders in order 

drive improvement and promote the sharing of promising practices among the Services. 

Finally, the figure shows that, within the proposed framework, DoD’s existing Research & 

Analysis office is responsible for generating and analyzing the strategic metrics and producing the 

annual report,

30 which is presented to the Secretary of Defense, who would then report to Congress, 

the President, and, ultimately, the American people. The report should present key strategic metrics, 

analyses of the root causes of potential concerns, potential action items for improvement, and 

instances of promising practice.

Key Questions Guide Strategic Metrics Development

As described earlier, the literature shows that strategic metrics must be developed with an end state 

in mind, systematically linked to strategic goals, clearly stated, value added, actionable to drive 

improvements, and verifiable. In addition, it is critical that these strategic metrics be consistent with 

legal standards. Based on its review, the Commission firmly believes that the Secretary of Defense 

must “own” these strategic metrics and see them as key indicators of how DoD is accomplishing its 

diversity mission, which should directly link to the overall mission of DoD; therefore, the Secretary 

of Defense must ultimately be responsible for their development. Nevertheless, the Metrics 

Subcommittee provides general guidance on how to approach the development of the strategic 

metrics set and could provide illustrative examples of how they could be measured and analyzed for 

reporting.

Indeed, the end states point to a set of key questions that must be answered in annual reporting. 

In order to determine progress toward End State #1, one would need to answer the following 

questions:

• What is the demographic diversity of the officer and enlisted forces?

• Are there differences by community or rank, and what does that imply for the future 

leadership pool?

End State #2 demands tracking other types of diversity as well as evaluating the effectiveness of 

diversity management and leadership. This means answering the following questions:

• Does the structural diversity of the military match the requirements needed to meet the 

conflicts and potential contingencies outlined in the QDR?

• For the current QDR, this would require tracking (among other potential areas)

– global linguistic, regional, and cultural ability, with special attention to regional 

expertise in Afghanistan and Pakistan 

– scientific expertise in information technology, engineering, and biological 

technology.

• Does the organizational climate support optimal readiness? Do responses to climate 

surveys differ across key diversity dimensions, including demographics, component, 

ranks, and military occupation?

To drive improvement, a key set of questions for each end state must be answered as well:

 30 This feature of the framework is consistent with recommendations from the Implementation and Accountability 

Subcommittee regarding organizational structure and oversight and monitoring. See Decision Paper #7.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

32

• If there are problem areas, what is the root cause of those problems? What actions can be 

taken to drive improvement?

• If there are key areas of improvement, what drove those improvements? What effective 

practices can be shared with others?

Table 3 illustrates how the key questions of the end state can link to key variables, potential 

measures, analysis, and reporting.

Table 3. Key Questions, Variables, Measures, Analysis, and Reporting for Strategic Metrics

Questions Variables Measures Analysis Reporting

What is the demographic 

diversity of the officer and 

enlisted forces?

Male/female

White

Black

Hispanic

Asian

Pacific Islander

American Indian

Other

Multiracial

Percentage in each 

demographic category by 

enlisted and officer

Compare to established 

benchmarks, past-year 

percentages, five-year 

past percentages 

Examine root causes of 

“problem” areas

Report all

Are there differences in 

demographics by community 

or rank, and what does that 

imply for the future leadership 

pool? 

Percentage in each 

demographic category 

by rank and by 

community

Percentage in each 

demographic category 

throughout the military 

life cycle, to include 

recruitment (contact, 

application), accession, 

promotion, and retention

Compare to established 

benchmarks

Examine root causes of 

“problem” areas

Report life cycle figures in 

appendix

Main report to focus on 

areas of concern or 

improvement

Report key communities 

and ranks that influence 

top leadership pool (e.g.,

O-6, Air Force pilots, 

Combat Arms in the 

Marine Corps and Army)

Does the organizational 

climate support optimal 

readiness? Are there 

disparities in responses across 

key diversity dimensions?

Examples include 

diversity leadership, 

unit cohesion, 

leadership trust, and 

inclusion.

Validated, reliable survey 

scales

Disparity indices from 

scale across diversity 

dimensions, look for 

statistically significant 

differences 

Examine based on unit 

and community

Examine root causes of 

“problem” areas

Report overall climate 

measure and statistically 

significant differences 

between groups

Does the military force contain 

the diversity of expertise 

needed to meet the conflicts 

and potential contingencies 

outlined in the QDR?

Global linguistic 

expertise

Global regional 

expertise

Global cultural ability

(current focus on 

Afghanistan and 

Pakistan)

Expertise in engineering

Expertise in biological 

technology

Number with

occupational specialty 

code or education

Create ratios of current 

needs and availability 

and future needs and 

availability for identified 

areas of need based on 

the QDR

Examine root causes of 

“problem” areas

Report all ratios for QDR 

identified needs
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

33

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

Recommendations

Recommendation 1—

Congress should revise Title 10, Section 113, to require that:

• a. The Office of the Secretary of Defense develop a standard set of strategic 

metrics and benchmarks that enables the Secretary of Defense to track progress 

toward its goal of having a dynamic and sustainable 20–30 year pipeline that 

yields (1) an officer and enlisted corps that reflects the eligible U.S. population 

across all Service communities and ranks and (2) a military force that is able to 

prevail in its wars; prevent and deter conflict; defeat adversaries and succeed in a 

wide range of contingencies; and preserve and enhance the all-volunteer force. 

• b. The Secretary of Defense meet at least annually with Service Secretaries, 

Service Chiefs, and senior enlisted advisors to drive progress toward diversity 

management goals.

• c. The Secretary of Defense send an annual report to Congress and the President 

on the progress made toward diversity goals in the Services, including the 

National Guard and Reserve.

• d. The Secretary of Defense report to Congress annually an assessment of the 

available pool of qualified minority and female candidates for the 3- and 4-star 

general and flag officer positions.

The goal of the Commission’s recommendation in this area is to establish a sustainable, 

institutionalized, strategic metrics system that will drive improvement toward diversity management 

goals. As described earlier, the subcommittee determined that commitment and interest from top 

leadership is required to ensure institutional commitment for diversity management and its 

contribution to goals of the military. The Commission seeks to institutionalize such leadership by 

requiring OSD to be accountable for reporting on the state of diversity to Congress, the President, 

and the American public. In order to institutionalize a practice of accountability for diversity 

management and the associated strategic metrics described in the strategic metrics framework from 

the previous section, the Commission recommends placing this structure into law and amending 

Title 10, Section 113.

Title 10, Section 113, already specifies a number of reporting responsibilities for the Secretary of 

Defense, so this proposed amendment is congruent with the responsibilities currently assigned to the 

Secretary of Defense under this title. The subcommittee provides sample draft Title 10 amendment 

language below.

Producing a 400-page report reporting only data is not the intention of these recommendations. 

The report must be actionable and must drive improvement; thus, reporting should focus on those 

key strategic metrics linked to the end state and should include analysis and action items. Similarly, 

the Commission expects the meetings between the Secretary of Defense and the Service leaders to be 
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

34

focused on strategic issues that motivate progress and action, similar to the CNO accountability 

reviews conducted in the Navy. 

Finally, because the Commission is especially concerned with the demographic diversity of the 

uppermost leadership in the military, it is explicitly recommending that the Secretary of Defense 

report to Congress annually an assessment of the available pool of qualified minority and female 

candidates for the 3- and 4-star general and flag officer positions. This reporting is intended to keep 

the military leadership mindful of developing a strong pipeline of general officer candidates from all 

races and ethnicities and from both genders.

The Commission recognizes that implementation of this recommendation is dependent on 

congressional action. The Commission encourages the charter’s congressional authors to take on this 

recommendation and to champion it. However, OSD should not wait for congressional action to 

develop a strategic metrics set aligned to its desired end state and to hold accountability reviews with 

Service leadership. The draft Title 10 amendment language is as follows:

(1) The Secretary of Defense shall transmit to Congress each year a 

report that contains a comprehensive net assessment of diversity in the 

military.

(2) Each such report shall include: 

(A) demographic data for the Services, Reserves, and National Guards, 

by officer and enlisted ranks

(B) an examination of the demographic trends experienced during the 

five years immediately preceding the year in which the report is produced 

(C) an overall assessment of the implication of demographic trends in 

communities and ranks on the future top leadership pool of the military

(D) an assessment of available pool of qualified minority and female 

candidates for the 3- and 4-star general and flag officer positions

(E) an assessment of the extent to which the military force contains the 

diversity of expertise needed to meet the current conflicts and future 

contingencies outlined in the QDR

(F) an assessment of the effectiveness of diversity management and 

leadership in helping to achieve capability goals

(G) a summary of areas of concern and action items to address those 

concerns.

(3) Prior to sending the report to Congress, the Secretary of Defense 

should meet with Service secretaries, Service chiefs, and the senior 

enlisted advisors to discuss established strategic metrics and benchmarks 

for progress toward diversity management goals.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

35

Recommendation 2—

The Office of the Secretary of Defense must revise and reissue existing DoD diversity 

policies to

• a. Require DoD to define clear measures of its diversity goals.

• b. Require DoD to establish standards that allow for the accurate collection and 

analyses of data needed to measure progress towards diversity goals.

• c. Provide oversight and support for the Services’ respective diversity initiatives 

and metrics to ensure that, as a minimum, they align with the end state 

established by DoD.

The second recommendation is also focused on institutionalizing policies and practice. To this 

end, the Commission recommends that OSD revise and reissue DoD diversity management policies 

so that DoD is required to accurately collect and analyze data to measure progress toward its diversity 

management goals and facilitate the Services’ work on their respective diversity initiatives and metrics 

to ensure that they are in alignment with the end state established by OSD.

As indicated in Figure 1, the Commission is recommending that the Research and Analysis 

Office be responsible for collecting and analyzing the data needed to assess progress toward diversity 

goals. Note that the focus on tracking mission-critical skills outlined by the QDR requires that this 

office collect data not currently tracked or reported to DoD. 

The recommendation includes specific language regarding establishing standards for data that 

would allow their accurate collection to promote analyses. As mentioned earlier, the Commission

encountered several instances of inconsistent, inaccurate, or unavailable data during its investigations. 

Establishing standards for data and clear measures of diversity goals will alleviate these problems and 

can promote data use.

In addition, this recommendation asks OSD to play a more-active leadership role in guiding and 

monitoring the Services with their own Service-specific diversity work. The Commission believes in 

the power of leadership to drive improvement, and testimony from private sector companies and 

examples from the services confirmed that commitment and interest from the uppermost leadership 

can drive progress in diversity efforts. Based on testimony received from the Services, the 

Commission does not believe that their programs would be considered unaligned with the goals of 

these recommendations. In addition, these recommendations do not preclude the Services from 

pursuing their own specialized initiatives and establishing their own benchmarks to meet Servicespecific goals.

Recommendation 3—

DoD and the Services must track regional and cultural expertise and relevant Reserve 

Component civilian expertise and must continue to track language expertise on military 

accession and throughout servicemembers’ careers in order to better manage personnel 

with mission-critical skill sets.

The third recommendation asks DoD and the Services to track relevant dimensions of diversity 

beyond race, ethnicity, and gender. As described earlier, currently, DoD and the Services measure 

diversity in terms race, ethnicity, and gender, even though their definitions of diversity go beyond 

these attributes. The Commission believes that DoD and the Services should match their measures 

of diversity to its definitions and track a broader range of attributes that are important to the military. 
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

36

Specifically, the recommendation highlights language, cultural, and relevant RC civilian expertise, 

which are not currently part of standard personnel files.

Language and cultural capabilities and RC civilian expertise are increasingly mission-critical 

skills. For instance, the current QDR prioritizes the need for language and cultural skills related to 

Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Given that no one can predict where the next conflict might be and 

what future regional expertise would be needed, it is prudent to track all language and cultural 

expertise, not just those specified by the current QDR. In addition, certain Reserve Component 

civilian areas of expertise can be a critical aid to missions, particularly those focused on peacekeeping 

and nation-building. These can be tracked using codes for education and occupational specialties that 

are maintained and updated throughout servicemembers’ careers. For more on the issue of RC

civilian expertise, see Decision Paper #9. 

Recommendation 4—

The Secretary of Defense must ensure that all qualified candidates (including minorities 

and women) have been considered for the nomination of every 3- and 4-star position. If 

there were no qualified minority and/or female candidates, then a statement of 

explanation should be made in the package submitted to the Senate for the confirmation 

hearings.

The fourth recommendation is only indirectly related to measurement, benchmarks, and the 

proposed metrics framework. It stems from the interests of the subcommittee members and relates 

the requirement in the first recommendation that the Secretary of Defense report to Congress 

annually an assessment of the available pool of qualified minority and female candidates for the 3-

and 4-star general and flag officer positions. The fourth recommendation requires that all qualified 

candidates, including minorities and women, be considered for the nomination of every 3- and 4-star 

position. 

Together with Recommendation 1d, this recommendation is intended to help prevent adverse 

consequences from any unconscious bias that might enter the system of appointing general and flag 

officers. In particular, placing continued emphasis on instances when no female or minority 

candidates were available for consideration is expected to continually raise the question of why this is 

the case. 

For example, research by the Branching and Assignments and Promotion subcommittees 

indicates that an inability to get key assignments may be hampering career advancement for female 

and minority officers at lower levels. The following statement from Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman 

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggests that this may also be a factor at the highest levels: “We know 

how to make [general officers]. We’ve been doing it a long time, and it’s actually pretty simple. You 

put them in the right jobs, and if they do well, they get promoted.”

31 The Chairman also noted that 

once the Navy began diversifying assignment of officers, records of minority candidates and female 

candidates were equally competitive with those of white males.

Conclusion

This paper outlined the investigation and thinking of the Metrics Subcommittee. Overall, the 

subcommittee strongly believed that OSD should lead diversity efforts within DoD, and a set of

 31 This statement was made at the Air Force Diversity Senior Leaders Working Group on October 18, 2010. See 

Parrish, 2010.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

37

strategic metrics needs to be developed and championed by the topmost leadership in order to drive 

improvement. Thus, the subcommittee’s recommendations focused on creating an institutionalized, 

OSD-driven accountability and strategic metrics system in order to improve diversity management

throughout the military.
Military Leadership Diversity Commission Decision Paper #8: Metrics

38

APPENDIX A: DEOMI CLIMATE SCALE DESCRIPTIONS

Table A.1. DEOCS Climate Factor Scales and Descriptions

Scale Description

EO/EEO-related scales

Sexual harassment and 

discrimination

Perceptions of how extensively sexual harassment and discrimination (such as genderinsensitive language, sexist jokes, and sexually suggestive language) are thought to 

occur within the respondent’s unit

Differential command behavior Perceptions of differential treatment on the basis of race and ethnicity

Positive EO behaviors Perceptions of how well majority and minority members get along in the unit and are 

integrated in the unit’s functioning. This scale addresses how frequently positive actions 

occur.

Racist behaviors Perceptions of overt racist behaviors, such as name-calling and telling racist jokes

Age discrimination Perceptions of whether older people are discriminated against because of their age

Religious discrimination Perceptions of discrimination based on religion

Disability discrimination Perceptions of instances of discrimination because of disabilities or handicaps

Organizational climate–related scales

Organizational commitment Degree to which members “bond” with the organization

Trust in the organization Whether people perceive the organization as a place where people trust and care for 

each other

Workgroup effectiveness Perception of how productive and effective the unit is in accomplishing its mission

Workgroup cohesion How well groups work together, cooperate on projects, and care for and trust each other

Leadership cohesion Perception of how leaders above work together and trust each other

Job satisfaction Degree of satisfaction with current job

SOURCE: Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, 2009.

NOTE: DEOMI refers to the organizational climate scales as “organizational effectiveness” scales.
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Table A.2. DDMCS Items

Construct and Definition Survey Items

Inclusion: Reflects respondents’ perceptions of how well the 

organization recognizes and integrates the attributes of the 

workforce into the work environment

My immediate supervisor is able to recognize my strengths.

My immediate supervisor offers an environment in which I feel 

comfortable sharing my ideas.

I can depend on my immediate supervisor to consider my 

suggestions.

Benefits: Reflects the degree to which the organization recognizes 

the value of the workforce 

Diverse viewpoints add to mission success.

An environment of mutual respect and integrity enhances critical 

thinking.

A workforce with different backgrounds and approaches leads to 

the creation of better processes and routines.

Justice: An indicator of how people perceive the organization as 

following fair personnel practices and policies

I am well informed about career enhancement opportunities 

(education).

My organization fosters an environment of mutual respect and 

integrity.

In my organization, key assignments are determined by merit.

SOURCE: Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, n.d.
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