United States Navy
Washington, DC
200,000 civilian employees (approx.)
US Secretary Of The Navy: Ray Maybus
CDE: Monica Emerson
www.navy.com
Diversity mission: Attract, develop, and retain a high-quality diverse workforce that values a culture of inclusion.
As a major military branch in arguably the most diverse nation in the world, the United States Navy should theoretically always be among the leaders in this category. Yet, exclusionary policies such as “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” often pointed the military in opposite direction on matters of diversity. The past few years, however, have seen a 360-degree reversal in Navy diversity. Committed to overhauling its past record, the Navy Fleet Diversity Council was established to achieve three primary objectives — training the Fleet on the value and strategic imperative of diversity in the Navy, inspiring the Fleet to become active participants in the Navy’s diversity efforts, and facilitating direct feedback to gain a better understanding on the effectiveness of Navy diversity initiatives and solicit fleet input to develop future policy. Through efforts such as mentorship, affinity groups, and much more, the Navy has succeeded in building a Total Force that is fully reflective of our nation’s populace in terms of background, education, skill, and ideas.
