Section 717 of Title VII, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, and subsequent statutes and Executive Orders require federal agencies to take affirmative steps to prohibit and prevent discrimination. Additionally, they convey to the EEOC enforcement authority for the prohibition of employment discrimination in the federal government; oversight authority for federal agencies' affirmative EEO programs; and responsibility for the review and evaluation of federal agencies' equal opportunity programs, including progress reports required from each department or agency. The data reported herein regarding agencies' processing of EEO complaints will constitute the benchmark data which will be used to measure each agency's future performance.
The United States employs over two million men and women across the country and around the world. To ensure our nation's continued growth, prosperity and security, federal agencies must position themselves to attract, develop and retain a competitive, highly qualified workforce. Equal opportunity is key to accomplishing this goal by promoting open and fair competition in the federal workplace, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex or disability.
The Federal Government had a permanent workforce of 2,630,755 in FY 1994, and 2,428,330 individuals in FY 2003. Figure 1 shows the participation rate of the identified groups below:
Figure 1 - Composition of Federal Workforce
Percentage of Total Employees
FY 1994 / FY 2003
1994 2003
- Senior Pay Level - The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 established the Senior Executive Service (SES) as a separate personnel system covering a majority of the top managerial, supervisory, and policy-making positions in the Executive Branch of government. Senior Pay Level (SPL) positions include the SES, Executive Service, Senior Foreign Service, and other employees earning salaries above grade 15 in the General Schedule. The SPL
represents 1.05% of the total federal white collar workforce.
- At the end of FY 2003, of the 15,308 SPL positions in the federal government, 7.09% were occupied by Blacks; 3.43% by Hispanics; 2.51% by Asians/Pacific Islanders; and 0.78% by American Indians/Alaskan Natives. By comparison, at the end of FY 1994, of the 13,385 SPL positions, 5.68% were held by Blacks; 2.18% by Hispanics; 1.35% by Asians/Pacific Islanders; and 0.60% by American Indians/Alaskan Natives.
- Women occupied 25.52% of SPL positions (up from 16.35% in FY 1994).
- The SPL participation rate for people with disabilities was 3.80%, while the participation rate for people with targeted disabilities was 0.42%. In 1994, the SPL participation rate for people with disabilities was 3.91% and for people with targeted disabilities was 0.37%.
- In the "feeder grades" to SPL positions, GS grades 14 and 15, in FY 2003 women comprised 30.36%; Blacks comprised 8.78%; Hispanics comprised 3.89%, Asian/Pacific Islanders comprised 5.24%; American Indians/Alaskan Natives comprised 0.96%, and individuals with targeted disabilities comprised 0.51%.
Table 1 - Senior Pay Level Representation
FY 1994 / FY 2003FY 1994 FY 2003 Number % Number % Women 2,188 16.35% 3,906 25.52% Men 11,197 83.65% 11,402 74.48% Blacks 760 5.68% 1,085 7.09% Hispanics 292 2.92% 525 3.43% Asians/Pacific Islanders 181 1.35% 384 2.51% American Indians/Alaskan Natives 80 0.60% 120 0.78% Individuals with Targeted Disabilities 50 0.37% 64 0.42%
- The average grade level for the total white collar workforce in the GS 1-15 pay grades increased from GS 10.04 in FY 2002, to 10.11 in FY 2003. Of white collar employees, 31.38% were in grades 1-8, 42.06% were in grades 9-12, and 26.56% were in grades 13-15.
- The white collar participation rate in FY 2003 for Blacks was 17.06%; for Hispanics was 6.96%; for Asians/Pacific Islanders was 4.60%; and for
American Indians/Alaskan Natives was 1.86%. These participation rates have
remained essentially unchanged since FY 2000.(1)
Figure 2 - Average White Collar Grade By Race/National Origin
FY 1994 - FY 2003
- Women held 48.58% of all white collar federal jobs in FY 2003, a slight decrease from FY 2002's rate of 48.77%.
- Approximately 33.12% of women employed in the federal white collar workforce were in grades 5-8. The average white collar grade for women was GS 9.28, almost one full grade below the government wide average of 10.11.
- The average grade level for men (10.91) was 1.63 grades higher than that for women.
- The average grade level for people with disabilities was 9.4, almost one full grade below the government-wide average grade level for people with no
disabilities (10.16). The average grade level for people with targeted
disabilities was 8.38, nearly two grades below the government-wide average.
Figure 3 - Comparison of the Net Change for the Total Workforce and
Employees with Targeted Disabilities
Percentage Change from FY 1994 to FY 2003
- The total federal workforce has declined from 2,630,755 employees in FY 1994 to 2,428,330 employees in FY 2003, a net change of -7.7%. However, the number of federal employees with targeted disabilities has declined from 31,860 in FY 1994 to 25,551 in FY 2003, a net change of -19.8%.
- From FY 1999 to FY 2003, the rate of decline for employees with targeted disabilities was more that eight and a half times greater than the rate of decline for the federal workforce as a whole.
- EEO Program Tips -
Workforce Recruitment Program - The President's New Freedom Initiative calls for improving access for people with disabilities to all aspects of mainstream American life, including employment. Coordinated by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the U.S. Department of Defense, the Workforce Recruitment Program partners with federal agencies, each of which makes a commitment to provide summer jobs and a staff recruiter. Each year, recruiters interview some 1,500 students with disabilities at about 175 college and university campuses across the nation and develop a data base listing the qualification of each student. These candidates represent all majors, and range from college freshmen to graduate and law students. This is an excellent pool from which to consider internship positions. ODEP's database is released in March 2004. Consider using this Workforce Recruitment Program to fill summer or permanent hiring needs with talented college students with disabilities!
