Today’s Armed Services: Reflecting the Full Diversity of the Nation

The Department of Defense (DoD) is putting a renewed emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) policies, with the aim of maintaining a vibrant workforce that represents the wide-ranging backgrounds of the American people. The diverse makeup of the armed forces is one of its greatest assets, according to the Pentagon. When service members of different races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, and other identities unite for a common mission, the result is a stronger and more effective force. The DoD’s Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) is now focused on emerging talent to ensure that the department successfully attracts, recruits, develops and retains a highly skilled Total Force capable of meeting current and future mission requirements.

Meanwhile, the DoD and military have stepped up training to detect and respond appropriately to bias; enacted stronger protections against harassment and discrimination, prohibiting discrimination because of pregnancy; and promote an environment in which every member is treated with dignity and respect, to name a few initiatives. Some of the longer-term steps toward diversity and inclusion will include efforts to update recruiting content annually to reflect the nation’s racial and ethnic makeup, diversifying senior-level positions so they reflect the nation’s racial and ethnic makeup, and identify and remove barriers to diversity in aptitude tests while retaining a rigorous screening process.

Join AFCEA DC October 21, 2021, to hear leading defense leaders discuss best practices, programs, training, and other efforts to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) across the defense enterprise and military services.

Please Note: Onsite registration will NOT be available, in order to conduct a no-contact registration process. 

New for this year!

The luncheon series will be held in person at the Army Navy Country Club, as well as live streamed through Vimeo. 

Registrations for the virtual component of this event will not be honored onsite.