Team Diversity and Inclusion in Defence and Security: International Perspectives

As a toolkit for the issues and challenges of diversity and inclusion in defence and security organizations, this state-of-the-art book allows leaders, managers, practitioners, and personnel to examine international perspectives on the current research, best practices, lessons learned, and strategies for promoting greater teamwork, collaboration, trust, cohesion, and organizational performance. Authors discuss critical areas such as (a) gender, ethnic, and cultural diversity; (b) international case studies that employ diverse and inclusive management practices; (c) inclusive, team-based, and transformational leadership; (d) evidence-based approaches to understanding best practices and lessons learned in diversity and inclusion; and (e) methods, innovative strategies, programs, and recommendations to help promote greater team engagement, resilience, and adaptability in defence and security. This book moves beyond theoretical discussions and provides practical approaches and recommendations to generate effective problem-solving, innovation, and creativity across organizations. By embracing team diversity and inclusion practices, organizations can better leverage diverse knowledge, skills, and experiences to help build a sustainable culture where people work together to achieve effective solutions to real-world problems.

Barbara T. Waruszynski is a senior Defence Scientist with Director General Military Personnel Research and Analysis under Chief of Military Personnel in the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND). Barbara has over 25 years of scientific research experience, specializing in psychosocial research for the advancement of defence and security, and science and technology. Her research areas include diversity and inclusion, harassment and discrimination, gender integration, racism, ethnic intolerance and inclusion in multinational military contexts, and teamwork and collaboration in defence and scientific communities. She leads high priority departmental and international research projects, including a NATO team for four years under the Human Factors and Medicine (HFM) Research Task Group (RTG) 301, where she produced a team Technical Report on ethnic intolerance and ethnic inclusion in multinational military settings, titled Military Diversity in Multinational Defence Environments: From Ethnic Intolerance to Inclusion. Recently, Barbara was awarded the 2023 Deputy Minister/Chief of Defence Staff Organizational Culture Award from DND for her research on diversity and inclusion in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). In 2012, Barbara was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her research on teamwork and collaboration in defence and security in the CAF. Her doctoral dissertation, Collaboration in Scientific Research: Exploring the Factors that Influence Effective Collaboration during a Period of Transformational Change, was nominated by Royal Roads University for the 2018 Canadian Association for Graduate Studies/Proquest-UMI Distinguished Dissertation Award. The study findings continue to inform federal departmental policies, programs, and practices, with the goal of improving how collaboration in scientific research is carried out across the federal community. In 2022, Barbara was part of the Canadian Women in Science (WIS) Task Force and WIS Learning Lab to help develop a WIS Toolkit to cultivate greater equity, diversity, and inclusion in the federal scientific community, which won the Fighting Oppression Award from the Canadian Association of Labour. She is the principal editor of Team Diversity and Inclusion in Defence and Security: International Perspectives. She is a highly published author and has given over 150 presentations across DND, the CAF, the Canadian Federal Government, and international fora on her research. Barbara holds a Doctor of Social Sciences degree from Royal Roads University (2017), Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She received her Master of Arts in Sociology (1990) and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (1988) from Concordia University, Montreal, Québec, Canada.

Yantsislav Yanakiev is Captain (BGR-N) (ret.) and a full professor in sociology at the Bulgarian Defence Institute ＂Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov＂. He graduated from the Naval Academy in Varna, Bulgaria in 1982. After serving as a commissioned officer at the Naval Base Varna, the Navy Headquarters, and the Ministry of Defense, he applied for a doctoral degree in 1988 at the Institute of Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, Bulgaria and received his Ph.D. in 1995. In addition, he acquired the degree of Doctor of Science in sociology from the same institute in 2009. From 2011 to 2018, Yantsislav was Director of Defence Advanced Research Institute of Rakovski National Defence College. He was an International Research Fellow at the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy in 1999, at Cologne University, Germany in 2001 and 2007, and G.S. Marshall Centre for International Security Studies in 2012. He was a Fulbright Visiting Research Professor at the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI), Patrick Air Force Base, Florida from October 2012 to March 2013. While at DEOMI, his research was related to diversity management and cross-cultural competence in defense organizations. Yantsislav has been the principal national representative to the NATO Science and Technology Organization, Human Factors and Medicine Panel since 2005 and chaired the Research Task Group ＂Improving Organizational Effectiveness of Coalition Operations.＂ In addition, he served as principal investigator for the Bulgarian - U.S. NATO supported Project ＂Factors that Influence Coalition Teamwork＂ in 2009-2011. He currently chairs the Research Task Group on ＂Human Systems Integration Approach to Cyber Security＂. He received an Individual Scientific Achievement Award of NATO Science and Technology Organization in 2018. Yantsislav is a member of the International Sociological Association, Research Committee 01 ＂Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution＂ and is a founding member of the NATO Defense College Alumni Association in Bulgaria. Yantsislav has published more than 200 monographs, articles, and research papers in the field of sociology of the military, human factors in defence organisations, different aspects of civil-military relations, interethnic relations in Bulgaria, in Bulgarian, English, and Russian languages.

Daniel P. McDonald is an internationally recognized authority on organizational climate assessment, performance improvement, and organizational culture. He has over 30 years of experience as a scientist supporting the Department of Defense in various roles; and a consultant to hundreds of senior and executive leaders seeking excellence within their ranks. He developed and institutionalized the Defense Equal Opportunity Climate Assessment (DEOCS) Assessment to Solutions process throughout the Department. The DEOCS continues to support 17,000 Commanders annually with assessments, tools, and resources, giving a voice to over 3.6M members of the Force and supporting the prevention of discrimination, harassment, assault, and suicide. For this ＂sea change＂ moment in the department, he received the DoD Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service in 2015. Daniel has published over 100 scientific articles and reports. He has edited three books on diversity, culture, and organizational performance, and held a Research Fellowship with the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. He holds an MS in Industrial Engineering and Systems Management and a Ph.D. in Applied Experimental and Human Factors Psychology from the University of Central Florida. Daniel is also the owner and CEO of Performance Absolute LLC.