Women in special operations : improvements to policy, data, and assessments needed to better understand and address career barriers : report to congressional requesters / United States Government Accountability Office

Corporate Author:: United States. Government Accountability Office
Additional Titles:: GAO-23-105168 Women in special operations
Published:: Washington, DC : United States Government Accountability Office, 2022.
Physical Description:: 1 online resource (vi, 160 pages) : color illustrations

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Contents:

Background -- DOD policies apply to incidents involving SOCOM service members, but service policies relate to joint environments are inconsistent with DOD policy -- SOCOM has limited access to data on incidents involving women in SOCOM -- Several factors limit efforts to identify and address barriers that may impact careers of women in SOF -- Conclusions -- Recommendations for executive action -- Agency comments and our evaluation -- Appendices.

Summary:

Women have historically held critical roles in the military. However, women make up less than 10 percent of SOCOM service members, compared with about 19 percent DOD-wide. SOCOM leaders have acknowledged existing issues of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and assault, and career impediments, and the need to do more. This report examines, among other issues, the extent to which (1) DOD has developed policies to prevent and respond to such incidents involving SOCOM service members, (2) SOCOM has access to data on these incidents, and (3) DOD and SOCOM have identified and addressed barriers that may impact the careers of women in SOF. GAO is making eight recommendations, including that the military services revise their policies for incidents in joint environments to align with DOD policy, DOD establish a collaborative process for SOCOM to access data, DOD clarify oversight and use of the annual assessments, and DOD complete a comprehensive analysis of barriers to women in SOF.

Report Numbers:

GA 1.13:GAO-23-105168
GAO-23-105168

Subject(s):

Note:

"GAO-23-105168."
"December 2022."
In scope of the U.S. Government Publishing Office Cataloging and Indexing Program (C&I) and Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

Bibliography Note:

Includes bibliographical references.

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