Breaking the Army’s Glass Ceiling

There was a time when our military set no example at all when it came to workplace diversity.  Times have changed, and it’s arguable that corporate America could learn a thing or two from the military about diversity at work.

The lastest example is provided by the nomination of Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody to head the Army’s Material Command as a four-star general.  If confirmed, she would be the first woman in U.S. history (and she already has a lot of firsts to her credit) to receive such a high military rank.  An interesting fact that may also be surprising is that there are 57 active-duty female generals in the U.S. armed forces, five of whom are three-star generals.  Five percent of the Army’s general officers are women.  The percentage of women in corporate America’s C-Suites is higher, although the pay of women executives continues to lag when compared to their male colleagues.

If a woman can be a four-star general, she could surely be a CEO.  General Dunwoody will supervise 56,000 soldiers and civilians who are integral to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Leading a Fortune 100 company just might be child’s play for her.

It’s clear that she’s had to overcome significant obstacles in her long military career.  In commenting on her nomination, however, General Dunwoody provided the basis for diversity and equality in any workplace:  “I grew up in a family that didn’t know what glass ceilings were.”  The answer in a nutshell.  If the glass ceiling (in the military, some would call it the ”brass ceiling”) isn’t there, it won’t need to be broken.  We don’t need to stand around the boardroom and sing Kum Ba Yah to reach reasonable levels of diversity.  We just need to recognize the performance of our employees based on a level playing field.  General Dunwoody provides human resources with a good slogan for progress:  There are no glass ceilings.

The Bush administration gets bashed for a lot of things, sometimes richly deserved.  As I’ve noted before, it should get some credit for a level of diversity not previously known in presidential administrations.

If the goal of any workplace is to hire and promote the best people–period–then our struggle for greater employee diversity at all levels will take care of itself.  General Dunwoody has sometimes grown weary of those who’ve made a big deal out of her accomplishments as a woman.  She simply wants people to look at her performance, not her gender.  We would do well to adopt the thinking of General Dunwoody and her family.