United States Government Accountability Office

GAO Testimony 

Before the Subcommittee on Federal 

Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of 

Columbia, Committee on Oversight and 

Government Reform, House of Representatives 

DIVERSITY 

MANAGEMENT 

Important Actions Taken 

and Planned to Further 

Enhance Diversity 

Statement of Ronald A. Stroman, Managing Director 

Office of Opportunity and Inclusiveness 

For Release on Delivery

Expected at 2:00 p.m. EDT

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

 

GAO-08-1160T 
What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Highlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

September 16, 2008

DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT 

Important Actions Taken and Planned to Further 

Enhance Diversity 

Highlights of GAO-08-1160T, a testimony 

before the Subcommittee on Federal 

Workforce, Postal Service, and the District

of Columbia, Committee on Oversight and 

Government Reform, House of 

Representatives 

For GAO, having a diverse

workforce at all levels is an

organizational strength that 

contributes to the achievement of

results by bringing a wider variety

of perspectives and approaches to 

policy development and 

implementation, strategic planning,

problem solving and decision 

making. GAO’s Office of 

Opportunity and Inclusiveness 

(O&I) is responsible for all

functions and activities designed to 

promote diversity and maintain a 

work environment that is fair,

unbiased, and inclusive. O&I’s

analysis of performance appraisal

data indicated that there were

significant differences in appraisal 

averages for African American and

Caucasian analysts. GAO

contracted with the Ivy Planning 

Group to assess the factors that 

influenced the differences. Ivy 

issued its African American 

Performance Assessment Study

report on April 25, 2008 and the 

Acting Comptroller General issued

a memorandum on April 30, 2008

expressing his commitment to

addressing all of the report’s 

recommendations. 

The subcommittee asked GAO’s

Inspector General (IG) to examine 

the effectiveness of O&I and 

analyze the representation of 

women and minorities in the 

agency’s Senior Executive Service 

(SES) and managerial ranks (GS-15 

and equivalent level). This

testimony focuses on the results of 

the IG’s review and provides 

information on actions taken and 

planned to further enhance 

diversity at GAO. 

The Inspector General’s (IG) report recognizes the gains GAO has made to

enhance the profile of its SES and managerial ranks. The report notes that 

the representation of most groups in GAO’s SES and managerial ranks 

exceeded or equaled the representation in either the civilian labor force or

the executive branch agencies. For example, the percentages of African 

Americans at the SES level and at the GS-15 and equivalent level exceeded

the percentages in both the civilian labor force as well as in the executive 

branch agencies. The report also acknowledges that GAO has 

implemented many of the leading diversity management practices. 

Additionally, the report includes four recommendations that GAO has 

already taken steps to implement. For example, GAO is revising the 

discrimination complaint process order to clarify responsibilities and 

procedures when a complaint concerns O&I staff, and strengthening its 

internal controls for tracking, reviewing, and reporting on complaint data. 

In addition to implementing the recommendations in the IG’s report, GAO 

has taken steps to address many of the recommendations in the African 

American Performance Assessment Study report prepared by the Ivy 

Planning Group. The report included more than 25 recommendations. The 

Acting Comptroller General has committed to addressing all of them and 

issued a memorandum on September 10, 2008 that highlighted the 

progress made. For example, GAO has developed an approach for 

convening a series of facilitated conversations on race, begun to reassess 

the appraisal system, created standards for appraisal reviews, and taken

steps to strengthen its recruitment and retention initiatives. 

Furthermore, GAO plans to take additional steps to enhance its diversity 

by completing actions in its Workforce Diversity Plan. In June 2008, GAO 

issued a detailed Workforce Diversity Plan designed to build on the gains 

made in the diversity of its management and overall workforce. The plan 

lists about 20 actions that the agency will take. For example, the plan 

requires that GAO develop a diversity recruitment plan and calls for GAO 

to develop stronger relationships with Hispanic Serving Institutions and 

organizations that work with disabled students. 

 

GAO is committed to working closely with all employees to ensure its 

diversity efforts and work environment are fully inclusive. GAO has 

established a comprehensive accountability framework to ensure the 

effective and efficient implementation of the Ivy report recommendations 

and the workforce diversity plan action steps. GAO has taken many steps 

and plans to take others to help enhance its diversity, recognizing that 

diversity is a journey that will require constant and sustained commitment. 

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on GAO-08-1160T. 

For more information, contact Ronald A. 

Stroman at 202-512-8401 or 

stromanr@gao.gov . 
Chairman Davis and Members of the Subcommittee: 

I am Ron Stroman, Managing Director of the Office of Opportunity and 

Inclusiveness at the United States Government Accountability Office 

(GAO). Thank you for the opportunity to testify about the Inspector 

General’s (IG) report on GAO’s diversity efforts. GAO has a diverse 

workforce. Specifically, as of April 2008, minorities represented about 30 

percent of our total workforce, and women comprised more than one-half. 

Nonetheless, we have gaps in certain categories. We are committed to 

making improvements. To this end, as figure 1 shows, we have completed

several tasks in support of our diversity management efforts. Also, we 

have undertaken a number of important initiatives and have plans to 

implement others to improve the diversity of our leadership as well as our 

overall workforce, which I will discuss later in my testimony. 

Page 1 GAO-08-1160T 
Figure 1: Timeline of Key Diversity Management Related Tasks Completed From February to September 10, 2008 

Feb. April July Au Mar. g.

Implemented uniform 

interview questions 

May June

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 

Posted demographic analysis of 

promotion data to intranet 

Posted results of Congressionally 

requested survey of GAO 

employees to EAC website

Held meetings with 

representatives from our 

employee groups 

Opened performance appraisal 

system review mailbox for staff 

input

Drafted PDP survey

Convened hiring and 

recruiting sounding board 

Posted “fillable” self 

identification of disability 

form

Issued memo on progress 

in addressing the Ivy 

recommendations

Added questions about 

inclusiveness to the employee 

survey

Attended meeting on Asian 

Americans in the federal 

workforce

Sept.

Source: GAO.

Sent reminder notices about 

mid-point feedback

Began agency-wide performance 

appraisal system review

Expanded mentoring program 

and held information sessions

Implemented uniform criteria for 

screening applicants

Issued African American 

Performance Appraisal Study 

Report

Briefed staff on African American 

Performance Appraisal Study 

Report

Issued Equal Opportunity Policy 

Statement 

Formed campus recruitment task team 

Issued Workforce Diversity Plan 

Established Agency-Wide Diversity 

Committee

Instituted process for monitoring ratings 

of PDP staff 

Sponsored Diversity Month celebration

Contracted with Ivy to design 

facilitated conversations about 

race

Met with BIG representatives to 

discuss Ivy Report concerns

Introduced uniform approach for 

appraisal review meetings 

Participated in Hispanic Career 

Fair

Developed a plan to identify 

diversity recruitment best 

practices

We appreciate the IG’s recognition of the gains GAO has made to the 

diversity profile of our Senior Executive Service (SES) and managerial 

(GS-15 and equivalent) ranks. The IG’s report indicates that from 2002 to 

2007, the number of women in the SES increased and the number of 

African American, Asian American, and Hispanic managers also increased. 

For example, the data in the report show that the number of Hispanic 

managers increased from 17 in 2002 to 26 in 2007—an increase of 53 

percent. Additionally, the report notes that the representation of most 

groups in GAO’s SES and managerial ranks exceeded or equaled the 

representation in either the civilian labor force (CLF) or the executive

branch agencies. Specifically, the percentages of

IG Cites Diversity 

Improvements and 

Makes 

Recommendations 

That We Are 

Implementing 

Page 2 GAO-08-1160T 
• African Americans at the SES level and at the GS-15 and equivalent 

level exceeded the percentages in both the CLF as well as in the 

executive branch agencies. 

• Asian Americans at the SES level exceeded the percentages in the CLF 

as well as in the executive branch agencies. 

• Hispanics at the GS-15 and equivalent level slightly exceeded the 

percentage in the executive branch agencies; and

• women at the SES and GS-15 and equivalent level exceeded the 

percentages in the executive branch agencies and at the GS-15 and 

equivalent level the percentage of women nearly equaled the 

percentage in the CLF. 

The IG’s report also acknowledges that we have implemented many of the 

leading diversity management practices. For example, we have 

• recruited at historically black colleges and universities as well as 

Hispanic serving institutions, 

• implemented an agency-wide mentoring program, 

• supported employee involvement in diversity management through our 

newly established Diversity Committee, 

• included diversity in our strategic plan, and 

• incorporated diversity principles into our performance appraisal 

systems. 

Additionally, the IG’s report identifies areas for improvement and includes

four recommendations that we have already taken steps to implement. We 

are revising the Office of Opportunity and Inclusiveness (O&I) order to 

require an annual Workforce Diversity Plan and revising the discrimination 

complaint process order to clarify responsibilities and procedures when a 

complaint concerns staff within O&I. We are also strengthening our 

internal controls for tracking, reviewing, and reporting on complaint data. 

In addition, we are planning to incorporate the diversity plan goals into the 

SES performance appraisal system when it is revised. We are also looking

into ways to remove O&I staff from the pre-complaint processing stage 

without reducing our ability to successfully resolve employee concerns 

informally. 

Page 3 GAO-08-1160T 
In April 2008, the Ivy Planning Group (Ivy) issued its African American 

Performance Assessment Study report. This study was undertaken in 

response to significant differences in performance appraisal averages 

between African American and Caucasian analysts. The fundamental issue 

identified by the Ivy report is that the GAO culture, which values a singular

and uniform approach to producing its work for the Congress must 

continue to change. Ivy recommended that GAO improve its ability to 

adapt to the diverse backgrounds and working styles of its changing 

workforce and make its human capital process fairer, more consistent, and 

more transparent. Moreover, the Ivy Report recommended that GAO raise 

staff awareness of the role that race can and does play in affecting 

performance related communication. The report included more than 25 

recommendations. 

The Acting Comptroller General wrote to all GAO staff on April 30, 2008,

to express his commitment to address all of the Ivy report’s 

recommendations. He issued another memo on September 10, 2008 

updating the progress in addressing these recommendations, including the 

following. 

Steps Taken to 

Address the Ivy 

Planning Group 

Recommendations 

Convening a Series of 

Facilitated Conversations 

on Race 

The Ivy report suggested that we begin our efforts to create a more 

inclusive environment by convening a series of facilitated conversations 

across the agency about perceptions and assumptions regarding race.

These conversations are intended to eliminate barriers to effective 

performance-related communication and bridge different perceptions on 

the likely causes for ratings disparities. After thoroughly researching 

qualified firms and gaining an in-depth understanding of the complexities 

associated with this effort, we signed a contract with Ivy in August 2008 to 

help us design and facilitate these discussions. We decided to use Ivy 

because of its extensive experience in convening these sensitive 

discussions, and because of its knowledge of GAO’s culture and 

understanding of diversity issues confronting GAO’s workforce. Ivy has 

begun to plan for these sessions and we expect that they will begin this fall 

and last through the spring. Importantly everyone at GAO will participate 

in these conversations. Lessons learned from these conversations will 

inform agencywide diversity training—another of Ivy’s 

recommendations—which we will develop as part of GAO’s ongoing 

mandatory training curriculum for all employees.

Page 4 GAO-08-1160T 
The Ivy report also stressed the importance of implementing our diversity 

initiatives in a broad and inclusive manner, and Ivy recommended that we

proactively assess the needs of the broad ranges of groups within GAO as 

early steps in becoming more inclusive. O&I staff held meetings with 

representatives from Blacks in Government (BIG), the Advisory Council 

for Persons with Disabilities (ACPD), the Asian American Liaison Group 

(AALG), the Gay and Lesbian Employee Association, and the Hispanic 

Liaison Group (HLG) in conjunction with developing our June 2008 

Workforce Diversity Plan. During these meetings the representatives 

shared their concerns about the work environment and suggested steps 

that we can take to make the environment more inclusive. We have

already taken some steps to address several of these concerns. For 

example, to help address the concern about underrepresentation of 

Hispanics at GAO, we joined with HLG in setting up a booth at a Hispanic 

Career Fair. To help address a concern about retention of Asian 

Americans, we worked in partnership with AALG to attend an Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) meeting on AsianAmericans in the federal workforce. Additionally, to help address the 

concern about limited information on staff with disabilities, we created a 

version of the self-identification of disability form that can be completed 

electronically. 

Proactively Assessing the 

Needs of a Diverse 

Workforce 

Creating a More Inclusive 

Work Environment 

In addition to the steps outlined above, this June we established and 

convened an agency-wide Diversity Committee, which aims to foster 

opportunities for dialogue and serve as an advisory body to the Executive 

Committee and other senior executives. Representation on the Committee 

is comprised of employees elected to the designated diversity seats on the 

interim council of GAO’s Employee Organization, International Federation 

of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE); employees designated 

by GAO employee organizations; and GAO management representatives. 

The committee has met twice to date, and a Website is in development so 

employees can learn more about its efforts. 

In addition, in June the Acting Comptroller General issued an equal 

employment opportunity statement in which he articulated his view of and 

commitment to the principles of fairness and equal opportunity. Further, 

we added questions to the employee feedback survey to measure staff 

views about the inclusiveness of our work environment. We also instituted 

a process for monitoring the ratings of those in the Professional 

Development Program (PDP) to identify and assess any disparities by race 

or other factors, and opened up our existing mentoring program to PDP 

and other developmental staff. 

Page 5 GAO-08-1160T 
Finally, but equally importantly, the Acting Comptroller General and 

members of the Executive Committee met with BIG representatives to 

discuss their views of the Ivy report and to learn more about their 

suggestions for our approach going forward. The Executive Committee 

committed to an ongoing dialogue with BIG and made the same pledge to

other employee groups throughout the agency, including the new Diversity 

Committee. 

Ivy recommended that GAO conduct an agency-wide review of our 

performance appraisal system. We had anticipated the need for such a 

study before Ivy’s report was completed. Throughout the spring and 

summer, our Performance Appraisal System (PAS) study team has been 

working to re-examine what works, what does not, and what could be 

done better with our current system. The team is guided both by a Steering

Committee of senior executives and a stakeholder group comprised of 

representatives from the Employee Advisory Council (EAC); IFPTE; and 

the Diversity Committee, as well as O&I and GAO’s Applied Research and 

Methods (ARM) team, among others. The PAS study team has completed 

its interviews with more than 50 GAO executives and managers and 

conducted nearly 30 focus groups with staff from all pay plans and bands.

Seven of the focus groups were convened to gather views from specific 

populations, including African Americans, Hispanics, and employees with 

disabilities, in order to determine whether there were issues of concern 

that were unique to these groups. In sum, more than 200 individuals 

participated in all of the team’s interviews and focus groups. Additionally, 

the PAS team has drafted a survey that will be sent to all employees this 

fall. The objective of the survey is to systematically collect employee 

opinions on what aspects of the performance appraisal system are 

working well and what merits attention. The team’s final report is 

expected in early 2009. 

Reassessing the Appraisal 

System - the PAS Study 

Training for Designated 

Performance Managers 

and All Staff on the 

Appraisal Process 

Ivy also recommended that we retrain all Designated Performance 

Managers (DPMs) and reviewers and provide more specific examples of 

the performance that supports the work activities and standards for each 

rating. This month we issued a notice informing all DPMs that they will be 

required to take appraisal training by October 7. We also issued a notice 

advertising the briefings we have scheduled through September for 

employees on the appraisal process, as well as the one-on-one help 

sessions we will provide to (1) offer employees individual assistance with 

preparing self assessments and (2) provide an opportunity for DPMs to ask 

questions about or request guidance on assigning checkmarks or preparing 

narratives. 

Page 6 GAO-08-1160T 
Ivy also recommended that GAO create standards for team performance 

appraisal review meetings. In response, we studied existing practices 

across GAO as well as prevalent practices in the literature, and just 

recently issued interim guidelines for teams, staff offices, Chief 

Administrative Office (CAO) units and the field. These interim guidelines 

for review of performance ratings are to be used for the 2008 performance 

appraisal cycle. 

Ivy also recommended that we design and implement a measure for 

upward feedback. Steps are underway to institute and systematically 

deploy an agency wide upward feedback tool to provide feedback on 

management’s effectiveness in supervising and developing staff. The plan

is to implement this tool in March 2009. 

Ivy also honed in on the importance of ongoing feedback. In addition our

staff, managers, and senior executives have indicated that mid-point 

feedback was either not occurring or not being documented. In response, 

we sent reminder notices earlier this spring about the importance of 

delivering mid-point feedback. 

We have established a working group of executives and managers to 

address the issues related to the PDP. Also, a survey instrument has been

designed and pre-tested to assess the views of PDP staff as they complete 

the program. The survey includes questions about the role of the advisors.

Creating Standards for 

Appraisal Reviews 

Instituting and Deploying 

Upward Feedback Tools 

Monitoring Mid-Point 

Feedback 

Addressing Concerns with 

the Professional 

Development Program 

(PDP) 

Strengthening Recruitment 

and Retention Initiatives 

We also have taken steps in response to three of Ivy’s recommendations by 

(1) forming a task team to analyze the schools we visit; identify different 

types of on-campus activities we support; determine the numbers and 

types of staff that participate in our on-campus recruiting efforts; and 

measure the costs, outcomes, and yields from these efforts; (2) developing

a plan to research and identify best practices in diversity recruitment; and

(3) establishing consistent criteria for our screeners to use when 

evaluating applications and a consistent set of questions for our managers 

to use when interviewing candidates. We also plan to map the recruitment 

and hiring process to identify pain points and areas for improvement, and

calculate the cost of turnover. 

Page 7 GAO-08-1160T 
This spring we conducted a workforce diversity review. The review 

included a careful analysis of our workforce data in comparison to 

benchmarks recommended by the EEOC. In conducting this review, we 

consulted a wide range of sources to identify areas where barriers may 

exclude certain groups. Specifically, we shared data with and obtained 

views from representatives from our employee groups and the GAO unit of 

IFPTE, analyzed employee feedback survey responses for 2006 and 2007,

reviewed relevant policies, procedures and practices; analyzed findings 

from prior O&I efforts; and interviewed responsible officials.

Workforce Diversity 

Plan Identifies 

Additional Steps We

Will Take to Enhance 

Diversity 

The review found that our overall workforce was diverse and included a 

significant percentage of minorities and women. Specifically, as of April 

2008, our workforce was more diverse than the civilian labor force (CLF).1

Minorities represented about 30 percent of GAO’s total workforce, and 

women comprised more than one-half of the workforce. In comparison, 

minorities comprised about 28 percent of the CLF and women represented 

about 47 percent. Furthermore, the diversity in the predominant employee 

group—analyst and analyst-related staff—exceeded the diversity in the 

relevant civilian labor force (RCLF).2

 In addition, for three of the larger job

series that included about two-thirds of the workforce—the analyst, 

auditor, and attorney job series—the representation of each minority 

group was about the same or exceeded such representation in the RCLF. 

Furthermore, we hired a diverse group of employees. From March 2007 to 

April 2008, we hired 238 new staff. The percentages of African American 

women hired equaled the CLF percentages and the percentages of Asian 

American men and women hired exceed the percentages in the CLF. 

However, our review found that Hispanic staff were underrepresented in 

our total workforce when compared to the CLF. Although the total 

percentages of Hispanic staff in analyst and analyst-related positions as 

well as in attorney positions equaled the representation in such positions 

compared to the RCLF, the percentages of Hispanic staff in other positions 

were low. Our analysis revealed that additional steps are needed to recruit

Hispanic staff. For the most part, our efforts have focused on recruiting 

 1

The CLF is composed of those 16 and older (including federal workers) who are employed

or looking for work and not in the military or institutionalized. We used 2000 CLF data

because it is the most current and reliable at this time. 

2

RCLF data are the CLF data directly comparable (or relevant) to the occupational 

population being considered. We use the RCLF when analyzing occupational series. We use 

the 2000 RCLF because it is the most current and reliable data available at this time. 

Page 8 GAO-08-1160T 
Hispanic staff for analyst and analyst-related positions. While we will 

continue to enhance these efforts, we also need to improve our approach 

to recruiting attorneys and recruiting for mission-support positions, 

recognizing that the number of opportunities to recruit for these positions 

may be limited. 

Additionally, we determined that the percentage of staff with targeted 

disabilities in our workforce was lower than the EEOC-recommended 

benchmark.3 The EEOC has raised concerns that data on employees with 

disabilities in the federal government may not be accurate. GAO shares 

this concern and will be following up to enhance the accuracy of selfreported information. 

The review also indicated that there were few minorities at certain levels 

in several job categories. Furthermore, we obtained information about 

agency practices that need to be addressed to improve our efforts to 

develop and maintain an inclusive environment. 

Based on the review we issued a detailed Workforce Diversity Plan in June 

2008. The action steps in the plan are designed to build on the gains we 

have made in the diversity of our management and overall workforce. The 

Workforce Diversity Plan requires that we develop a specific diversity 

recruitment plan (also a recommendation in the Ivy report) that includes 

efforts to recruit for analyst, attorney, and administrative positions. We 

will expand our relationships with Hispanic-serving institutions as well as 

expand the range of sources from which candidates are found. 

Specifically, we plan to contact campus organizations, national sororities, 

and fraternities when visiting campuses; reach out to professional 

organizations that we have not previously established relationships with; 

and attend job fairs targeted to Hispanic and other minority candidates. 

We also are gathering information from our current Hispanic employees, 

as well as reviewing data from the national data base on college graduates.

The plan also commits GAO to take additional steps to recruit staff with 

targeted disabilities. In order to address this concern, we recently formed 

a working group on disability issues that included staff from the ACPD—

our employee group that focuses on disability issues. Our diversity 

 3

The targeted disabilities are deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial paralysis, 

complete paralysis, convulsive disorders, mental retardation, mental illness, and distortion 

of limb and/or spine. 

Page 9 GAO-08-1160T 
recruitment plan will include efforts to recruit persons with disabilities for 

analyst, attorney, and administrative positions. We plan to expand and 

enhance our relationships with institutions and organizations that work 

with students with disabilities such as the Career Opportunities for 

Students with Disabilities—a nationwide consortium of higher education 

institutions and employers that facilitates the career employment of 

college graduates with disabilities. Also, we plan to gather information to 

help inform our recruitment efforts by surveying staff to update their 

disability status, interviewing our staff with disabilities, and analyzing 

national data on graduates. Further, we plan to use our non-competitive 

appointment authority to hire staff with disabilities. 

As shown in Table 1, the plan recommends changes that can be 

accomplished by April 2009—12 months from the start of our review—in 

order to hold ourselves accountable for achieving the plan’s goals. The 

plan will be updated annually and will lead to significant long term 

improvements to our human capital processes that are at the heart of 

diversity issues confronting GAO. 

Page 10 GAO-08-1160T 
Table 1: GAO’s 2008—2009 Workforce Diversity Action Plan

GOAL: Recruit More Hispanics, African Americans and Staff with Disabilities 

Action items Completion date Responsible units

1. Develop a diversity recruitment and hiring plan to enhance participation from all groups April 2009 O&I, HCO

In support of this plan 

a. Interview current minority and disabled staff to determine what led them to join GAO

September 2008 O&I, HCO

b. Analyze data from Department of Education on minority graduates with selected 

majors 

December 2008 O&I, ARM, HCO 

c. Develop stronger relationships with Hispanic-serving Institutions, historically-black 

colleges and universities and institutions and organizations that work with disabled 

students. 

January 2009 HCO, Campus

Executives

d. Expand the range of sources from which candidates are recruited (including campus

organizations, national sororities and fraternities and professional organizations as well 

as using electronic recruiting efforts). 

March 2009 HCO

e. Issue guidance to recruiters emphasizing diversity as a recruitment factor and ensure 

that recruitment efforts include law schools and job fairs targeted to higher concentrations

of minority students. 

March 2009 GC

2. Use noncompetitive appointment authority to hire qualified staff with disabilities March 2009 O&I, HCO 

GOAL: Enhance Staff-Development Opportunities That Prepare Staff for Upper-Level Positions 

1. Expand one-to-one mentoring program August 2008 HCO/LC

2. Hold managers accountable for providing performance feedback by analyzing data in our 

competency based performance system 

December 2008 O&I

3. Identify steps for success and discuss the unwritten rules during workshops to share this

information 

January 2009 O&I, HCO/LC 

4. Complete data analysis for performance appraisal system review September 2008 HCO

5. Announce opportunities for staff to participate in agency-wide projects. March 2009 CG 

GOAL: Create a More Inclusive Environment 

1. Revise employee survey to include questions to measure the extent to which staff view 

our work environment as inclusive 

June 2008 ARM, HCO

2. Issue EEO statement June 2008 O&I, CG

3. Provide training sessions on EEO Policy/Harassment Issues October 2008 O&I, GC

4. Provide employee groups with information that would allow them to reach out to new 

GAO staff and help improve retention of minorities 

October 2008 HCO, GC

5. Hold facilitated discussions on race December 2008 HCO/LC; O&I

6. Modify/revise Self-Identification of Handicap Form (SF 256) December 2008 O&I, KS

7. Survey staff to update disability status January 2009 HCO, O&I, ARM 

8. Revise the reasonable accommodation process March 2009 O&I, HCO

9. Interview minorities and staff with disabilities to obtain information on reasons for staying 

and reasons for leaving and analyze staff retention data

March 2009 O&I 

10. Conduct diversity training to help staff understand barriers that may limit effective 

communication, coaching, and career development. 

April 2009 O&I, HCO/ LC; 

Source: GAO. 

Page 11 GAO-08-1160T 
With the support of our top leadership, we have made diversity a part of 

our strategic plan, implemented leading diversity practices throughout the 

organization and developed annual plans that will help us enhance our 

diversity, particularly within our managerial ranks. Moreover, we have 

established a comprehensive accountability framework to ensure the 

effective and efficient implementation of the recommendations in the Ivy 

Report as well as the action steps in our Workforce Diversity Plan. 

Finally, we are committed to working closely with the entire GAO 

community to ensure that our diversity efforts and our work environment 

are fully inclusive. We intend to take many steps to help enhance diversity 

at GAO, recognizing that diversity is a journey that will require constant 

and sustained commitment. 

Conclusion 

This concludes my prepared statement. At this time I would be pleased to 

answer any questions that you or other members of the subcommittee may 

have. 

Page 12 GAO-08-1160T (998042) 
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Chuck Young, Managing Director, youngc1@gao.gov, (202) 512-4800 

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149 

Washington, DC 20548 

Obtaining Copies of 

GAO Reports and 

Testimony

Order by Mail or Phone 

To Report Fraud,

Waste, and Abuse in 

Federal Programs 

Congressional 

Relations 

Public Affairs 

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