The Pentagon has officially eliminated all diversity, equity, and inclusion jobs, to comply with White House executive orders, according to a watchdog report. But Congress had already done the heavy lifting last year.
The Defense Department went from 115 to just 41 DEI jobs by July 2024 per a provision in the 2024 annual defense policy law, according to a Government Accountability Office in a report released Thursday.
The Defense Department “reduced its civilian workforce” after implementing section 1101 of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which put a cap on civilian personnel pay grades assigned for diversity, equity, and inclusion roles to that of a GS-10 or about $73,484 annual salary. The law also directed civilians in DEI roles—defined as having primary duties for developing and implementing DEI policy, objectives, education and training—be reassigned.
The remaining 41 jobs were not subject to the NDAA provision because “their pay rate was less than a General Schedule (GS)-10, they were military positions, or DOD determined that DEI was not the primary reason the position existed,” the report says.
Of those 41 DEI positions—which have now been eliminated or restructured—25 were held by military personnel, while 16 were held by civilians, the GAO wrote. The Air Force and Space Force had the most, with 19 jobs, followed by the Army, which had seven civilian-filled and five military positions.
The Defense Department is one of the United States’ major employers, with nearly 3 million personnel—about 1.3 million active duty, 800,000 in the National Guard and Reserve forces, and 811,000 civilians, according to a 2024 financial report.
Civilians comprise about a third of the total federal workforce and the Pentagon has previously struggled to make sure its demographics match that of the broader U.S. population.
A 2023 GAO report found that while the proportion of women and historically disadvantaged groups remained steady from 2012 to 2021, give or take about 1 percent, there were disparities when it came to promotions.
“Promotion outcomes were generally lower for historically disadvantaged groups than for white employees, and varied for women relative to men, based on GAO analysis of DOD data. For example, when controlling for factors such as occupation and education level, historically disadvantaged groups—particularly Black or African American employees—were less likely to be promoted in nearly all grades at or above GS-7,” the report states. “This analysis does not completely explain reasons for different promotion outcomes or establish causal relationships but can provide agencies additional insight.”
And while DOD had made strides to improve diversity, it lacked “clear policies for collecting barrier-related data, which may limit their utility,” the GAO wrote. “Without additional actions, DOD lacks reasonable assurance its many efforts will effectively contribute to achieving its goals.”
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