THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 22, 1995 TAG: 9511220540
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Blacks in the military were statistically less likely to gain promotion and women were more likely, according to a study by congressional auditors examining equal opportunity in the armed services.
The report Monday by the General Accounting Office reached no conclusion as to why ``statistically significant'' disparities in promotion rates turned up for blacks and other minorities and for women. But it recommended the Pentagon improve its equal opportunity monitoring.
A Pentagon official responded that the recommended improvements are already being put into place.
``Our analysis showed some racial or gender disparities, although the number of disparities varied considerably . . . across the services, and by race and gender,'' GAO analyst Mark Gebicke wrote.
The report, covering the years 1989 through 1993, was requested by Rep. Ronald Dellums of California, the senior Democrat on the House National Security Committee. Dellums, who is black, has long prodded the military on the issue of racial and gender discrimination.
Measuring promotion rates among women, American Indians, Asians, blacks and Hispanics compared with whites, the report found statistically significant instances of lower-than-expected promotion among blacks.
Analysts measured actual promotions against what would be expected based on the proportion of blacks and other minorities to whites in each of the service branches.
At the E-7 level, the equivalent of an Army sergeant first class, blacks were promoted less often than expected in each of the five years examined in the Army, Marine Corps and Navy. In the case of the Navy, the difference was statistically significant in all but one year.
In all, the study compared promotion levels in each of the five years broken down by military service and six different ranks. The result was 116 separate measures. In 80 of those 116 measurements, blacks were less likely than expected to gain promotion, 31 of which were deemed statistically significant.
For women, 78 of the 116 measurements showed a greater-than-expected likelihood of promotion, although none of those were rated statistically significant.
KEYWORDS: DISCRIMINATION by CNB