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. 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.³ The Board also allocates significant resources to ensure the success of its 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 Board's Equal Employment Program strives to meet the "Essential Elements of a Model EEO Program" as prescribed in the EEOC's 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 discriminatory workplace harassment, and the EEO Program undertakes training and analysis to ensure that the Board complies with all applicable laws and regulations. The Board uses elements of MD-715 (which includes an annual barrier analysis) as the primary metric to assess the effectiveness of its diversity policies and initiatives. Further, the Board reviews quarterly employment transaction data (i.e., hires and promotions) to determine any adverse impact based on race or gender as well as conducts complaint trend analysis.

In addition, the Board utilizes EEO management systems to identify strengths and areas for improvement in the talent acquisition process. By identifying potential issues, the Board can develop action plans that incorporate short- and long-term objectives. ODI works in conjunction with EEO liaisons from each of the Board's 15 operational divisions and with Board leadership to ensure that inclusion and diversity exist at all levels of employment throughout the Board and that divisions identify and approach diversity challenges with transparency. Divisions also develop their own additional EEO and diversity strategies, such as management development, succession planning, and accountability, and include these strategies in management performance objectives. Further discussion of this appears on page 7 of this report.

To ensure the Board is aware of innovative developments and best practices, ODI consults with leading national professional organizations such as the Equal Employment Advisory Council, the Society for Human Resource Management, the Federal Interagency Diversity Partnership, Workforce Opportunity Network, the Conference Board, and the Institute for Corporate Productivity. These organizations conduct valuable research and benchmarking and highlight relevant best practices, which ODI shares with division EEO liaisons to meet the Board's needs.

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 2015 EEO-1 Report is included in the appendix to this document.

Highlights of the Board's 2014 and 2015 reported total workforce demographics are shown in table 1. The Board's total workforce in 2015 was 43 percent female and 43 percent minority. The Board reported an increase of 112 (4 percent) employees in the total workforce for 2015, of which 35 were minorities and 38 were women.

Table 1. Federal Reserve Board reported total workforce demographics, 2014 and 2015

Demographic	2014	2015	Change (number)
Male	1,437	1,511	+74
Female	1,124	1,162	+38
Non-minority	1,457	1,534	+77
Minority	1,104	1,139	+35
Total employees	2,561	2,673	+112

In 2015, the Board reevaluated the EEO-1 categories assigned to job functions and performed reclassifications in order to more accurately reflect the management structure at the Board. A new EEO-1 category, Sr. Level Managers (grades FR-28 through FR-31), was established within the Management category. Following the reclassification, the EEO-1 Management categories are 1.1 Executive, Sr. Level Officers and Governors (grade FR-00), 1.2 Sr. Level Managers (grades FR-28 through FR-31), and 1.3 1st/Mid. Level Managers. Selected data for EEO-1 categories in 2015 is shown in table 2 above, and the detailed Employer Information Report EEO-1 is available in the appendix.

Table 2. Federal Reserve Board workforce profile 2015, selected data

Demographic	EEO-1 categories
	Exec. Sr. Level		Sr. Level Manager 1		1st/Mid. Level Manager		Professionals		Admin. Support Workers		Service Workers
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Male	145	63	136	57	38	45	984	55	15	13	145	83
Female	86	37	104	43	47	55	790	45	103	87	30	17
Non-minority	189	82	158	66	37	44	1,058	60	13	11	59	34
Minority	42	18	82	34	48	56	716	40	105	89	116	66
Total employees	231	-	240	-	85	-	1,774	-	118	-	175	-

1. In 2015, the Board re-aligned job functions and reclassified its management categories to include a new Senior Level Manager category. Return to table

The Board recognizes that a strategic approach to diversity and inclusion requires multiple, integrated, ongoing efforts. The Board continuously reviews and assesses its employment policies, procedures, and practices to ensure EEO compliance and the full utilization of its diverse and talented workforce. As examples, the Board closely monitors applicant pool data; the programs in place to advance and promote employees, as well as those related to skill development, succession planning, and compensation equity; and the pipeline of personnel available for promotions. Results of the Board's assessments 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 any issues.

Further, the Board utilizes the administrative complaint investigation process to address employees' concerns and to identify trends in the workplace that may adversely affect the Board's employees.

Meetings are held regularly with division management to discuss analytics associated with the division's diversity and inclusion scorecard objectives, actions, and outcomes. The scorecard objectives cover four performance areas: Leadership Engagement, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, and Supplier Diversity.

ODI and the Board's 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.

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Recruitment and Retention

The Board recognizes that a work environment that attracts and retains top talent is essential. ODI and the Board's Talent Acquisition and Organizational Development and Learning units collaborate continuously to promote an excellent quality of work life at the Board for all employees.

The Board takes steps to ensure that minorities and women are represented in the applicant and candidate pools for hires and promotions. In 2015, the Board filled 576 positions (see table 3). Seventy-eight percent of the positions, including 118 interns, were filled externally. Among external non-intern hires, 36 percent were minorities and 40 percent were female. Among interns, 38 percent were minorities and 42 percent were female. Sixty-one percent of all positions filled were in the Board's five major job families (attorney, computer professional, financial analyst, economist, and research assistant).

Table 3. Federal Reserve Board hiring statistics, 2015

Demographic	Internal hires		External hires (excluding interns)		Interns		Total hires
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Male	69	53	197	60	68	58	334	58
Female	60	47	132	40	50	42	242	42
Non-minority	87	67	212	64	73	62	372	65
Minority	42	33	117	36	45	38	204	35
Total	129	-	329	-	118	-	576	-

The Board utilized a variety of sources (see box 1) to attract a diverse pool of well-qualified candidates to fill positions. To complement the Board's use of traditional recruitment sources such as job boards, employee referrals, publications, and career fairs, the Board made significant use of social media, such as LinkedIn Talent Advantage and Twitter, to attract diverse candidates. Combined, the Board's LinkedIn and Twitter job-posting followers increased by over 37 percent in 2015. The Board also developed and published a new diversity-focused recruitment brochure and video. And as a part of its diversity-focused recruitment initiative, the Board's recruiters joined LinkedIn affinity groups such as Diversity - A World of Change, Diversity Recruiter Network, the National Black MBA Association, the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, Prospanica (formerly the National Society of Hispanic MBAs), and the Wounded Warrior Project's Warriors to Work.

Additionally, the Board recruits directly from a number of colleges and universities for both full-time employees and interns (see box 2).

The Board hired summer interns in 2015 through colleges and universities and diversity-focused organizations (e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Washington Internships for Native Students, Workforce Recruitment Programs - College Students with Disabilities, and INROADS). The internship program provides students hands-on opportunities and insight into the mission and work of the Board and the Federal Reserve System and helps enable the Board to identify candidates for future employment opportunities. Students are also recruited through special interest publications.

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Training and Mentoring

In 2015, the Board nominated 10 employees for the System Leadership Initiative conference, Thrive (for manager-level leaders). Six (60 percent) participants were female and two (20 percent) were minorities.

The Board also continued to expand its Executive Coaching program and provided this development opportunity to 104 officers and managers. Of the total, 51 (49 percent) participants were female; 31 (30 percent) were minorities.

In addition, Manager Quick Start, an eight-module series, was offered three times in 2015, with a total enrollment of 28 managers. Fourteen (50 percent) participants were female, and four (14 percent) were minorities. This program has received consistently high ratings from participants, and in 2015, the design for a similar program for Board officers was completed. A pilot of the officer program is scheduled for the second quarter of 2016, and the Board anticipates scheduling two cohort groups in 2017. The Board also offered three sessions of Situational Leadership in 2015. Twenty-two officers and managers participated in this training program. Of that total, 9 (41 percent) were female and 10 (45 percent) were minorities.

Additional courses supporting professional and leadership development were provided to employees through the Board's core curriculum. Course offerings focused on several key areas, including emotional intelligence, decisionmaking and critical thinking, giving and receiving feedback, interpersonal skills and conflict resolution, and business writing skills.

To ensure consistency and fairness in evaluating performance, a new performance appraisal system was adopted Boardwide in 2015. Major elements of the program included standardizing competencies across the organization; aligning the competencies with internal training offerings in 2015; providing multiple training sessions about the process for employees and leaders throughout 2015; holding workshops with leaders to ensure performance ratings are used consistently within the divisions of the Board; and creating a comprehensive, interactive website with tools, guides, and video training modules to increase understanding and adoption of the program.

In addition, the Board continued to address results from an employee engagement survey administered in 2014, which included questions focused on diversity and inclusion as well as career development for all employees. The information gleaned from that survey has resulted in the creation of new professional development programs at the Board. For instance, in addition to training classes targeted
at specific job families and leadership levels, a Boardwide Mentoring Program was developed in 2015, and the first cohort will be implemented in 2016. The goal of the program is to strengthen the Board's internal talent pool and increase cross-divisional collaboration. All Board employees may apply for the Mentoring Program, and additional cohorts are planned in coming years. Also, an internal website aimed at assisting employees and managers with planning developmental activities for all employees was created and launched in 2015. Additional tools, videos, and guides for the website will be developed and launched in 2016. Further, succession planning strategies started in 2013 will continue to expand across the Board, and strategic workforce planning efforts started in 2015 will become more formalized and targeted. The Board will administer another employee engagement survey in 2016 to help determine whether actions taken since the last survey are directionally correct and are meeting goals.

Finally, the Board continues to provide customized training to increase employee awareness and knowledge of equal opportunity federal laws and their application within the workplace. In 2015, the Board fulfilled the training requirements of the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act (No FEAR Act) by requiring all new managers and employees to complete the web-based No FEAR training within the required time frame. The training consists of modules covering EEO compliance, disability and reasonable accommodations, diversity, and workplace harassment. Boardwide No FEAR training for 2016 is scheduled to take place in the second quarter.

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Successes

The Board continues to increase pools for progression to official staff ⁴ for minorities and women in pipeline grades FR-27 through FR-31. Minorities in the pipeline grades increased by 18 percent, from 314 in 2014 to 370 in 2015. Similarly, the percentage of women in the official staff pipeline increased by 12 percent, from 403 in 2014 to 453 in 2015. In 2015, there were 27 appointments to the official staff, of which 7 (26 percent) were minorities and 9 (33 percent) were women.

These efforts to address the challenge of increasing minorities in the pipeline to official staff also support succession and workforce planning objectives outlined as part of the "Workforce" Strategic Pillar in the Board's 2016-19 Strategic Plan.⁵

Meanwhile, the Board's long-term and short-term outreach and recruitment strategies have resulted in major job family hires from a diverse applicant pool of minorities and women (see table 4).

Table 4. Federal Reserve Board hires in major job families, 2015

Demographic	Attorney		Computer Prof.		Economist		Financial Analyst		Research Assistant
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Male	9	69	34	62	35	74	30	54	56	74
Female	4	31	21	38	12	26	26	46	20	26
Non-minority	9	69	30	55	33	70	43	77	58	76
Minority	4	31	25	45	14	30	13	23	18	24
Total	13	-	55	-	47	-	56	-	76	-

In 2015, the Board implemented a Diversity Scorecard to assist divisions in pursuing a comprehensive and strategic focus on diversity and inclusion as a key metric. The scorecard establishes accountability for the setting of diversity objectives and for actions by divisions to achieve those objectives. The scorecard objectives cover four performance areas: Leadership Engagement, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, and Supplier Diversity.

In order to measure the progress of its employment and diversity inclusion practices, the Board developed a diversity analytics dashboard for each division. The dashboard enables management to assess diversity in hires, promotions, and retention. ODI also utilizes the dashboard to identify areas needing focus.

In addition, the Board undertook several significant initiatives in 2015 to address diversity in the economics profession. For example, it collaborated with Howard University to establish a teaching and mentoring program to build relationships between Board economists and the university's economics faculty and students. The Board also is developing a research program to document the demographic attrition at each stage of the professional development pipeline for economists in order to better understand the different experiences and outcomes for minorities and women at various stages in their educational and professional development. Insights gleaned from the program can be used to support the goal of increasing minority and women representation in economics. In addition, to encourage the study of economics as a major, a team of economic research assistants from the Board visited local high schools, focusing on schools with demographically diverse populations. The Board reviewed the recruiting processes and practices for its economic research assistant positions, and based on assessment, expanded its recruitment sources to include additional minority organizations. And as a follow-up to the National Summit on Diversity in the Economics Profession held in October 30, 2014, in Washington, D.C., the Board continued to collaborate with the American Economic Association to address the state of diversity in the economics profession and identify successful diversity initiatives in academia.

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Challenges and Next Steps

As a result of recruitment and outreach activities focused on Hispanics, representation increased slightly from a total of 118 in 2014 to 127 in 2015, but remains low in comparison to the overall workforce. However, to address workforce diversity and to further improve Hispanic employment in its major job families, the Board will continue to build and strengthen its external outreach and collaboration with several Hispanic professional associations and academic institutions such as Prospanica, the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions ⁶ (HSIs).

Additionally, to address the low representation of blacks/African Americans and Hispanics in its economic research assistant job family, the Board is exploring new sources for summer intern research assistants, including building partnerships with colleges and universities. The Board will continue to enhance a comprehensive and strategic focus on diversity as a key component of its human capital strategy. The Board is developing a diversity strategic plan, to be implemented by second quarter of 2016, with objectives to support the execution of the Board's missions and to ensure that the workforce is diverse and that the Board's policies and practices support an inclusive culture.

Increasing minority representation in official staff is an ongoing objective and challenge for the Board. Targeted outreach activities, recruitment strategies, and talent development opportunities continue to be implemented and evaluated for desired outcomes. In addition, the Board continues its participation in minority recruitment events at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and at Hispanic professional conferences and career fairs for MBAs, as well as in events for information technology professionals and financial and legal professionals as part of its efforts to increase minorities in the pipeline workforce.

The availability of minority and female professional economists in the educational and professional pipeline remains persistently low, which creates recruitment challenges for the Board. In order to address this challenge, the Board aims to stimulate an interest in economics and math among minorities and women through its participation in financial literacy programs. Under the purview of the American Economic Association's Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession, the Board will continue to organize, oversee, and participate in the three programs intended to foster a long-term strategy in the recruitment of minority economists: 1) the Summer Economics Fellow Program; 2) the Summer Training Program; and 3) the Mentoring Program.

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References

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