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This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non-commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND electronic documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND electronic documents are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. This report is part of the RAND Corporation research report series. RAND reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for re- search quality and objectivity. First Steps Toward Improving DoD STEM Workforce Diversity Response to the 2012 Department of Defense STEM Diversity Summit Nelson Lim, Abigail Haddad, Dwayne M. Butler, Kate Giglio CORPORATION NATIONAL DEFENSE RESEARCH INSTITUTE First Steps Toward Improving DoD STEM Workforce Diversity Response to the 2012 Department of Defense STEM Diversity Summit Nelson Lim, Abigail Haddad, Dwayne M. Butler, Kate Giglio Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense Approved for public release; distribution unlimited The research described in this report was prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted within the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by OSD, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community under Contract W74V8H-06-C-0002. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-0-8330-8101-8 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND—make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute.html R ® is a registered trademark Cover image: iStockphoto/Thinkstock © Copyright 2013 RAND Corporation This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND documents are protected under copyright law. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see the RAND permissions page (www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.html). RAND OFFICES SANTA MONICA, CA • WASHINGTON, DC PITTSBURGH, PA • NEW ORLEANS, LA • JACKSON, MS • BOSTON, MA DOHA, QA • CAMBRIDGE, UK • BRUSSELS, BE www.rand.org Preface On August 18, 2011, the President issued Executive Order 13583, “Establishing a Coordinated Government-Wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce.” The Department of Defense (DoD), in response, soon released an organizational diversity and inclusion strategic plan addressing workforce diversity, workplace inclusion, and force sustainability. In turn, leaders from DoD’s Assis- tant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD[R&E]) and the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity (ODMEO) sought to further support the President’s order in ways specific to DoD’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce, and convened a two-day conference, the Summit, on November 1, 2012. Senior executives working on personnel issues within DoD, federal agencies, the private sector, and academia gave presentations and participated in discussions. These presentations focused on issues related to the DoD STEM workforce and its diver- sity, particularly racial/ethnic and gender diversity. This report supports the efforts of the DoD Diversity STEM Summit by responding to the proceedings in a way that may provide a foundation for further research, analysis, and action. The report describes current diversity policies and demographic trends and pro- vides a template for comparing STEM-diversity outreach programs to support ASD(R&E) and ODMEO’s interest in bringing populations currently underrepresented in STEM into DoD’s STEM workforce mix. The report also offers a number of initial recommendations for DoD leaders to consider as they move forward with their efforts to increase the diversity of the STEM workforce. iii iv First Steps Toward Improving DoD STEM Workforce Diversity This research was sponsored by ASD(R&E) and ODMEO and conducted within the Forces and Resources Policy Center of RAND’s National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community. For more information on the RAND Forces and Resources Policy Center, see http://www.rand.org/nsrd/ndri/ centers/frp.html or contact the director (contact information is pro- vided on the web page). Contents Preface .............................................................................iii Figures ............................................................................ vii Tables ..............................................................................ix Summary ..........................................................................xi Acknowledgments ............................................................xxiii Abbreviations ...................................................................xxv ChAPTer One Introduction ...................................................................... 1 A Time for Addressing Challenges and Finding Solutions ................... 2 Purpose of This Report ........................................................... 3 Limitations of This Report ....................................................... 4 Organization of This Report ..................................................... 4 ChAPTer TwO review of Policies and Strategies Aiming to Align DoD STeM and Diversity Goals with national Priorities.......................... 7 STEM-Related Policies Begin to Target Workforce Diversity ............... 8 America COMPETES Act Targets Diversity Through Research Directives ................................................................... 8 DoD’s Current STEM Strategic Plan Targets Diversity Broadly ........ 11 DoD Diversity Policy Focuses on STEM for Mission Effectiveness ....... 12 DoD’s Current Diversity Strategic Plan Addresses STEM as Part of Diversity .................................................................... 13 Summary .......................................................................... 15 v vi First Steps Toward Improving DoD STEM Workforce Diversity ChAPTer Three Demographic Trends and the DoD STeM workforce .................. 17 Demographic Shifts Combined with Current STEM Rates Would Create Bigger Gaps Between the Overall National and STEM Workforces ................................................................... 19 DoD STEM Workers Are as Racially/Ethnically Diverse as STEM Citizen Workers Overall.................................................... 23 Current STEM Gaps Are Driven Partly by Educational Differences ...... 25 Differences in Rate of College Graduate STEM Workers ................ 27 Summary ..........................................................................30 ChAPTer FOur Current DoD STeM Initiatives .............................................. 31 Program Information Collection and Limitations ........................... 31 DoD STEM Outreach Efforts Have Different Goals ....................... 32 Metrics and Assessment Needed to Quantify and Qualify Success .......34 Still Missing Much Information ............................................34 Summary .......................................................................... 35 ChAPTer FIve Conclusions and recommendations ........................................ 59 Align Policies and Practices Within DoD ..................................... 62 Short Term ..................................................................... 62 Mid Term ......................................................................68 Long Term ...................................................................... 70 Going Beyond DoD ............................................................. 70 Short Term ...................................................................... 70 Mid Term ....................................................................... 72 Long Term ...................................................................... 73 APPenDIxeS A. Summit Agenda .............................................................. 75 B. Summit notes ................................................................ 79 Appendix C, which provides PDFs of the presentations given at the Summit, is available at http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR329.html references .......................................................................107 Figures S.1. Census Projections, 2000–2050, 18–65-Year-Olds ............ xiv S.2. 2010 Percentage of 23–29-Year-Olds in Overall Population, Among STEM Degree Holders, and Among Those with College Degrees in STEM Occupations, by Race/Ethnicity .................................................. xiv S.3. Overall STEM Citizen Workforce and DoD Civilian STEM Workforce, by Race/Ethnicity ........................... xvi 3.1. Census Projections, 2000–2050, 18–65-Year-Olds .............20 3.2. 2010 Percentage of 23–29-Year-Olds in Overall Population, Among STEM Degree Holders, and Among Those with College Degrees in STEM Occupations, by Race/Ethnicity .................................. 21 3.3. Projected 2050 Percentage of 23–29-Year-Olds in Overall Population, Among STEM Degree Holders, and Among Those with College Degrees in STEM Occupations, by Race/Ethnicity ...................................................22 3.4. 2010 Percentage of 23–29-Year-Olds in the Overall Population, Among STEM Degree Holders, and Among Those with College Degrees in STEM Occupations, by Gender ............................................................ 23 3.5. Overall STEM Citizen Workforce and DoD Civilian STEM Workforce, by Race/Ethnicity and Gender ............. 24 3.6. Rates of Educational Attainment Among 23–29-Year-Olds, by Race/Ethnicity and Gender ..............26 3.7. STEM Degree Attainment Among 23–29-Year-Old College Graduates, by Race/Ethnicity and Gender ............ 27 vii