Comparative analysis of Canadian and American approaches to military diversity.
Abstract
It is critical that the military within a democracy embodies the same values, beliefs, and cultures that it represents. It is equally important that its membership reflects the diversity found within the Canadian population to legitimize its activities. This monograph examines why the Canadian Armed Forces has consistently failed to meet its diversity recruitment targets over the last fifteen years. An analysis centering on a comparison of the Canadian and US approaches to this problem was performed focusing on three different aspects: Canadian and American diversity strategies; changes to diversity laws and policies over time; and changes to recruitment and retention policies. This monograph suggests that the diversity representation statistics of both countries are comparable, except for visible minority representation which is significantly higher in the United States for reasons discussed within this paper. This analysis also reveals that Canada's ten-year goal for the representation rates of diversity groups will prove challenging to achieve with existing Canadian recruitment and retention policies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 24, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1071486
Entities
People
- Reginald R. Sharpe
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College