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Open Recommendations

Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps: Actions Needed to Better Monitor Diversity Progress
GAO-23-105857
Aug 24, 2023
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should develop quantifiable ROTC diversity goals, such as applicant pool goals, that aid in the evaluation of Army efforts to recruit a diverse workforce. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, establishes a consistent process to identify a comparison group to evaluate progress toward racial, ethnic, and gender diversity (i.e., whether to use the U.S. population, the service-eligible population, or the U.S. population with the age and education required for service for comparison). (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness develops guidance that requires the military departments to (1) collect and analyze ROTC unit demographic data as part of the annual evaluations, and (2) use those data, not as viability criteria, but as a means to evaluate ROTC contributions to a diverse officer corps. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness requires the military departments to evaluate both the performance and resources of ROTC units and take any corrective actions, as appropriate, to better achieve ROTC program, military department, or DOD diversity goals. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

VA Disability Benefits: Actions Needed to Further Examine Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Compensation
GAO-23-106097
Jul 26, 2023
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of VA should develop a documented plan that details specific actions, time frames, and procedures to address the limitations it has identified with its race and ethnicity data for veterans from historically disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups. (Recommendation 1)
Open
VA concurred with this recommendations and stated it has plans in place to implement it. Specifically, the agency stated it is developing recommendations for VA-wide data collection standards to ensure consistency and alignment with federal requirements, industry standards, and best practices. We encourage the agency, as it carries out this effort, to address the data limitations that hinder its ability to identify potential barriers that prevent veterans from accessing services.
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of VA should conduct a comprehensive assessment of disability compensation to identify the root causes that could contribute to any racial and ethnic disparities. Such an assessment could be completed internally or contracted out by VA. Also, it could include factors we identified in this report and any other factors VA considers relevant. (Recommendation 2)
Open
VA concurred with this recommendations and stated it has plans in place to implement it. Specifically, VA noted such analysis poses challenges given the complexity of the data and underlying issues. For example, VA said that while its own analysis of disparities is consistent with GAO's finding that Black veterans had lower approval rates for disability claims than White veterans, it said that Black veterans apply at materially higher rates than White veterans. We recognize that many factors can contribute to differences in approval rates and believe that a comprehensive assessment of those identified in our report, and others, will position VA to make any changes needed to address underlying issues. According to VA, VBA will contract for a study to identify barriers in the disability compensation process. VBA also stated it is establishing an Equity Assurance Office to address benefit disparity issues, among other things. We will monitor the agency's progress on these efforts.
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of VA should, after completing a comprehensive assessment of disability compensation, develop a plan to guide and coordinate VA's actions to address the identified root causes of any racial and ethnic disparities. (Recommendation 3)
Open
VA concurred with this recommendations and stated it has plans in place to implement it. Specifically, VBA stated that it will develop a plan to guide and coordinate its actions to address root causes for any identified racial and ethnic disparities. We will monitor the agency's progress on this effort.

DOD Civilian Workforce: Actions Needed to Analyze and Eliminate Barriers to Diversity
GAO-23-105284
Jun 21, 2023
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness updates relevant civilian workforce diversity and EEO policies to (1) explain how DOD's data-analysis mechanisms relate to department efforts to identify barriers, and (2) communicate the standard barrier-related information the military departments and DOD components should submit to ODEI. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness assigns, in relevant policies or plans, clear DOD oversight roles for tracking DOD progress towards eliminating barriers to diversity and EEO. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness establishes, in relevant policies or plans, measures for tracking DOD progress towards eliminating barriers to diversity and EEO. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Women in Special Operations: Improvements to Policy, Data, and Assessments Needed to Better Understand and Address Career Barriers
GAO-23-105168
Dec 15, 2022
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8 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should revise Army policy for prohibited discrimination—specifically, provisions related to such incidents occurring in joint environments—to ensure that the Army policy aligns with DOD policy. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Commandant of the Marine Corps revises Marine Corps policy for prohibited discrimination and harassment—specifically, provisions related to such incidents occurring in joint environments—to ensure that the Marine Corps policy aligns with DOD policy. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should revise Department of the Air Force policy for prohibited discrimination and harassment—specifically, provisions related to such incidents occurring in joint environments—to ensure that the Department of the Air Force policy aligns with DOD policy. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, in coordination with the Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command; the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness; and the Secretaries of the military departments, establishes a collaborative process for the timely sharing of accurate and complete data on SOCOM personnel, including data on incidents of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness clearly documents and communicates which office has responsibility for the required annual assessments regarding the full integration of women into previously closed positions. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness establishes a consistent process for the use of the required annual assessments regarding the full integration of women into previously closed positions. The process should include a plan of action to guide efforts to address any barriers to women's service in U.S. Special Operations Forces identified in the assessments. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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