Project Inclusion’s First Act: Discard Promotion Photos
The Army will no longer include photographs in promotion boards for officers. The Army is still reviewing changes for the warrant officer and non-commissioned officer boards, but it would be surprising if the Army doesn’t apply the same policy to those cohorts.
This decision is part of the Army’s holistic review of diversity and inclusion within its ranks. The initiative, Project Inclusion, is also tasked with reviewing the data concerning prejudice in the military justice system, urinalysis testing, AWOL cases, and more.
This initiative will hopefully uncover barriers to equal treatment and equal opportunity for minorities and create lasting solutions. One needed change — removing the photograph from promotion boards. The Army conducted a study that compared promotion board results that included an official photograph with promotion board results that excluded it. The study found that minority and women candidates fared better on the board without photographs.
Unequal treatment of black and minority soldiers is found in many areas of the Army — including in the military justice system. A Government Accountability Office report found that the Army was more likely to try black servicemembers in general and special courts-martial than white servicemembers even though there was no statistically significant racial disparity in convictions.
Besides the moral imperative to promote inclusion and equal treatment for all soldiers, there is a business case to be made. This short video highlights how culture and ethnicity influence our mental models. Diverse groups have different assumptions and perspectives that can help them develop a broader range of possible solutions.
For a more in-depth look at this phenomenon, listen to “Raising the Bar.” This episode from Reply All follows Leslie Miley’s decision to quit Twitter, his dream job. Leslie was Twitter’s only black engineer in a leadership position, and he discusses the issues surrounding diversity and why it is in the best interest of organizations to have an inclusive workforce.
When organizations do not fully integrate people of color, they have blind spots in their design methodology and problem-solving framework. This is how you get soap dispensers that don’t dispense for black skin. Or an $890 sweater that resembles blackface. The military has one prominent blind spot — even though people of color comprise 43 percent of the active-duty military, only two of the military’s four-star generals are black.
I am excited about the Army’s renewed focus on diversity and inclusion. Still, the Army should be careful — adding additional requirements for units to conduct diversity and inclusion training is not the answer. This training already exists through the Army’s equal opportunity program. The solution should address systemic problems rather than focus on micro-level interactions between soldiers. The Army must promote more black and minority leaders, ensure equal justice under the military judicial system, and determine what enterprise-level biases exist against minorities and remove them immediately.
By swiftly removing the official photograph from officer promotion boards, Project Inclusion is off to a great start.
The Modern War Institute at West Point published a piece I wrote on Army aviation’s new ten-year ADSO. It’s a more in-depth look into the issue than my piece two weeks ago, and I encourage you to read it if you are interested in learning more about the topic.
If you enjoyed this content, please subscribe to the jumo brief today to receive a free weekly newsletter in your inbox every Saturday morning! You will receive weekly content like this and much more!
The jumo brief helps leaders keep up to date on social commentary, news, and current events that are relevant to the Army.
Brennan Randel
@BrennanRandel
