Barrier analysis working group bridges gap between Air Force, installation barrier analysis efforts

  • Published
  • By Marisa Alia-Novobilski
  • Air Force Materiel Command

Two female Airmen work on engineering projects. A Women's Initiatives Team is one of eight Barrier Analysis Working Groups under the Air Force Materiel Command Major Command Barrier Analysis Working Group umbrella, which was created as part of ongoing efforts to drive greater diversity and inclusion across the enterprise.
To bridge the gap between Air Force and installation-level efforts, the Air Force Materiel Command has established a Major Command Barrier Analysis Working Group as part of ongoing efforts to drive greater diversity and inclusion across the enterprise.

The MAJBAWG will focus on anomalies found in civilian or military workplace policies, procedures and practices that may serve as potential barriers to equal opportunity employment, and upon determining the root causes, they will help develop plans to eliminate them.

“This MAJBAWG is critical to our ongoing efforts to create a better, more diverse workplace,” said Gen. Arnold W. Bunch, Jr., AFMC commander. “As leaders, we must conduct a continuing campaign to eradicate every form of prejudice or discrimination from personnel policies, practices, and working conditions across AFMC. The MAJBAWG will help us to better uncover the root causes of barriers to success and to find ways to address them so we can ensure our Airmen have equitable opportunity to participate at all levels.”

Barrier analysis is an investigation of anomalies found in workplace policies, procedures, and practices that may limit employment opportunities for members of a specific race or national origin, sex or individual disability status. Barrier analysis identifies the root causes of those anomalies, and if appropriate, eliminates them.

The MAJBAWG teams will review and analyze information and data relative to the total AFMC civilian and military workforce to identify barriers to retention, advancement, development and inclusion. This includes examining policies, procedures, education and training, standard practices, reports and programs.

The teams will make recommendations for changes and improvements and will follow up accordingly. The barriers identified by the MAJBAWG will be shared with AFMC installations for further action and with the Air Force-level working group for consideration of their applicability enterprise-wide.

Eight barrier analysis teams led by a senior leader champion will focus on identifying AFMC-specific issues. The AFMC teams parallel those established at the Air Force-level but may change based on specific command needs. Members of the MAJBAWG, to include team leads, serve on a voluntary basis, and team members at any time and for any reason can discontinue their membership on the MAJBAWG. Members are Air Force employees and may serve from any level within AFMC and its installations

The initial AFMC MAJBAWG teams are:

MAJBAWG #1 Women’s Initiatives Team (Lead: Lorna Estep)
MAJBAWG #2 Disability Action Team (Lead: Brig. Gen. John Andrus)
MAJBAWG #3 Hispanic Empowerment and Action Team (Lead: Joseph Oder)
MAJBAWG #4 Civilian Personnel Actions Analysis (Lead: Bill Snodgrass: Adverse Actions: Ron Ratton)
MAJBAWG #5 Black/African American Employment Strategy Team (Lead: Alphonso Thomas)
MAJBAWG #6 LGBTQ Initiative Team (Lead: Paul Waugh)
MAJBAWG #7 Indigenous Nations Equality Team (Lead: Dennis D’Angelo)
MAJBAWG #8 Pacific Islander/Asian American Community Team (Lead: Amanda Gentry)

“We need to continue to work on eliminating barriers to success for our Airmen across the enterprise," Bunch said. "Diversity makes us stronger as a command and as a service. I look forward to working with our MAJBAWG teams and look forward to their analysis and recommendations for change.”