SUPPORTING STATEMENT - PART A
Workplace and Gender Relations Survey – 0704-0615
1. Need for the Information Collection
Sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination remain a major concern across the DoD and for members of Congress. In February 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD[P&R]) testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the prevalence of sexual assault in the DoD and the programs and policies planned to address the issues. In accordance with legislative requirements, the USD(P&R) issued memoranda to the Services that provided DoD policy guidance on sexual assault that included a new standard definition, response capability, training requirements, response actions, and reporting guidance throughout the Department. The Sexual Assault and Prevention Response Office (SAPRO) supports the implementation of the new policy and requires data to assess the prevalence of sexual assaults in the Department and the effectiveness of the programs they have implemented.
The Workplace and Gender Relations (WGR) surveys assess the attitudes and opinions of military members on gender issues, including issues relating to sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and sexual assault, as well as the culture and climate of the units/organizations in which Service members serve. In accordance with 10 U.S.C., Section 481, the WGR surveys solicit information on the following: 1) the positive and negative trends for professional and personal relationships between Service members; 2) the specific types of assault that have occurred and the number of times in the preceding year; 3) the effectiveness of DoD policies designed to improve professional relationships between male and female Service members; 4) the effectiveness of current processes for complaints, reports, and investigations; and, 5) specific issues related to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and gender discrimination that may inform the Department’s prevention and response efforts.
The legal requirements for the WGR surveys can be found in the following:
10 U.S.C., Section 481
Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005
P.L. 111-383, Section 1631
NDAA for FY 2013, Section 570
10 U.S.C., Section 2358
These legal requirements mandate that the WGR surveys solicit information on gender issues, including issues relating to sexual assault (including unwanted sexual contact), gender-based harassment and discrimination, as well as the climate in the Armed Forces for forming professional relationships between male and female members. The legislation further requires that a survey is conducted for both Active component and Reserve component military members.
The WGR surveys continue a series of surveys that began in 1988. The Office of People Analytics (OPA) conducted Joint Service gender issues surveys of active duty members in 1988, 1995, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2016 and 2018, and of Reserve component members in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2019.
2. Use of the Information
The target population for the WGR includes active duty members serving in the Active component from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard and Reserve component members in the Selected Reserve (in Reserve Units, Active Guard/Reserve (AGR/FTS/AR Title 10 and Title 32), and Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) programs) from the Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Navy Reserve, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force Reserve, and Coast Guard Reserve.
The WGR surveys provide participants an opportunity to be heard on issues that directly affect them and specifically relate to unwanted gender-related behaviors. The data generated by the survey will help the DoD assess the effectiveness of current policies and programs and help to inform potential improvements. More specifically, information from the WGR surveys will be used by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (OUSD[P&R]) policy offices and the Military Departments to assess and improve personnel policies, programs, practices, and training related to gender relations in the military, informed by current and statistically reliable information. This survey is essential for providing insight to policymakers on the prevalence of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination in the military—all of which directly impact Service member health, well-being, and military readiness.
A distinguishing feature of the WGR surveys is the ability to track changes in the prevalence of unwanted gender-related experiences over time. OPA does this by maintaining consistency in both content (i.e. the survey constructs and scales) and the survey methodology. As policies, programs, or legal opinions change, it may become necessary to modify the survey content in order to ensure that it best supports the information requirements of the Department and military Services.
OPA will administer the WGR surveys via the web in addition to offering a paper survey option to select participants. The survey is administered via proprietary software developed by OPA’s operations contractor. To reduce respondent burden, web-based surveys use “smart skip” technology to ensure respondents only answer questions that are applicable to them.
Service members start the survey by going to OPA’s consolidated survey landing page (dodsurveys.mil) and entering the unique ticket number provided to sample members in individual communications (e-mails and postal mail) about the survey. Service members who do not have their ticket number can also use their DoD Identification (DoDID) and day of birth (i.e., 1 to 31) to lookup their ticket number on a lookup site maintained by OPA’s operations contractor. OPA has improved accessibility of the survey site by optimizing it for mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets). Some sample members will also receive a paper copy of the survey via postal mail with a pre-paid envelope enclosed for returning their survey responses.
Service members who are not randomly selected to participate in the full survey will have the option to take an abbreviated, 10-question, survey. The abbreviated survey is also accessed via OPA’s survey landing page (dodsurveys.mil). After entering their DoDID number to confirm that they are not sampled into any of OPA’s full surveys, Service members will be presented with the abbreviated WGR Survey. The informed consent web screen advises respondents of precisely which survey they are taking. Only non-sample members will have the option to take the abbreviated survey.
Persons in the sample who are not active refusers will be contacted by postal and electronic mail (i.e. e-mail) as described below. Copies of draft postal letters and e-mail messages are provided as an attachment.
Sample members for whom OPA has postal addresses may receive: one (1) postal announcement letter, one (1) paper survey instrument with a cover letter, and one (1) reminder postal letter or postcard. The postal announcement will be sent on or shortly after the survey opens. The paper survey instrument (with cover letter) will only be sent to sample members who have not responded. Sample members for whom OPA has email addresses for may receive: one (1) announcement e-mail and up to seven (7) e-mail reminders. The announcement e-mail will be sent on the day the survey opens or shortly thereafter. The reminder e-mails will be sent only to those selected sample members who have not yet responded to the survey or who are not active refusers. The seven e-mail reminders will be sent approximately every seven to ten days. Survey email notifications will be sent via the software STRONGMAIL. Only sample members will receive postal or email communications from OPA.
Letters and e-mails will have instructions on how to stop receiving further reminders. Anyone who indicates by phone, fax, postal mail, or e-mail that they do not want to participate in the survey, will be coded as an active refuser. These active refusers can be identified on OPA’s confidential files and the Survey Control System (SCS) files of OPA’s operations contractor. These files contain information from our records that were used in designing the sample. In addition, the SCS files contain the name and address information that was required to administer the survey. Prior to the generation of notifications and reminder lists, active refusers will be excluded from the notification/reminder lists. Also, prior to the generation of all notification and reminder lists, the members of the sample will be checked against the latest OPA-provided records of the recently deceased.
Surveys will be primarily administered via proprietary software developed by OPA’s operations contractor. OPA and their operations contractor will have access to the completed collection instruments and the resulting electronic database(s). Each of these organizations’ network sites will be secure and password protected. Security will be strictly enabled by using physical and software access restrictions. Each file will be tightly controlled by OPA and by OPA’s operations contractor behind firewalls with password-protected access on a need-to-know basis. Password protected files will be sent via secure file transfer protocols (FTPs) or DoD Secure Access File Exchange (DoD Safe) to OPA’s operations contractor; FTPs will automatically encrypt files. Passwords will be conveyed by telephone or sent via a digitally signed encrypted e-mail. OPA’s operations contractor will secure and then shred all hard copies at the end of the project contract.
Datasets containing survey responses will never contain names, addresses, or e-mail addresses; rather, they will include only randomly generated identification (ID) numbers. The data for these surveys will be stored on DoD servers only. In accordance with the existing data sharing agreement between OPA and the Army Analytics Group (AAG), WGR data may also be stored and analyzed in the Person-Event Data Environment (PDE); a data repository for data storage and analysis maintained and operated by the AAG. Transfer of data to the PDE will take place via DoD-Safe using encryption and password protection. WGR data may also be stored and analyzed in Advana (a DoD data repository similar to the AAG’s PDE), pending OPA’s transition from its remote servers to Advana (planned for calendar year 2021).
Before data can be shared, OPA will perform a confidentiality and data disclosure analysis to reduce the risk of there being a combination of demographic variables that can identify an individual. To prevent identification, some variables will be removed or combined with other variables for the basic dataset. The sample members most vulnerable to identification would be members who exemplify a particularly rare combination of demographic characteristics, such as high pay grade, women, and/or ethnic minority status, and circumstances that would permit someone with knowledge or access to other military records to possibly merge those data sources to produce identification. To mitigate this risk, OPA will ensure that there are at least 10 respondents in any cell for any report that is created and distributed. If there are less than 10 respondents in any cell, variables will be grouped until that threshold is met.
Ultimately, results from the WGR surveys have been and will continue to be used by policy leaders to make decisions informed by current and statistically reliable information. More specifically, the data is used to not only meet congressional reporting requirements, but also in support of multiple lines of effort:
Assessing the Continuum of Harm
Demonstrating the relationship between climate factors (e.g., workplace hostility, sexual harassment, and unit member actions) and sexual assault.
DoD Prevention Plan of Action (PPoA)
Recognizes that the collection and use of data—to include data regarding prevalence, risk, & protective factors—is critical to prevention.
Men’s Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Working Group.
Improving the Department’s ability to increase awareness about male sexual assault, provide support to the needs of men, promote engagement with the DoD response system by men, and prevent the crime.
Measuring Retaliation & Other Outcomes Associated with Reporting in Support of the DoD’s Comprehensive Strategy to Prevent Retaliation.
Measuring reprisal, ostracism, & maltreatment related to reporting sexual assault.
Program Evaluation & Innovation
Assessing the effectiveness of existing or planned programs
3. Use of Information Technology
OPA will administer the WGR surveys via the web in addition to offering a paper survey option to select participants (50% of Active component sample members and all Reserve component members). Consistent with prior years, we expect to receive 80-90% of responses via the web survey depending upon the respondent’s component (i.e. OPA typically receives more paper survey responses from members of the Reserve component). All communications encourage participants to utilize the web version of the survey. OPA has also improved accessibility of the survey site by optimizing it for mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) in order to increase the electronic submission rate and the response rate more broadly.
4. Non-duplication
The information obtained through this collection is unique and is not already available for use or adaptation from another cleared source.
5. Burden on Small Businesses
This information collection does not impose a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses or entities.
6. Less Frequent Collection
The frequency of collection is driven by congressional requirement and therefore cannot be reduced.
7. Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines
This collection of information does not require collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines delineated in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).
8. Consultation and Public Comments
Part A: PUBLIC NOTICE
A 60-Day Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the collection published on Thursday, December 30, 2021. The 60-Day FRN citation is 86 FR 74408 FRN 74408.
No comments were received during the 60-Day Comment Period.
A 30-Day Federal Register Notice for the collection published on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The 30-Day FRN citation is 87 FR 14523 FRN 14523-14524.
Part B: CONSULTATION
In 2020, OPA conducted cognitive interviews of Service members from each of the military Departments in order to: 1) gain insight as to the clarity of specific terminology or instructions; 2) ensure that key terms (e.g., “leader”, “immediate supervisor”, “chain of command”) had equivalent meanings; and, 3) understand whether Service member interpretation of specific questions aligned with what the study team intended to measure. Cognitive interviews are a useful tool for survey improvement and will continue to inform improvements to the WGR survey instruments.
9. Gifts or Payment
No payments or gifts are being offered to respondents as an incentive to participate in the collection.
10. Confidentiality
The privacy advisory reads as follows: “Participants were identified for the full or abbreviated version of this survey via a process of random selection. These research conditions pose no harm to participants. Your name and contact information have been used only for the distribution of this survey. Your responses to the demographic questions will allow DoD to better analyze all responses among varying demographic groups. Responding to this survey is voluntary. The survey is confidential and your individual responses will not be released to anyone. Therefore, any responses you provide regarding experiences of unwanted gender-related behaviors will not impact your reporting options. The Office of People Analytics (OPA) has received a federal "Certificate of Confidentiality" that provides additional protection against any attempt to subpoena confidential survey records. There is no penalty to you if you choose not to respond. However, maximum participation is encouraged so the data will be complete and representative. This survey assesses the respondent's perspective regarding experiences of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and sexual assault. Any reference to a perpetrator is not intended to convey guilt or innocence of any person…Once you start answering the survey, if you desire to withdraw your answers, please notify the Survey Processing Center prior to {survey closing date}. Please include in the e-mail or phone message your name and Ticket Number. Unless withdrawn, partially completed survey data may be used after that date.”
For web participants, the privacy statement is visible on a web screen and instructs the participant to: “Click Continue if you agree to take the survey.” Informed consent is indicated by clicking the ‘Continue’ button and answering the survey questions. Participants who elect to participate in the paper survey see the privacy statement/informed consent on the cover of the survey. All participants can withdraw from the study at any time, and can also request that their data be withdrawn from the study after they’ve submitted it. Procedures for withdrawing data are provided on the survey communications.
The System of Record Notice (SORN) for this collection is DMDC 08 (Survey and Census Data Base [October 02, 2007, 72 FR 56062]). A copy of the SORN has been provided with this package for OMB’s review.
The WGR surveys, including the collection of personal numbers, are covered by a PIA (Survey Database, [December 18, 2020], DHRA/OPA). A copy of the PIA has been provided with this package for OMB’s review.
The WGR will be covered by a Certificate of Confidentiality issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The current disposition authority for survey data is N1-330-03-001, item 8. FILE NUMBER: 1805-09 FILE TITLE: Survey and Census Database FILE DESCRIPTION: Records of census forms completed by military members, civilians, and all persons eligible for DoD benefits. Information in this database are used for policy planning purposes, manpower and benefits research, and other manpower research activities, included are: Survey and Census database master file, codebooks, record layouts, and other technical information required to use the database. OSD Records Disposition Schedules SERIES 1800 342 DISPOSITION: Permanent. Cutoff on completion of the report for the DoD office requiring the creation of the report. Transfer master file and system documentation to NARA at cutoff in accordance with the standards of 36 CFR 1228.270 and 36 CFR 1234. AUTHORITY: N1-330-03-00 Reports would fall under FILE NUMBER: 103-01.2 FILE TITLE: Policy Files – Evaluation FILE DESCRIPTION: Analyses, studies, and substantive correspondence and memos that evaluate or assist in the evaluation of a process, procedure, or function. These files accumulate in the offices of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, immediate offices of the Under and Assistant Secretaries of Defense, or any element of any OSD Component involved in making, promulgating, or analyzing policy relating to a Component's mission. They are not to be confused with Policy and Precedent (102-05.1), Publications (102-06.1), or Instruction (103-02.1) files. NOTE: Use 101-14 for background papers associated with policy case files. DISPOSITION: Permanent. Retire to the WNRC when superseded or obsolete. Transfer to NARA 25 years after cutoff. AUTHORITY: N1-330-93-001, item 2 PRIVACY ACT: Not applicable
OPA currently has an SF-115 request for disposition authority for all survey records, to include the reports, labeled DAA-0330-2021-0008. That has a temporary retention of 30 years for confidential data, permanent retention of 30 years for public use data, and permanent retention of 30 years for reports.
11. Sensitive Questions
The WGR surveys ask questions of a sensitive nature including questions related to: experiences of unwanted sexual contact/sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination. The survey is scientifically designed to produce the most reliable estimates of unwanted gender related behavior. To do so, the survey includes behaviorally anchored and specific questions regarding these experiences in lieu of more broad terminology that may be more difficult to interpret. The WGR surveys provide the Defense Department’s only official estimates of sexual harassment, unwanted sexual contact/sexual assault, and gender discrimination making the collection of these data, in a reliable and usable manner, critical to prevention and response. Resources are identified for those respondents who may experience distress associated with any of these questions.
In order to further support the Defense Department’s sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention efforts, and remain consistent with the DoD’s Prevention Plan of Action, the WGR surveys will also include questions related to sexism. These questions are intended to measure attitudes and beliefs that prior research has shown to be correlated with engaging in unwanted gender-related behaviors or willingness to report these behaviors to the authorities. Including these items will allow OPA to measure the pervasiveness of these beliefs and provide additional data to support the development of evidence-informed interventions.
The WGR surveys also include questions related to sexual orientation, gender identity, race/ethnicity in order to provide the most comprehensive analyses of Service members’ experiences with unwanted gender related behavior and an assessment of risk. Similarly, questions related to Service members’ perceptions regarding racial harassment and/or discrimination will provide additional insight regarding other aspects of the organizational climate that may be related to the prevalence or risk of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
12. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs
Part A: ESTIMATION OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Collection Instrument(s)
2021 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey (Active component [AC]);
2021 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey (Reserve component [RC]);
2021 Workplace and Gender Relations Abbreviated Survey (Abbr)
Number of Respondents:
152,100 (AC)
50,700 (RC)
1,500 (Abbr)
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 204,300
152,100 (AC)
50,700 (RC)
1,500 (Abbr)
Response Time:
0.5 hours (AC)
0.5 hours (RC)
0.10 hours (Abbr)
Respondent Burden Hours:
76,050 hours (AC)
25,350 hours (RC)
150 hours (Abbr)
Total Submission Burden
Total Number of Respondents: 204,300
Total Number of Annual Responses: 204,300
Total Respondent Burden Hours: 101,550 hours
Part B: LABOR COST OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Collection Instrument(s)
2021 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey (Active component [AC]);
2021 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey (Reserve component [RC]);
2021 Workplace and Gender Relations Abbreviated Survey (Abbr)
Number of Total Annual Responses: 204,300
152,100 (AC)
50,700 (RC)
1,500 (Abbr)
Response Time:
0.5 hours (AC)
0.5 hours (RC)
0.10 hours (Abbr)
Respondent Hourly Wage: $51.56
Labor Burden per Response:
$25.78 (AC)
$25.78 (RC)
$5.16 (Abbr)
Total Labor Burden: $5,235,924
$3,921,138 (AC)
$1,307,046 (RC)
$7,740 (Abbr)
Overall Labor Burden
Total Number of Annual Responses: 204,300
Total Labor Burden: $5,235,924
The Respondent hourly wage was determined by using the Department of Defense Cost Guidance Portal (https://www.cape.osd.mil/)
13. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs
There are no annualized costs to respondents other than the labor burden costs addressed in Section 12 of this document to complete this collection.
14. Cost to the Federal Government
Part A: LABOR COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Collection Instrument(s)
2021 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey (Active component [AC]);
2021 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey (Reserve component [RC]);
2021 Workplace and Gender Relations Abbreviated Survey (Abbr)
Number of Total Annual Responses: 204,300
Processing Time per Response: .02 hours
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $81.35
Cost to Process Each Response: $1.63
Total Cost to Process Responses: $332,396.1
Overall Labor Burden to the Federal Government
Total Number of Annual Responses: 204,300
Total Labor Burden: $332,396.1
Part B: OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
Cost Categories
Equipment: $0
Printing: $0
Postage: $1,320,000
Software Purchases: $0
Licensing Costs: $0
Other: $2,900,000
Total Operational and Maintenance Cost: $4,220,000
Part C: TOTAL COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Total Labor Cost to the Federal Government: $333,009
Total Operational and Maintenance Costs: $4,220,000
Total Cost to the Federal Government: $4,553,009
15. Reasons for Change in Burden
There has been no change in burden since the last approval.
16. Publication of Results
The survey administration will take approximately a year and a half to complete – to include survey design and development, fielding and administration, and data analysis and reporting. OPA will field the survey between December 2021 and March of 2022 and then continuing on a biennial basis (i.e. every other year).
In total, OPA will publish a minimum of three reports related to the survey—an Overview Report; a Statistical Methodology Report; and, a Results and Trends Report (i.e. tabulations of responses). Tabulations of responses will be prepared between April and May immediately following the survey administration and an overview report and briefings by September 1st all of the calendar year immediately following the survey administration. Data will be analyzed on an ongoing basis beyond the mandatory reporting in order to support further analyses or information requirements that develop during the course of, or after, briefings and delivery of the survey reports.
17. Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date
We are not seeking approval to omit the display of the expiration date of the OMB approval on the collection instrument.
18. Exceptions to “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions”
We are not requesting any exemptions to the provisions stated in 5 CFR 1320.9.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Kaitlin Chiarelli |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2022-05-05 |