{"id":29355,"date":"2020-09-18T19:51:31","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T19:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/18\/air-force-sets-diversity-targets-for-recruiting\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:55:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:55:55","slug":"air-force-sets-diversity-targets-for-recruiting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2020\/09\/18\/air-force-sets-diversity-targets-for-recruiting\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force sets diversity targets for recruiting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Air Force is setting targets for improving the diversity of the airmen it recruits in fiscal 2021 \u2014 and it particularly wants to improve the representation of minorities<\/a> in the ranks of rated officers<\/a> it brings in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Monday roundtable with reporters at the Air Force Association\u2019s virtual Air, Space, Cyber conference, Air Force Recruiting Service commander Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas said the way to improve diversity<\/a> in recruiting will be to deliberately target and attract high-quality candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, Thomas stressed, these targets will not be quotas, and the Air Force won\u2019t be lowering the bar to meet those goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re basically employing one of the old management axioms that what gets measured, gets done,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about fishing in the right places, being able to attract those people who might not be interested or propensed, and convince them that the U.S. Air Force or the U.S. Space Force is a great way of life. And go out and meet them on their own ground, where they live, study, recreate \u2014 with people who look like them, who have similar stories they can relate to and understand that this is a good place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force has sought to improve its diversity in recent years. But the effort has become increasingly focused this year in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police, and the national reckoning with issues of racism and inclusion that has followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wouldn\u2019t be legal or productive to hold recruiters accountable for bringing in a certain number of recruits from various demographic groups, Thomas said. But if the Air Force sees that it\u2019s not hitting its targets on recruiting in those categories, it will adjust its marketing efforts or areas it\u2019s concentrating on for recruiting to get a more representative balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Space Force will share the same targets for the more than 300 space operators it expects to bring on next year, Thomas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force will be tracking how many men and women it brings in, as well as how many recruits are white, Black, Hispanic, Asian American, Native American or members of another ethnic group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An Air Force mentor talks to students during the Aim High Outreach event at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Aim High is an Air Force Recruiting Service Detachment 1 sponsored event. Aim High Outreach is an innovative program organic to Det. 1 supporting initiatives across all four Rated Diversity Improvement lines of efforts by achieving the following objectives: youth engagement, community outreach, and professional development and networking. (Air Force photo\/Master Sgt. Chance Babin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Diversity among Air Force pilots is especially important because that\u2019s where the Air Force draws most of its senior leadership, Thomas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s also one of the least diverse communities in the Air Force. Thomas said that 86 percent of the rated force is made up of white men, and less than 3 percent of pilots are women.<\/p>\n\n\n\t