Report to the Congress on the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion
Print- Preface: Implementing the Dodd-Frank Act
- Introduction
- Equal Employment of Minorities and Women
Equal Employment of Minorities and Women
The Board is committed to equal employment opportunity in all aspects of employment, and to fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The Board believes that it can assemble the workforce needed to complete its important mission only by attracting and hiring talented individuals without regard to race, gender, color, creed, nationality, or sexual preference, and by providing an inclusive and respectful work environment that allows its employees to fully use their individual talents to advance the mission of the Board most effectively.
In support of its commitment, the Board has in place strategic objectives to attract, hire, develop, promote, and retain a highly skilled and diverse workforce. The Board also allocates significant resources to ensure the success of its equal employment opportunity (EEO) and diversity and inclusion initiatives, which assist in enabling the Board to compete with other federal agencies and the private sector for talented individuals.
Equal Employment Opportunity
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) has oversight for equal employment opportunity and diversity and inclusion initiatives for the Board.
The Board's Equal Employment Program, which is housed within ODI, strives to meet the "Essential Elements of a Model EEO Program" as prescribed in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Management Directive 715 (MD-715) and the Government-Wide Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan 2011 issued by the Office of Personnel Management and mandated by the President's Executive Order 13583. The Board has formal policies regarding equal employment opportunity, reasonable accommodation, and sexual harassment, and the EEO Program undertakes training and analysis to ensure that the Board complies with all applicable laws and regulations. The Board uses MD-715 (which includes an annual barrier analysis) as the primary metric to assess the effectiveness of its diversity policies. In addition, the Board conducts an impact analysis on employment transaction data (i.e., hires and promotions) and a complaint trend analysis. Each of the Board's 15 operational divisions has an EEO liaison who works with ODI to address recruitment and retention issues specific to the liaison's division. ODI, in conjunction with each EEO liaison, monitors progress on increasing workforce diversity.
The Board annually submits to the EEOC an EEO Program Status Report as well as its EEO-1 Report, which is published at www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/diversityinclusionrpt.htm. The Board's 2012 EEO-1 report is included in this document as appendix A.
Highlights of the Board's 2011 and 2012 EEO-1 reported total workforce demographics are shown in tables 1, 2, and 3. The Board's total workforce is 45 percent female and 44 percent minority. The Board reported an increase of 113 (5 percent) employees in the total workforce for 2012. The percentage of minorities in the Executive Senior Level category increased from 19 percent in 2011 to 21 percent in 2012. The percentage of minorities decreased from 46 percent in 2011 to 42 percent in 2012 in the 1st/Mid. Level Manager category compared to increases in previous years as noted in the MD-715 for 2007-10. The representation of women increased from 53 percent in 2011 to 65 percent in 2012 in the 1st/Mid. Level Manager category and decreased slightly in the Executive Senior Level category from 41 percent in 2011 to 40 percent in 2012. Hispanic representation in the Board's workforce continued to increase from a total of 94 employees in 2011 to 106 employees in 2012.
| 2012 | 2011 | Change (number) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 1,315 | 1,238 | +77 |
| Female | 1,072 | 1,036 | +36 |
| Non-minority | 1,339 | 1,276 | +63 |
| Minority | 1,048 | 998 | +50 |
| Total employees | 2,387 | 2,274 | +113 |
| EEO-1 categories | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exec. Sr. Level | 1st/Mid. Level Manager | Professionals | Admin. Support Workers | Service Workers | ||||||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Male | 201 | 59 | 38 | 47 | 775 | 53 | 27 | 18 | 142 | 80 |
| Female | 142 | 41 | 43 | 53 | 684 | 47 | 127 | 82 | 35 | 20 |
| Non-minority | 277 | 81 | 44 | 54 | 859 | 59 | 19 | 12 | 57 | 32 |
| Minority | 66 | 19 | 37 | 46 | 600 | 41 | 135 | 88 | 120 | 68 |
| Total employees | 343 | - | 81 | - | 1,459 | - | 154 | - | 177 | - |
| EEO-1 categories | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exec. Sr. Level | 1st/Mid. Level Manager | Professionals | Admin. Support Workers | Service Workers | ||||||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Male | 211 | 60 | 27 | 35 | 839 | 54 | 26 | 18 | 158 | 82 |
| Female | 140 | 40 | 51 | 65 | 723 | 46 | 119 | 82 | 34 | 18 |
| Non-minority | 277 | 79 | 45 | 58 | 914 | 59 | 21 | 14 | 57 | 30 |
| Minority | 74 | 21 | 33 | 42 | 648 | 41 | 124 | 86 | 135 | 70 |
| Total employees | 351 | - | 78 | - | 1,562 | - | 145 | - | 192 | - |
The Board recognizes that a strategic approach to diversity and inclusion requires multiple, integrated, ongoing efforts. The Board continuously reviews and assesses our employment policies, procedures, and practices to ensure EEO compliance and the full utilization of our diverse and talented workforce. As examples, the Board closely monitors: the pipeline in place to advance and promote young workers, efforts relating to skill development, succession planning, compensation equity, and analysis of applicant pool data. Results of the Board's assessment(s) are considered when deciding how to address issues and trends.
In addition to monitoring hiring and promotion, the Board also monitors the retention of women and minorities by job category, level, and grade. In the event there are concerns about retention, ODI works with management to address issues.
Further, the Board utilizes the complaint investigation process to address employees' concerns. This process is also utilized as a means of identifying trends in the workplace that may adversely affect the Board's employees.
ODI and the Office of Employee Relations collaborate to ensure that the Board properly administers its EEO policies, including those relating to reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, and its workplace-related policies, such as adverse actions and disciplinary actions.
Recruitment and Retention
The Board recognizes that a work environment that attracts and retains top talent is essential. ODI, Human Resources, Employee Relations, and Organizational Development and Learning collaborate continuously to promote an excellent quality of work life at the Board for all employees.
Short-term and long-term strategies are developed to help ensure women and minorities are represented in the Board's applicant and candidate pools and are considered for hires and/or promotions for key positions. In 2012, the Board filled 427 positions, including 116 summer interns. The positions were filled in the following major job families: financial analysis, information technology, economics, human resources, and legal.
The Board utilized a variety of sources to fill the positions. Thirty-five percent of the positions were filled through internal promotions. In filling the remaining 65 percent of positions, the Board used a variety of methods to reach out to a broad range of qualified candidates, including job boards, social media (e.g., LinkedIn Talent Advantage, Federal Reserve System's Diversity Twitter account), professional associations (e.g., National Black MBA Association, National Society of Hispanic MBAs, HBCU Connect), career fairs, and publications that aid in providing diverse pools of candidates with the skill sets--or the potential to develop such skill sets--necessary to fill positions.
Additionally, as part of its strategy to attract pools of talented applicants, the Board recruits from a number of colleges and universities for full-time positions, including those listed in table 4.
| Pennsylvania State University Career Fair - Interns |
|---|
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Diversity Job & Internship Fair |
| College of William & Mary - Diversity Job Fair |
| Virginia Tech - Business & Engineering Career Fairs |
| George Washington University School of Business |
| University of Maryland - College Park |
| AUCC: Spelman & Morehouse Colleges and Clark Atlanta University |
| University of Pittsburgh |
| Howard University |
| Florida A&M University |
| West Virginia University - Engineering |
| Florida International University |
| Hampton University |
| James Madison University |
| Syracuse University - IT and Business Career Fairs |
| University of Maryland - Baltimore County |
| Gallaudet University |
| University of Virginia - Diversity Fair |
| Columbia University Engineering Consortium |
The Board also continues to partner with the Reserve Banks to participate in national diversity recruiting events by sharing the cost of career fairs, engagements hosted by professional organizations (National Black MBA Association, National Society of Hispanic MBAs, and the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting), and networking opportunities with special interest organizations.
In addition, the Board identifies students for paid summer internships. The internship program helps enable the Board to identify candidates for future employment opportunities and provides students hands-on opportunities and insight into the mission and work of the Board and the Federal Reserve System. Many of the students are recruited through colleges and universities (including Historically Black Colleges and Universities), special interest publications, and diversity focused organizations (e.g., the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Washington Internship for Native American Students, Workforce Recruitment Programs - College Students with Disabilities, and INROADS).
Internally, to help ensure equal opportunity and diversity in their divisions, the Board appoints Division Liaisons to work directly with ODI. Divisions also develop their own equal employment opportunity and diversity strategies, such as management development, succession planning, and accountability, and include these strategies in management performance objectives.
To ensure Division Liaisons are aware of innovative developments and best practices, ODI consults with leading national professional organizations such as the Equal Employment Advisory Council, the Society of Human Resources Management, the Federal Interagency Diversity Partnership, Workforce Opportunity Network, and the Conference Board. These organizations conduct valuable research and benchmarking, and highlight relevant best practices, which ODI shares with Division Liaisons to meet the Board's needs.
Training and Mentoring
In 2012, the Board continued to provide Workplace Harassment Prevention training and counseling services to divisions to address EEO and/or diversity issues and trends. Other diversity-related training included "Leading in a Diverse Environment and Working in a Diverse Environment," "Conflict Resolution," and "Diversity Management Awareness." In compliance with the mandates of the No FEAR Act, the Board is enhancing the No FEAR web-based training to be implemented in the spring of 2013. This training is required for all employees.
The Federal Reserve System Leadership Exchange Program, in conjunction with division-specific mentoring programs, enables participants to develop skills relating to their careers. The exchange and mentoring programs provide hands-on learning, promote exposure to different experiences, and broaden cross-system opportunities and visibility.
The Board also has a Quick Start for Managers program, which provides several interactive learning sessions for managers to design a plan of action to help enable them to be successful managers. The sessions are: "Exploring Your Role as a Manager," "Motivating and Engaging Others," "Influencing and Managing Up," "Managing Results," "Providing High-Impact Feedback," "Navigating Conflict," "Building High Performance Teams," and "Realizing Your Impact."
Successes
At the officer level, the Board increased its staff by seven positions in 2012, of which six, or 86 percent, were minorities. Female representation in 1st/Mid. Level Manager category increased from 53 percent in 2011 to 65 percent in 2012. Further, the Board's outreach initiatives resulted in more diverse applicant pools for major job families, such as financial analyst and IT professional, as well as 26 minority hires (out of a total 66 hires). The minority hires included seven Hispanics in job categories with low Hispanic representation. Overall, there was an increase of Hispanic representation from a total of 94 employees in 2011 (4.1 percent of the workforce) to 106 employees in 2012 (4.4 percent of the workforce).
Challenges
Although there was some improvement, there continue to be challenges in hiring minorities in the economist job family and Hispanics in the overall employee workforce.
To help improve the current state of low Hispanic representation, the Board has strengthened its recruiting for major job occupations through its relationships with professional associations, such as the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, and by sourcing applicants for internships through organizations such as the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
The Board also continues to address these challenges through participation in educational forums, mentoring programs, and summer internships sponsored by the American Economic Association's Committee on Status of Minority Groups in Economics Profession (CSMGEP), of which the Board is a member.
In recent years, a senior staff member or an economist has represented the Board on CSMGEP. CSMGEP was established by the American Economic Association (AEA) to increase the representation of minorities in the economics profession, primarily by broadening opportunities for the training of underrepresented minorities. CSMGEP, which comprises economists from all areas of the profession, also works to ensure that issues related to the representation of minorities are considered in the work of the AEA, and engages in other efforts to promote the advancement of minorities in the economics profession. The Board representative helps to organize and oversee the three programs under the purview of CSMGEP: (1) the Summer Economics Fellows Program, which matches advanced graduate students or junior faculty with research-oriented sponsoring institutions (including the Board) for a short residency, during which fellows are expected to work in one of their own research projects while participating in the research community of the sponsoring institutions; (2) the Summer Training Program, which is designed to provide undergraduate students with a program of study and research opportunities that prepare them with a better understanding of what the study of economics entails at the doctoral level and career options for doctoral graduates; and (3) the Mentoring Program in which students are matched with a mentor who sees them through the critical junctures of their graduate program (including the transition from course work to research) or the early stages of their post-graduate career.
Board economics staff have been actively involved in all three CSMGEP programs serving as mentors in the Mentoring Program, instructors in the Summer Training Program, and sponsors for the Summer Fellows program.
