Just last week, the Pentagon moved to remove photos from all promotion boards in an effort to address issues of racial disparities in the military -- but is that enough?
SecDef Esper announces 'immediate actions' against military racial discrimination
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced last Wednesday "immediate" actions the Department of Defense will take against racial disparities. The actions were the result of Esper's call for recommendations from mid-June when he announced that he had directed "civilian and uniformed leadership of the Pentagon" to bring him "good" ideas to combat racial disparities among the ranks that can be implemented "NOW." One of those actions was removing photos from promotion boards.
But on Friday, Esper and other Pentagon leaders were asked if they would take the measure further -- by removing names and genders from promotion boards as well.
"With a name, the gender and possibly race of that soldier would be present for the board members," Army Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Fadeyi explained through a prerecorded video message played during the virtual town hall.
According to Esper, that option is already being evaluated.
"We are trying to root these practices out that might enable unconscious bias," Esper said. "...In fact, the directive I signed this week also tasks our personnel and readiness directorate to go out and come back within 45 or 60 days and present a plan by which we could also strike references to names, references to gender -- things like that that may trigger unconscious bias."
"We appreciate what that means, and the importance is making sure that it's a merit-based system and solely a merit-based system," Esper added.
Army removes photos from promotion boards in effort to eliminate bias
These immediate changes are part of the DoD's larger efforts against racial disparities which were launched in response to the national unrest following the killing of George Floyd.
SecDef creates all-new board for 'diversity and inclusion' in the military
The "Defense Board on Diversity and Inclusion" was announced on June 18 as a "six-month sprint to develop concrete, actionable recommendations to increase racial diversity and ensure equal opportunity across all ranks & in the officer corps," Esper announced in a Twitter thread.
"Bias and prejudice have no place in our military, or in our country," Esper added in his announcement of the new diversity board. "Prejudices – whether visible or invisible, conscious or unconscious — remain a burden to many. They hold back the diversity of the force, representation in our officer ranks, and experiences of our minority members."