Lack of diversity in Coast Guard worse among senior leadership: research

Research commissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard found that racial and ethnic minorities and women are underrepresented throughout the military branch, though the lack of diversity is especially prominent among senior leadership. 

The Wednesday report, conducted by the RAND Corporation’s Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC), found that while 42 percent of all U.S. service members are racial or ethnic minorities, these groups make up just 31 percent of the Coast Guard. 

The HSOAC reported some hopeful signs in the branch’s diversity and inclusion efforts, including that the Coast Guard outperforms benchmarks for racial and ethnic diversity among enlisted men, though this is not the case for Asians and Pacific Islanders. 

Additionally, the report said that the Coast Guard has more non-minority female officers than any other U.S. military branch. 

However, HSOAC reported shortfalls in the military service’s ability to attract “eligible, service-inclined women,” and said it does not have “adequate representation of Black men or women from racial or ethnic minority groups.” 

The group also found that the higher the rank within the Coast Guard, the less representation there is for women and racial and ethnic minorities. 

Focus groups and surveys conducted among active-duty personnel found that few say that the career advancement process within the Coast Guard is fair, and that there is a pervasive “lack of trust in leaders at all levels about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues and about implementation of processes designed to protect against discrimination.” 

Nelson Lim, the report’s lead author, said in a statement included with its findings that the “lack of diversity in the Coast Guard is cumulative and compounds with every step in the career lifecycle.” 

“As a result, the number of women and racial and ethnic minorities in the pool of potential leaders narrows at each stage and results in a less diverse senior leadership,” Lim added. 

He said that the “bottom line is that the Coast Guard needs to take much more decisive action to meet executive and congressional branch demands to improve diversity top-to-bottom.” 

Lim noted that while Coast Guard leadership has shown a willingness to improve diversity and inclusion within the branch, he argued there is “no quick fix” and that it will “take years of consistent, comprehensive effort to make lasting changes.”

The report included dozens of recommendations for the Coast Guard, including implementing “data-driven outreach policies,” committing to “reevaluate current eligibility requirements, and adapt advertising strategies to help recruit a more diverse base.” 

The researchers also called for the branch to expand leadership training opportunities and “ensure that women and racial and ethnic minorities are competitive for career advancements and promotions.” 

In response to the report, the Coast Guard said in a statement that its internal personnel readiness task force is “taking immediate action” to implement the recommendations. 

Adm. Linda Fagan, vice commandant of the Coast Guard, said Wednesday that the branch “continues to seek out opportunities to foster a more inclusive, respectful Coast Guard that produces a mission-ready workforce that reflects the public we serve.” 

— Updated at 11:30 a.m.