WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 16, 2015) -- The cutoff date has been extended for Guard and Reserve Soldiers to complete a survey on gender relations in the workplace. Officials are stressing the importance of receiving feedback from Soldiers.
The new deadline for mailing surveys is Oct. 13, and Soldiers have until Oct. 19 to complete the online "2015 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey of Reserve Component Members."
The Defense Manpower Data Center, or DMDC, extended the deadline due to a lower-than-hoped-for response rate from all Reserve components, said Dr. Elizabeth P. Van Winkle at DMDC.
"It is very important that we hear from as many Soldiers as possible, who were selected to participate in the survey," Van Winkle said.
Van Winkle said the survey will provide information on sexual harassment and sexual assault across the force and help shape prevention and response efforts.
"This survey allows Reserve-component Soldiers to provide their insights and opinions about what's going on in Army work centers - what's affecting our readiness," said Karan Reidenbach, deputy director of the Army's Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention or SHARP program.
"It also provides Army leadership with invaluable insight into how we can best get at the problem of sexual assault and sexual harassment in order to eliminate these issues from our organization," Reidenbach said.
The survey results will allow Department of Defense and Army leaders to understand more fully the workplace experiences of National Guard and Reserve members, Van Winkle said.
One section of the survey focuses on professional retaliation and social ostracism or maltreatment.
Historically, the Reserve component has had lower rates of unwanted gender-related experiences, according to Van Winkle, who said DMDC uses "industry standard scientific estimation methods" to compare rates between populations within statistical limitations such as margins of error and known variance between the populations.
"However, it is critical to maintain ongoing assessments to ensure those who do experience these behaviors have all resources and assistance necessary," Van Winkle said.
The survey went out to 487,300 members of the Reserve components, Aug. 7. The sample includes 150,300 women and 337,000 men.
It's the largest survey of Reserve-component members ever conducted on this topic, Van Winkle said. Last year, a RAND Corp. survey looked at all components in its military workplace study. This one, however, focuses specifically on the National Guard and Reserve and will provide data on experiences both on and off duty.
"The 2014 RAND Military Workplace Study did include a sample of respondents from the Reserve component," Van Winkle said. However, she added, the intent of the RAND study was not to provide a comprehensive assessment of the experiences of Reserve-component members.
Soldiers can see if they've been selected as part of the scientific sample by going to the Defense Manpower Data Center website at http://www.dodsurveys.mil. They should select the button "Am I in the WGRR Sample?" and enter "DOD ID Number" from the back of their Common Access Card.
Related Links:
Army.mil: Inside the Army News
STAND-TO!: Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Prevention Program
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