Importance Of Diversity In The Military

Great Essays
Diversity in any type of organization is beneficial for all individuals involved to include top management to the ground employees. Having diversity in a workplace encourages tolerance, acceptance and more rounded place for all employees to work for. It gives persons the ability to grow and to also go up the ladder in the company. Diversity in the military has always been a problem involving women and minorities, but in the last decade there has been a real focus on the lack of minorities in the officer ranks. Women and minorities have only a small percentage of being senior officers compared to the more than seventy percent of whites in the active duty military. In 2008, Congress ordered a report; the Military Leadership Diversity Commissioned …show more content…
Allen West, a right wing black conservative who runs the blog westforwestwing.com explains that the military should not be concerned about the color of the soldier and what rank they hold but they should concerned about how each and every soldier put their lives on the line for America and its people. He also quoted saying “that the military is not a social experiment for outside groups to impose their theories….it is a merit based on organization where everybody can succeed (westforwestwing.com). West does have a point, but at the same time he forgets to realize that the underrepresentation of minorities not only effects minorities but the entire majority as a whole. Whites who do not work around other officers of different backgrounds can struggle to understand and to tolerate when one does come in direct contact with a minority. As the text explains that a company that lacks diversity will not let the employees reach their full …show more content…
The one issue is that out of all the suggestions is that I do not think that recruiters would push the officer route as much as they should considering that they need to meet their quotas. And it is easier to sign persons enlisted compared to officer in many cases. Also to take into consideration would be their ASVAB scores to initially even have them eligible for the military. And there is data that suggests that minorities do score lower on certain tests. So either the military would have to lower their standards or see why minorities are scoring lower on military based test. The lowering of test standards could definitely be a slippery slope and have some recruits crying foul or even worse reverse discrimination. These would be issues that would have to be evaluated before trying to implement this full force for the entire military. Minorities have been contributing factors in the military through the years, but not to the extent that they should be when it comes to being in the elite ranks of officers. Having examples and leaders to enforce the importance of a diverse Armed Force will help to not limit their skills and to open up doors for those who might not have been giving the opportunity in the past. It is very important in a workforce especially in the military that diversity is within all ranks. This makes it

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The white soldier, during WWII, became noticed as the face of the American military, “The White combat soldier was both the face of the war and of masculine-appropriate behaviors.” Not only were the African American soldiers being segregated for their induction into the…

    • 2190 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ethnic and cultural diversity in the U.S. Army permeates history as far back as the Revolutionary War and through every war, the United States has taken part in since. The Army we know today has changed so much since those times, frequently for the better. These winds of change are due to the Army’s promotion of social equality. Background, schooling, race, religion, and other factors shape Soldiers immensely. By acknowledging differences, qualifications, contributions, and potential, you create an environment where subordinates know they are valued for their skills, contributions, and differences.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Civil War Dehumanization

    • 1977 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Whites remained the priority in the nation at the time. It was only until white volunteers started to dwindle that African Americans were welcomed into the army. With racism still extraordinarily prominent within the United States, it was inevitable that these soldiers would face discrimination. Avila reported that “African Americans soldiers encountered much discrimination. They served in strictly segregated units led by white officers, many of whom were reluctant to promote African Americans because they feared that white soldiers of lower rank would not take orders from black superiors" Furthermore, white officers gave most African Americans non-combat jobs on the simple premise that blacks were not fit for combat.…

    • 1977 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    MISSION AND VISION The mission of the 90th Security Support Squadron [SSPTS] is to “Protect F.E. Warren AFB and defend America with the world’s premier ICBM force” (F.E. Warren Air Force Base Fact Sheet, n.d.). The vision of the 90th SSPTS is “Ready to fight ... Anytime, Anywhere” (F.E. Warren Air Force Base Fact Sheet, n.d.) .…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In order to examine diversity in today’s workplace, we must first look at the history of diversity and its place within the workplace. Over the past couple of decades, diversity in the workplace has been an increasing norm, which is visible in many companies. However, today’s definition of diversity has a completely different meaning than what diversity might have meant twenty or so years ago. Throughout the early days of business, when companies began creating initiatives for diversity, the focus was on African Americans and other minorities.…

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Although individuals can categorize themselves in many different ways, it is difficult to deny demographic attributes; surface-level diversity typically includes age, gender, and ethnicity (Mohammed & Angell, 2004). Conflict is a common outcome when members of different groups interact. Mohammed & Angell (2004) suggests, “individuals are attracted to similar others because they envision that their own values and beliefs will be reinforced” (pg. 1016). Cultural diversity is geared toward having a deep respect and understanding of the various people in the organization, the military is no exception. “For much of its history, the U.S. military has been a testing ground for groups seeking inclusion in the mainstream of American society; today, new groups, including women and homosexuals, are seeking equal treatment” (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2018, para 1).…

    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    I interviewed an African American coworker, or as it happened, was more a discussion about the current state of the inclusion of minorities in America and more specifically the inclusion of African Americans in the workforce. The coworker I interviewed is in his early 30s, an 11 year military veteran, and is currently working on his second masters, which is an MBA. As mentioned previously, he is of African American decent and the only minority working in our office, which is made up of twenty two white males. He was raised by his grandmother from a young age after his father left him and his mother was unable to care for him. During his childhood, he lived in a predominately black neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh.…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I should reconsider my career choice of a chief diversity officer. The article, Experiences of Women of Color University Chief Diversity Officers (Nixon, M. L., 2016) uncovered the immense pressures both personally and professionally that women of color face in their quest to serve as catalyst for diversity in institutions of higher learning. The qualitative study conducted semi structured interviews with five women of color and to determine if the equities experienced relating to being chief diversity officers were a result of their race, gender or an intersectionality of both. The article explores the idea that these women often were in roles of leadership, by virtue of title, however their social identities as women of color and profession isolated them to being outsiders to the institution as a whole (Nixon, 2016). Women of color are more likely to be appointed chief diversity officers, however these tend to be token appointments with minimal authority and extraordinary performance standards.…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    21st Century Policing

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What selections and hiring approaches do you think would be most useful today in attracting criminal justice employees? The Final Report of The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing explains within the 1st pillar that building trust and legitimacy is the most underlying principle. What is very discouraging is that since the 1990’s while huge strides have been made in the areas of policing and it has become more successful in its crime fighting efforts, and technology.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Our military has not been known to represent diversity, banning women from certain roles, racially discriminating against people of color and rejecting members of the LGBT community for years. Dependent on the military for much of their revenue stream, Northrop Grumman Corporation has sidestepped the diversity issues faced by the military and has made significant strides in their diversity and inclusion…

    • 62 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rebuttal- Argument for Mandatory Military encourage equality In the United States, the creation of an all-volunteer, professionalized army has led to a virtual separation between the political class which promotes and approves wars and the mostly poor white, Afro-American, and Hispanic men and women who fight them. Mandatory military service is one of most powerful means of nationalizing people, of producing an important, shared experience among members of different classes, social backgrounds, and regions. Rebuttal- Argument that Voluntary military desensitize the political class and this country from war Voluntary Military creates slanted selection pressures which makes the military far less diverse than a conscripted military. The political…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On a recent trip to Idyllwild, where I take veterans each fall as they leave the military for college, every climactic altercation ended with the same thing: Army Vet 1 - "You know it 's true." Marine Vet 1 - "Shut the fuck up unless you have a Combat Action Ribbon. " Me - "Shut the fuck up unless you have 5 combat tours. " Yes, that was me... and recently. One thing you have to know is that if we accept white / black / Mexican / Asian as "races" then the military itself is a microcosm of races; Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and Guardsman are races that always vying for the top rung on the ladder of the military.…

    • 1614 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Most of them don’t even want to go into the army. We should change the laws so the government doesn’t have such a military force.…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As an international student, I have spent three years in a very liberal private school in New England and have witnessed the negative impact of forced diversity and diversity trainings firsthand. It seemed that a select population of open minded people was positively impacted by all the speakers and activities. However, the majority reacted very negatively and in some cases even in an aggressive manner. Increase in racist comments and jokes was very noticeable after, and kids who never said anything politically incorrect started being openly negative towards minorities. New students came in through the programs and immediately started to form separate groups.…

    • 1551 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Over time, Northrop Grumman has restated their commitment to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce and promoting women and people of color to mid-level and senior-level management. However, there has been nominal progress in these efforts, except for reported percentages of women and people of color in senior-level management positions. At the same time, participation in their Employee Resource Groups has declined. Women and people of color have reported in numerous studies that leadership development programs and access to strong mentors are important to them.…

    • 219 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays