A study of African Americans' failure to break the glass ceiling of general officer rank

Finding the perceived reasons for the lack of African Americans in the general officer ranks of the U.S. Armed Services was the purpose of this study. The study used a qualitative descriptive study method to determine the probable, preferable, and possible future of African Americans in the Armed Forces attaining the rank of general officer. The study included input from a panel of retired African American military personnel (civilians). The intent for the study was to determine how to address the disparity of African Americans reaching the rank of general officer. The sample size for the study was five participants. Data were gathered using a pilot study, questionnaire and in-depth interviews with officers and statistical data. The emergent themes indicated that mentorship is important for career success, adaptability is a strong characteristic to develop, diversity in the workplace, moral obligation to leadership, develop a positive culture, embracing change leads to career success, education leads to career success, find the right job opportunity and overcome discrimination and awareness of the changing environment.