5THE PROMOTION RECORD OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE Glass Ceilings in the Military

xamining the composition of governmental labor forces is t * a continual responsibility as the population of the United I j- ~ States changes. The Hudson Institute (1988) predicts between 1988 and 2000, two-thirds of the new entrants―――――― into the workforce will be women, 17 percent will be Afro-Americans, and 29 percent will be Hispanic. As Caucasian and male-dominated labor pools diminish, government agencies should be selecting increasing numbers from traditionally disadvantaged groups. However, the selection of women and minorities is only the first step in pursuing representative government and improving the This article presents the outcome from every Air Force officer promotion board convening over a 13-year period. It includes the evaluation of more than 160,000 Caucasian, Afro-American,Hispanic, femaleand "other " officers eligible for promotion to captain, major, lieutenant colonel and colonel. The data indicate minorities are not promoted at the same rate as majority officers, and few females serve as Air Force officers. On the brighter side, females have very competitive promotion rates to lieutenant colonel and colonel, minority promotion rates do not indicate adverse impacts, and majority-minority promotion rate differences decrease as rank increases in the Air Force. welfare of disadvantaged groups. Ensuring women and minorities are promoted and represented throughout the hierarchies of public agencies is the essential second step. Women comprise 51.2 percent of the population, yet hold less than five percent of the senior management positions in the Unite