Air Force Looking to Fill Multiple Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Roles

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are seen rehearsing their precision flying routine in Forestville, Md., on Sept. 18, 2015. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The U.S. Air Force is looking to hire several senior-level diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) managers, according to online job postings.

The Air Force is looking for a “supervisory diversity equity inclusion and accessibility” officer who will “serve as a first-level supervisor, providing planning, directing, organizing, and exercising control over nonsupervisory employees assigned to the Department of the Air Force (DAF) Office of Diversity and Inclusion,” according to one job description.

Applicants must have “specialized experience” including “mastery of the principles and concepts of the field of culture, climate, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” and in “providing leadership with authoritative guidance, advice, and assistance on complex, controversial, and technical matters.”

They must also have experience in “applying a broad and thorough knowledge of a wide range of accepted research methods such as conducting research and solving difficult managerial and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) problems or issues,” according to the posting.

The full-time position pays between $155,700 to $183,500 annually and is based in Arlington, Virginia, according to the March 3 posting.

Base-Specific Jobs

The Air Force is also looking for a “diversity and inclusion manager” to work at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, according to a separate job posting.

That full-time job, which pays $94,199 yearly, is to serve as Joint Base Installation Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and would require employees to “conduct research studies on broad Wing level diversity issues; develop report findings that could add significantly to the AF Diversity and Inclusion management knowledge.”

A third job posting is looking for another diversity and inclusion manager for the Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska.

“The primary purpose of this position is to serve as the installation Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) principal advisor reporting to the Wing/Garrison Commander or Vice Commander performing a range of functions to facilitate and support the achievement of the Installation/Wing Diversity and Inclusion mission,” the online job description states.

The pay is $93,367 to $121,378 per year.

A fourth job posting by the Air Force on March 10 states that it is looking for a “diversity and inclusion coordinator” at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.

The successful candidate will make between $82,830 and $107,680 per year and will serve as the “principal advisor reporting to the Registrar; performing a range of functions to facilitate and support the achievement of the AFROTC diversity and inclusion mission.”

Fox News reported that the government is also looking to fill DEI-related positions at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, the White House Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Mint’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, and the Department of Agriculture.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Department of the Air Force for comment.

Air Force ‘Encourages a Culture Of Respect’

During a press conference on March 13, Kristyn E. Jones, acting undersecretary of the Air Force, noted that the Air Force “encourages a culture of respect and promotes initiatives that foster diversity and inclusion to build high-performing, ready teams.”

Jones was delivering comments on President Joe Biden’s Fiscal 2024 Air Force budget alongside Maj. Gen. Mike A. Greiner, deputy assistant secretary for budget.

“We will increase access to quality health care and continue to advance our talent management processes,” Jones said. “These efforts will simultaneously strengthen readiness while improving recruiting and retention.”

Advocates argue that diversity, equity, and inclusion are needed in the workplace to ensure a level playing field and equal opportunities for everyone.

However, according to workforce analytics firm Revelio Labs, departure rates among individuals in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) roles have outpaced those of non-DEI roles at more than 600 companies across the United States that laid off workers since late 2020.

Additionally, these layoffs have accelerated in the last six months, according to the analytics firm.

As of December 2022, the 12-month attrition rate for DEI-related roles at the 600 firms was 33 percent compared to just 21 percent for non-DEI positions, according to Revelio Labs.

“Bearing in mind the typically small size of DEI teams—the median DEI team size in this set of companies is 3—these outflows likely amount to the exodus of entire diversity teams,” the firm stated in a Feb 7 report.

Revelio noted that companies with DEI teams tend to have more “diverse new hires, and higher employee satisfaction.”