A Department of Justice Inspector General report issued on Tuesday found that female trainees in the FBI’s training program experienced sexism from instructors were fired at a higher rate than male trainees, and were subjected to harsher evaluations.
Male and female trainees who attended the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, between 2015 and 2020 were surveyed and interviewed for the paper.
Despite making up only 25% of the whole group of trainees, the research reveals that women made up 46% of all those who were let go during that time. More than 40% of female trainees who were questioned claimed that instructors were harsher on female trainees and treated men more favourably during tactical evaluations.
According to the research, half of the survey participants claimed that teachers made sexist jokes or anecdotes.
According to a statement from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, “Creating and maintaining a training environment free from bias is critical to ensuring equal opportunities for all new FBI agents and intelligence analysts,”
A class-action complaint brought by 16 women in 2019 alleging sexual harassment and gender discrimination at the FBI Academy prompted the study. Ten of the plaintiffs gave NBC News interviews in which they discussed the treatment they suffered in the training centre.
“They made me feel like I was worthless and disposable,” said one of the women in an interview.
The particular accusations contained in the lawsuit were not examined by the Office of Inspector General.
According to the report published on Tuesday, the FBI’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Affairs informed FBI training leadership of an increase in the number of complaint cases and inquiries dating back to 2015 in October 2018.
The number of informal submissions to the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Affairs increased by 340% in 2018 compared to the previous year. The Tactical Training Unit was specifically mentioned as a source of intimidation in the majority of those complaints, which contained claims of termination from the training program on the grounds of sex.
The report offers the FBI seven suggestions for enhancing gender equality in the training program, including more thorough data assessments, feedback gathering, and internal controls for tactical training to lessen the likelihood of prejudice.
According to the article, the FBI has accepted all of the suggestions. Timothy Dunham, assistant director for the FBI’s training division, stated in a letter that was included in the study that “The FBI has made gender equality a priority and has seen multiple improvements since this review was initiated,”