According to the 2011 Military Leadership Diversity Commission report,  the military can recruit from a pool of individuals using specific eligibility  requirements that can potentially present a barrier to service. Accession Rates of Female Officers Have Slightly Increased, and DOD and the Coast Guard Have Not Determined Resources and Funding to Increase the Recruitment and Accessions of Female Officers

DOD and Coast Guard data from fiscal year 2010 through fiscal year  2014 show a slight percentage increase for female officer accessions. Although collectively the services slightly increased female officer  accession rates during this time period, female officer accessions for the  Army, the Navy, and the Air Force individually fluctuated from fiscal year  2010 through fiscal year 2014. DOD and the Coast Guard Have Not Determined Resources and Funding for Increasing the Recruitment and Accessions of Women into the Officer Corps

DOD and the Coast Guard have not determined the resources and  funding to increase the recruitment and, ultimately the accessions, of  women into the officer corps. DOD has budget line items in its operation  and maintenance budget for recruiting and advertising totaling over $1  billion for fiscal year 2016 (see table 2). DOD and the Coast Guard Reported Initiatives for Increasing the Recruitment and Accessions of Women into the Officer Corps, but Do Not Have an Oversight Framework and Evaluations for Key Initiatives

In response to our questionnaire, DOD and the Coast Guard reported 10  initiatives directed specifically at increasing the recruitment and  accessions of women into the officer corps. In addition, DOD and the Coast Guard have not conducted evaluations of  all of these initiatives, which could help ensure key initiatives are  achieving their intended purpose. For example, as discussed earlier, U.S. Coast Guard  Academy admissions officers visit all-female high schools to promote the  opportunities available for women at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Although DOD and Coast Guard officials agree that increasing the  representation of women is important, DOD and the Coast Guard do not  have a clearly defined role for providing oversight of the various initiatives  and the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard do not  have program goals for their initiatives directed at increasing the  recruitment of women into the officer corps. To improve the Coast Guard’s management of initiatives to increase the  recruitment and accessions of women into the officer corps, we  recommend that the Commandant of the Coast Guard take the following  actions:
Develop an oversight framework that includes or incorporates  (consistent with applicable law):
Service-wide program goals for initiatives directed at female  officers’ recruitment, such as goals related to the composition of  the applicant pool;
Performance measures linked to program goals; and
Resource allocations linked to program goals. In summary, DOD concurred with the first recommendation  and did not state whether it concurred with the second recommendation. DHS concurred with both of the recommendations. DOD did not state whether it concurred with the second recommendation  to conduct evaluations for key recruitment initiatives to help ensure these  initiatives are achieving their intended purpose. For our first objective, to evaluate the extent to which accessions of  women into the officer corps have increased, and DOD and the Coast  Guard have determined resources and funding to increase the  accessions of women into the officer corps, we obtained accessions data  maintained by the Defense Manpower Data Center from fiscal year 2010  through fiscal year 2014. GAO-14-93.
Why GAO Did This Study

Since the end of the Second World War, the role of women in the military has been evolving. Changes to laws and DOD policies have either eliminated or clarified restrictions on women serving in the military. A 2011 Military Leadership Diversity Commission reported that women comprise more than 50 percent of the recruiting pool for the officer corps.
Public Law 113-291 included a provision for GAO to review the Armed Forces' outreach and recruitment efforts directed at women's representation in the officer corps, among other things. GAO evaluated the extent to which (1) accessions of women into the officer corps have increased, and DOD and the Coast Guard have determined resources and funding to increase the accessions of women into the officer corps and (2) DOD and the Coast Guard have initiatives and an oversight framework to increase the recruitment and accessions of female officers.
GAO analyzed fiscal years 2010-14 female officer accessions data, reviewed budget reports, distributed a questionnaire to offices responsible for the recruitment and accessions of female officers, and interviewed agency officials about their efforts.

What GAO Found

Department of Defense (DOD) and Coast Guard fiscal year 2010-14 data show an overall slight increase in female officer accessions rates (e.g. the number of female officer accessions during a period of time, expressed as a percentage of total accessions) for all of the Armed Forces, with the Coast Guard having the highest percentage increase. Female officer accession rates for the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force fluctuated from fiscal year 2010 through fiscal year 2014. The Marine Corps had slight increases from 7.6 percent to 11.8 percent.
DOD and the Coast Guard have not determined the resources and funding to increase accessions of women. DOD has requested $1.36 billion in general for recruiting and advertising in its fiscal year 2016 operation and maintenance budget request. However, DOD and the Coast Guard have not identified resources for all initiatives directed at the recruitment and accessions of female officers.
In response to GAO's questionnaire, DOD and the Coast Guard reported 10 initiatives specifically designed to increase the recruitment and accessions of female officers. For example, Coast Guard officials reported that U.S. Coast Guard Academy admissions officers visit all-female high schools to promote the opportunities available for women at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. However, DOD and the Coast Guard do not have an oversight framework for recruitment initiatives, to include program goals, performance measures, and resource allocation linked to program goals. One of the five Armed Forces has a goal related to the recruitment of women into the officer corps; however, the others do not. DOD and the Coast Guard also have not conducted evaluations of all 10 initiatives. Without an oversight framework and evaluations of initiatives, which can demonstrate that initiatives are achieving their intended purpose, DOD and the Coast Guard will be limited in identifying which initiatives are the most effective at increasing the recruitment and accessions of women, and in directing limited resources to the most effective initiatives.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD and the Coast Guard develop an oversight framework and conduct evaluations for initiatives. DOD concurred with the first recommendation and did not state whether it concurred with the second recommendation. The Department of Homeland Security concurred with both of the recommendations.