The Air Force has a diversity problem — and the brass knows it.
An Air Force Times analysis of six years of promotion and selection rates — across all ranks — indicates there is some truth to the perception that for minority officers and enlisted airmen it's a harder climb up the career ladder. White airmen in virtually all paygrades consistently have higher selection rates for promotion than minority airmen.
Former Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry Spencer, one of just two African Americans who rose to the top level of the force, remembers how hard it was: "I do feel like I had to work harder sometimes than my peers," he said.
The Air Force brass acknowledges the disparity and has been working on solutions. Secretary Deborah Lee James has made diversity a focus of her tenure, urging leaders to scour the ranks for deserving women and minorities who might be overlooked.
The problem is structural, says personnel expert Brig. Gen. Brian Kelly. "It's about development, it's about recruiting, it's about retention, it's about jobs and opportunities people get," he said.
Spencer and other minority airmen cite changes that could have a significant impact.
First and foremost, the Air Force should work diligently to eradicate the unwritten guidance that favors rated officers for the highest ranks. Of the 60,000 officers in today's force, fewer than 20 percent are pilots; but 63 percent of three-star generals are pilots.
James overhauled the online mentoring program, but down in the ranks, it's person-to person mentoring that makes the difference.
The force also needs to encourage minorities to seek operational, rather than the support, jobs to which so many gravitate.
It is refreshing that the Air Force admits the problem. But the solution will only come from a sustained, top-down emphasis on recruiting minority airmen and getting them in the pipeline for robust career advancement.
