WGRC Web Screen

2025 Department of Defense Civilian Employee Workplace and Gender Relations Survey

Welcome

You have been selected to take a survey about your workplace and gender-related experiences over the past year as a Department of Defense civilian employee. When you click the Continue button below, you will be asked to:

• Create a Personal Identification Number (PIN)

• Read the Privacy Advisory

• Take the survey

Thank you for your time and participation.

Read the FAQ for additional information.

How do I know this is an official, approved DoD survey?

All multi-component data collections in the Department must be licensed and show that license as a Report Control Symbol (RCS) or an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number and expiration date. The OMB control number for this survey is 0704-0614, expiring XX/XX/XXXX.

Security Protection Advisory

WEBSITE PRIVACY: Neither the Department of Defense (DoD) nor Data Recognition Corporation will collect personal information about you when you visit this website unless you choose to provide it yourself. If you provide personal information, it will be treated as confidential.
In addition, our system does not enable "cookies," which are files placed on your computer's hard drive in order to monitor your use of the site or the web. For more information about your privacy rights, please read the Privacy Advisory at the beginning of the survey.
This website collects information from your visit to assist the DoD and our survey contractor improve the website and the performance of our web-based surveys. This non-personal information helps us make the site more useful by recognizing the types of technology being used. The data collected are listed below:

1. The Internet Protocol (IP) address for the computer and the server being used on the Internet (for example, www.verizon.com, www.comcast.com, 122.3.55.34). Depending on your Internet service provider, IP addresses may identify your computer; in other cases, they identify no more than your Internet service provider (such as Verizon or Comcast).

2. The device used to access the survey (e.g., PC, tablet, or mobile phone).

3. The type and version of the browser and operating system used to access our site.

4. The date and time this site was accessed.

5. Number of bytes sent and received.

6. The pages visited.

This information is stored permanently for troubleshooting technical problems and for future capacity planning. DoD and its survey contractor use this information to improve the performance of the OPA survey website. None of this information will be revealed publicly or used to identify you or your responses.

Section 508 Compliance

The U.S. Department of Defense is committed to making electronic and information technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities in accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. §794d), as amended in 1999
Send feedback or concerns related to the accessibility of this website to: [email protected]
For more information about Section 508, please visit the DoD Section 508 website
Last Updated: 05/12/2023

2025 Department of Defense Civilian Employee Workplace and Gender Relations Survey

Create Your PIN

A 4-digit PIN must be created to protect the privacy of your survey responses.
Write down your PIN. If you forget your PIN, we will NOT be able to give it to you, and you will NOT be able to create a new one.

Please enter your 4-digit PIN

Please re-enter your 4-digit PIN and write down your PIN

To proceed with the survey, please click the Continue button below.

2025 Department of Defense Civilian Employee Workplace and Gender Relations Survey

Agency Disclosure Notice (ADN)

The public reporting burden for this collection of information, OMB Control Number: 0704-0614, is estimated to average 20 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing the instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or burden reduction suggestions to the Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, at [email protected] (OMB Control Number: 0704-0614). Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number.

Privacy Advisory

Your name and contact information have been used only for the distribution of this survey. Your responses to the demographic questions will allow the Department of Defense (DoD) to better analyze all responses among varying demographic groups. Responding to this survey is voluntary and you may decline or skip over any questions you do not wish to answer. The survey is confidential. Most people can complete the survey in 20 minutes. 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.

Additional Information

10 USC Sections 136, 2358, 481a and Section 1073 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, authorize the Department of Defense to conduct this survey. Information collected in this survey will be used to research a variety of topics, including unwanted gender-related behaviors, workplace climate, training, and policy effectiveness. This information will assist in the formulation of policies which may be needed to improve programs and services for military members and their families. Reports will be provided to the Department of Defense (DoD), Congress, each DoD Agency and Military Department, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Some findings may be published by OPA, in professional journals, or presented at scientific conferences. Your responses could be used in future research. Results from these surveys will be posted on the web: https://www.opa.mil. Additionally, OCREOP posts results from this particular survey effort on the following website: https://diversity.defense.gov/Documents 

Identifying information may be used only by government and contractor staff engaged in, and for purposes of, survey research. Your responses will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law.
The data collection procedures are not expected to involve any risk or discomfort to you. Survey data may be shared with DoD researchers or organizations outside the DoD who are conducting research on DoD personnel. In many cases, these researchers will be provided with a dataset containing limited demographic information (for example, Component, gender, pay grade groupings). OPA performs a disclosure avoidance analysis to reduce the risk of there being a combination of demographic variables which can single out an individual. In some instances and only with sponsor approval, OPA may make available datasets with additional demographic variables to a small number of approved researchers. There is some risk individuals might be identified on these datasets; however, OPA implements several procedures to protect the data. The datasets will only be available in a secure environment where they cannot be downloaded or transferred. Access to these datasets will only be allowed on a need-to-know basis with an approved data sharing agreement in place. Researchers approved for access to these datasets must adhere to strict procedures, including—but not limited to—data sharing agreements, secure transfers of data, destruction of files upon completion of research, and authorization to reuse data. In addition, receipt and use of these datasets must adhere to all DoD information assurance, security, and other data use policies.

If you answer any items in such a way that you indicate distress or being upset, etc., you will not be contacted for follow-up purposes. However, if you indicate a direct threat to harm yourself or others within responses or communications about the survey, because of concern for your welfare, OPA may notify an office in your area for appropriate action.

• If you believe you have experienced sexual harassment, or are a person who wishes to prevent or respond to it, you may want to contact your organization's Equal Employment Opportunity representative. If you are unsure how to contact your organization’s EEO representative, please click here for a list of EEO contact information by organization. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open this file. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free by clicking here.

• If you believe you have experienced sexual assault, you may want to contact available support service listed below.

  • To reach professionals trained to provide support to sexual assault survivors, you may call the free 24/7 hotline numbers or visit the websites for these resources:
    
    

    • DoD Safe Helpline: 1-877-995-5247 toll free within the United States, or download the Safe Helpline mobile application to use Voice over IP (VoIP) technology from anywhere in the world, or on the web at https://www.safehelpline.org

    • RAINN National Sexual Assault Helpline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or on the web at https://www.rainn.org/get-help/national-sexual-assault-hotline

• If you experienced distress while taking this survey, you may want to contact these additional support services listed below.

  • To reach professionals trained to provide mental health referral and crisis intervention services, you may call the free 24/7 hotline numbers or visit the websites for these resources:

    • SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or on the web at http://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline

    • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly called the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline): 988or on the web at https://www.988lifeline.org

  • You may also contact your organization’s Employee Assistance Program for free, confidential counseling and referral services.

If you experience any difficulties while taking the survey, please contact the Survey Processing Center by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or calling, 1-800-881-5307.

Informed consent is indicated by clicking the Continue button and answering the survey questions. Once you start answering the survey, if you desire to withdraw your answers, please notify the Survey Processing Center prior to December 31, 2025. Please include in the e-mail or phone message your name, Ticket Number, and the PIN that you selected when you started this survey. Unless withdrawn, partially completed survey data may be used after that date.

Please print this page for your records.

Click the Continue button if you agree to take the survey.

2025 Department of Defense Civilian Employee Workplace and Gender Relations Survey

How to Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this survey, you have two ways to contact the Survey Operations Center:

• Call: 1-800-881-5307

• E-mail: [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know this is an official, approved DoD survey?

All multi-component data collections in the Department must be licensed and show that license as a Report Control Symbol (RCS) or an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number and expiration date. The OMB control number for this survey is 0704-0614, expiring 09/30/2024.

What is the Office of People Analytics (OPA)?

• The Office of People Analytics (OPA) contains several research divisions that conduct Joint-Service surveys including the Status of Forces Surveys, QuickCompass Surveys, Workplace and Gender Relations Surveys, and Workplace and Equal Opportunity Surveys for the DoD.

What is the Center for Health and Resilience Research?

• The Center for Health and Resilience Research is a DoD personnel research program that includes paper and web-based surveys sponsored by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD[P&R]).

• These surveys enable DoD to regularly assess the attitudes and opinions of the DoD community, including active duty and Reserve component members as well as DoD civilian employees, on the full range of health and well-being issues.

How do I know this is an official, approved DoD survey?

• The 2025 WGRC is an official DoD survey sponsored by the DoD Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Policy (OCREOP).

• The survey has gone through approvals at all levels of DoD leadership, including Service leadership coordination, and has been reviewed and approved by the DoD Privacy office and DoD Human Research Protections Program. The survey is also licensed by theOffice of Management and Budget (OMB).

• All multi-component data collection in the Department must be licensed and show that license as a Report Control Symbol (RCS) or an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number and expiration date. The OMB control number for this survey is 0704-0614, expiring 09/30/2024.

How did you pick me?

• OPA uses industry-standard scientific procedures to select a stratified random sample of civilian employees who are over the age of 18, U.S. citizens, in a pay status, and not political appointees. This ensures results received are representative of the DoD civilian employee population.

Why should I participate?

• Your responses on this survey make a difference.

• This is the fourth survey of its kind to be administered to DoD civilian employees. Your participation is crucial to assess trends over time.

• This is your chance to be heard on issues that directly affect you, including policies and practices regarding general workplace respect issues as well as sexual harassment, and other gender-related issues.

• As policies and resources may be informed by the results of this survey, it is important to hear from all DoD civilian employees, regardless of their experiences, in order to understand the experiences of the DoD civilian workforce.

Do I have to answer all questions?

• This survey is voluntary, and therefore, it is not necessary to answer every question. We ask that you answer as many as you feel comfortable answering.

Why does the survey ask for demographic information?

• OPA reports overall results, as well as by other characteristics, such as gender, Component, racial/ethnic minority status, etc. To complete these analyses, we must also ask for demographic information from respondents. Analyzing results in this way provides DoD leaders information about the attitudes and concerns of all subgroups of personnel so that no groups are overlooked.

• Your answers to any demographic items are strictly used for this purpose and will not be used to identify individual respondents. As with all questions on this survey, your responses are kept confidential to the extent permitted by law.

Why does the survey ask personal questions?

• Sometimes sensitive questions are asked in order to improve personnel policies, programs, and practices. As with all questions on the survey, your responses are kept confidential to the extent permitted by law.

Why is it important for every DoD civilian employee included in the sample to log in and participate in the survey?

• It is very important that we hear from as many DoD civilian employees as possible who were selected to participate in the survey. Results from the 2025 WGRC will provide information on DoD civilian employees’ experiences of unwanted gender-related behaviors such as sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and sexual assault. It is important to hear from all employees who are part of the sample, whether or not they experienced unwanted gender-related behaviors, in order to understand the experiences of the full workforce. Results may inform prevention and response efforts to enable the Department to reduce and hopefully eliminate these types of offenses across the DoD civilian workforce.

Do I have to participate in the survey since it is Congressionally mandated?

• No. The Department is required to conduct this survey, but your participation is completely voluntary. You may choose not to participate and can opt out of the survey at any time. You may also skip over any questions you do not wish to answer.

• If you do not wish to participate or receive additional reminders about this survey, you may opt out by e-mailing OPA’s Survey Processing Center at [email protected] or calling toll-free at 1-800-881-5307. You must provide your Ticket Number to do so.

What does the Department hope to learn from the survey?

• The results from this survey will allow the Department to continue to assess the prevalence of unwanted gender-related behaviors in the DoD civilian workforce similar to rates derived for the military population. This may inform future prevention and response efforts. In addition, results will also allow the Department to more fully understand the workplace experiences of DoD civilian employees.

Can you compare the number of sexual assaults reported in the DoD civilian workforce to the number reported by military members? Is the percentage higher or lower?

• OPA uses industry-standard scientific weighting and estimation methods so that, given the metrics for assessing these experiences are consistent between populations, the Department is able to compare estimated rates among the DoD civilian employees, Reserve, National Guard, and active duty military populations within statistical limitations (e.g., margins of error and known variance among populations). It is critical for the Department to conduct Workplace and Gender Relations surveys with DoD civilian employees as well to develop an understanding of their experiences in order to ensure those who do experience these behaviors have access to resources and assistance as necessary, which may differ from the needs of military members.

Does the survey ask about experiences outside of DoD civilian job duties?

• The survey addresses DoD civilian experiences of gender-related behaviors in and outside of the DoD civilian workplace in order to understand the full scope of the issues and how the Department can best support all DoD civilian employees.

Will my answers be kept private?

• All data will be reported in the aggregate and no individual data will be reported. We encourage you to safeguard your Ticket Number to prevent unauthorized access to your survey. In addition, to ensure your privacy, please be aware of the environment in which you take the survey (e.g., take the survey when no one else can see your computer screen, take care to not leave the survey site on your computer screen unattended).

• Survey responses received are kept confidential to the extent permitted by law.

• However, if you indicate a direct threat to harm yourself or others within responses or communications about the survey, because of concern for your welfare, OPA may notify an office in your area for appropriate action.

Why do you use my contact information to invite me to participate in this survey? Isn’t this survey supposed to be anonymous?

• This survey is “confidential,” not “anonymous.” In confidential surveys conducted by OPA, the identifying information of respondents is only used by government and contractor staff engaged in, and for purposes of, survey research (e.g., selecting, contacting, and tracking the participation of respondents).

• Individual survey responses received by OPA are kept in separate files from the personally identifiable information of respondents used to solicit survey participation and OPA only tracks survey responses back to individual respondents if a respondent indicates potential harm to self or others in survey responses or communications about the survey. Otherwise, survey responses are not tracked back to individual participants by OPA and survey results are reported in the aggregate so that no individual respondents can be identified.

• OPA's use of the word “confidential” is similar to its routine use in privacy statements within the health professions to denote that the information collected can potentially identify the individual respondent, but this information will not be shared with others unless compelled by law or written consent.

• Your survey responses will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law.

When do you expect the results of the survey to be available?

• OPA posts survey results on the following website: https://www.opa.mil

• Additionally, ODEI posts results from this particular survey effort on the following website: https://diversity.defense.gov/Documents/

Can I withdraw my answers once I have started the survey?

• If you wish to withdraw your answers, please notify the Survey Processing Center prior to December 31, 2025 by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or calling 1-800-881-5307 (toll-free). Include your name and Ticket Number.

• Unless withdrawn, partially completed survey data may be used after that date.