Report: Air Force women, minorities face harrassment
WASHINGTON — About a third of the female service members in the Air Force and Space Force say they’ve experienced sexual harassment and many can describe accounts of sexism and a stigma associated with pregnancy and maternity leave, a study released Thursday has found.
The review, done by the Air Force inspector general, also concluded that minorities and women are underrepresented in leadership and officer positions, particularly at the senior levels, and get promoted less frequently. It echoed many of the findings of an initial review, released last December, which found that Black service members in the Air Force are far more likely to be investigated, arrested, face disciplinary actions and be discharged for misconduct.
The two reviews into racial, ethnic and gender disparities across the Air Force and Space Force broadly confirm that biases exist, but the data does not fully explain why. The studies also reflect broader campaigns within the Defense Department and the Biden administration to root out extremism and racism.
President Joe Biden has declared domestic extremism an urgent national security threat and the Defense Department is working to identify extremist behavior and eliminate it from the force. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, earlier this year, ordered military leaders to spend a day talking to their troops about extremism in the ranks, after a number of former and current military members took part in the assault on the US Capitol in January.
In addition, the Defense Department late last year endorsed a slate of initiatives to more aggressively recruit, retain and promote a more racially and ethnically diverse force.
“There are a lot of disparities within the Air Force,” said Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall in a call with reporters. “This includes things like promotions, how people are treated in their careers, how they’re treated in assignments, other areas under the judicial system, if you will, and also about perceptions that people have.”
In the latest study, about half of all female respondents said maintaining work/life balance and taking care of family commitments adversely affect them, while only 18% of men responding to the survey shared that view.
It also found that about 25% of female Air Force and Space Force civilians said they had experienced sexual harassment during their careers. And it said some women across the force didn’t trust their chain of command to address the bad behavior, and feared retribution.