GAO-01-377

Report to Congressional Requesters

United States General Accounting Office

GAO

March 2001 SENIOR EXECUTIVE

SERVICE

Diversity Increased in

the Past Decade
Page i GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Letter 1

Appendix I Agencies Covered in Our Review 36

Appendix II Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 37

Appendix III Profile of the Career SES During Fiscal Years 1990

Through 1999, By Gender, Race, and Ethnicity 43

Appendix IV Appointments to the Career SES During Fiscal Years

1990 Through 1999, By Gender, Race, and Ethnicity 54

Appendix V 24 CFO Agencies’ Career SES Workforce Compared

With Selected Labor Forces 72

Appendix VI Composition of the Noncareer SES During Fiscal

Years 1990 Through 1999 79

Appendix VII Noncareer SES Appointments, 1990-1999 86

Appendix VIII Comments From OPM 103

Appendix IX Comments From EEOC 105

Appendix X GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgements 111

Contents
Page ii GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Tables

Table 1: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups as of

September 30, 1999, to the Same Employee Groups in

Selected Labor Forces 31

Table II.1: Labor Forces Selected for Comparison to the SES 39

Table III.1: Number of Women and Minorities in the 24 CFO

Agencies and Governmentwide as of the End of Fiscal

Years 1990 Through 1999 43

Table III.2: Extent of Change in the Number of Career SES Women

in the 24 CFO Agencies and Governmentwide From Fiscal

Years 1990 Through 1999, by Race and Ethnicity 50

Table III.3: Extent of Change in the Number of Minority Career SES

Members in the 24 CFO Agencies and Governmentwide

From Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, by Race and

Ethnicity 52

Table IV.1: Number of Women and Minorities Appointed to the

Career SES at the 24 CFO Agencies and Governmentwide

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999 54

Table IV.2: Number of Career SES Appointments at the 24 CFO

Agencies and Governmentwide From Fiscal Years 1990

Through 1999, by Race and Ethnicity 63

Table V.1: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24

CFO Agencies as of September 30, 1999, to the Same

Employee Groups in the National CLF 73

Table V.2: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24

CFO Agencies as of September 30, 1999, to the Same

Employee Groups in Our Agency-Specific RCLFs 74

Table V.3: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24

CFO Agencies as of September 30, 1999, to the Same

Employee Groups in Each Agency’s Total Workforce 75

Table V.4: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24

CFO Agencies as of September 30, 1999, to the Same

Employee Groups in Professional and Administrative

Occupations at Each Agency 76

Table V.5: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24

CFO Agencies as of September 30, 1999, to the Same

Employee Groups in the Agencies’ GS-15 Workforces 77

Table V.6 Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24

CFO Agencies as of September 30, 1999, to the Same

Employee Groups in the U.S. Postal Service 78

Table VI.1: Size of the Noncareer SES—Fiscal Year End 1990-1999 79

Table VI.2: Number of Women and Minorities in the Noncareer SES

at the 24 CFO Agencies as of the End of Fiscal Years 1990

Through 1999 79
Page iii GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table VII.1: Noncareer SES Appointments—Fiscal Year End 1990-

1999 86

Table VII.2: Number of Women and Minorities Appointed to the

Noncareer SES at the 24 CFO Agencies During Fiscal

Years 1990 Through 1999 87

Table VII.3: Number of Noncareer SES Appointments at the 24 CFO

Agencies From Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, by Race

and Ethnicity 95

Figures

Figure 1: Number of Women, Men, Minorities, and Whites in the

Career SES—Fiscal Year-End 1990-1999 9

Figure 2: Percentage of Women and Minorities in the Career SES,

1990-1999 10

Figure 3: Percentage of Different Minority Groups in the Career

SES, 1990-1999 11

Figure 4: Percentage of Women in the Career SES by

Race/Ethnicity, 1990-1999 13

Figure 5: Percentage of Men in the Career SES by Race/Ethnicity,

1990-1999 15

Figure 6: Percentage of Career SES Women in the 24 CFO Agencies

as of Fiscal Year-End 1990 and 1999 16

Figure 7: Extent of Change in the Percentage of Career SES

Women in the 24 CFO Agencies Over the 1990-1999 Period 17

Figure 8: Percentage of Career SES Minority Employees in the 24

CFO Agencies as of Fiscal Year-End 1990 and 1999 18

Figure 9: Extent of Change in the Percentage of Minority Career

SES Employees in the 24 CFO Agencies Over the 1990-

1999 Period 19

Figure 10: Percentage of Women and Minorities Appointed to the

Career SES, 1990-1999 21

Figure 11: Percentage of SES Appointments That Were Women, by

Race/Ethnicity 1990-1999 22

Figure 12: Percentage of SES Appointments That Were Men, by

Race/Ethnicity 1990-1999 23

Figure 13: Percentage of Appointments to Career SES That Were

Women, by Agency, 1990-1999 24

Figure 14: Percentage of Appointments to Career SES That Were

Minorities, by Agency, 1990-1999 25

Figure 15: Percentage of Women and Minorities Among GS-15s and

Career SES Appointments from GS-15 27

Figure 16: Minority Group Percentages in GS-15 and in Career SES

Appointments From GS-15 28
Page iv GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Abbreviations

AID U.S. Agency for International Development

CFO Chief Financial Officer

CLF Civilian Labor Force

CPDF Central Personnel Data File

EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation

GS General Schedule

GSA General Services Administration

HHS Department of Health and Human Services

HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NSF National Science Foundation

NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission

OPM Office of Personnel Management

RCLF Relevant Civilian Labor Force

SBA Small Business Administration

SES Senior Executive Service

SSA Social Security Administration
Page 1 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

March 16, 2001

The Honorable Edolphus Towns

House of Representatives

The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings

House of Representatives

The Honorable Danny K. Davis

Ranking Minority Member

Subcommittee on Civil Service

 and Agency Organization

Committee on Government Reform

House of Representatives

This report responds to your request that we undertake a study of diversity

in the federal government’s Senior Executive Service (SES). You

expressed concerns about the extent to which women and minorities

achieve SES status. SES members are critical to providing the strategic

leadership needed to effectively execute agency missions and ensure

accountability to the American people in the administration and operation

of federal programs. Having a diverse SES corps can be an organizational

strength that contributes to achieving results. Diversity can bring a wider

variety of perspectives and approaches to bear on policy development and

implementation, strategic planning, problem solving, and decisionmaking.

Now that the labor market has become increasingly competitive and the

demographics of the public served by the federal government are

changing, diversity has evolved from public policy to a business need. A

common practice in assessing an organization’s diversity is to analyze the

composition of its labor force in comparison with other labor forces. If

disparities exist, further examination may be warranted to identify and

eliminate any barriers to greater diversity.

In response to your request, we agreed to provide a descriptive analysis of

gender and racial/ethnic diversity in the career SES governmentwide as

well as in selected agencies.1

 Specifically, we describe

 1

The selected agencies were 24 departments and agencies that employed 92 percent of the

career SES workforce as of September 30, 1999. The 24 departments and agencies, listed in

appendix I, are covered by the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act.

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548
Page 2 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

• To what extent the composition of the career SES changed over the 10-

year period ending in fiscal year 1999 to include more women and

minorities.

• What proportion of women and minorities were appointed to the career

SES annually over this 10-year period and whether the appointments

reflected the SES “pipeline”—the group from which new SES members

were generally appointed.

• How the representation of women and minority employees in the career

SES as of fiscal year-end 1999 compared with other labor forces.

As agreed with your offices, we also are providing governmentwide and

agency-specific data for each fiscal year from 1990 through 1999 on the

composition of and appointments to the noncareer SES.

In doing our work, we analyzed SES composition and appointment data

from the Central Personnel Data File (CPDF), the database of federal

employees maintained by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). We

also compared the composition of the career SES to multiple labor forces,

because various benchmarks could be used to assess the representation of

women and minorities in the career SES.

As agreed with your offices, we compared the career SES to six labor

forces. The labor force in our comparisons that covers the widest range of

occupations and work settings is the national civilian labor force (CLF),

which includes persons ages 16 and over who are employed or seeking

employment but excludes those in the Armed Forces.2

 We selected two

other comparative labor forces—a proxy relevant CLF (RCLF), which is

that portion of the CLF that corresponds to the SES labor force as closely

as possible in terms of occupations and salary levels3

 and general schedule

(GS) grade 15 career federal employees. The Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Justice have

advised agencies to compare their labor forces to those in the CLF with

the requisite skills and experience to perform the duties of the positions in

their agencies. EEOC said it has suggested that agencies look at their

 2

The CLF is derived from the March 1999 Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by

the U.S. Bureau of the Census. For purposes of this study, we excluded the federal civilian

workforce from the CLF.

3

Because data were not available on level of responsibilities for those in the CLF, we used

the subset of those in the CLF who earned at least $100,000 and worked in one of the 28

occupations that were similar to the occupations in which 87 percent of the career SES

members were employed as of September 30, 1999.
Page 3 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

relevant feeder groups when assessing the level of representation of

women and minorities in the SES or at any particular grade level; and in

the case of the SES, it has suggested that agencies look at their GS-14 and

GS-15 workforces.4

 When an agency’s positions cannot be precisely

matched to those in the CLF, Justice has advised agencies to compare

their labor forces to those in other labor forces that have the qualifications

to perform the duties of the positions in their agencies—such as

comparing their SES with employees in their GS-15 workforce. We

recognize that the proxy RCLF we developed is not a perfect benchmark,

and EEOC does not endorse our RCLF.5

 However, it was the closest match

to the SES that we could identify because data were not available to

construct a direct comparison group.

Of the remaining three labor forces in our comparisons, two of them—all

federal executive branch employees and federal executive branch

employees in professional and administrative occupations—represent a

broader set of skills and experience among career federal employees; one,

the U.S. Postal Service career executive corps, is a federal executive labor

force that is outside the SES. A more detailed description of our scope and

methodology is presented on page 5 of this report and in appendix II.

During the 1990s, the representation of women and minorities in the

career SES steadily increased. The proportion of women went from about

10 percent in 1990 to about 22 percent in 1999. Similarly, the percentage of

minority members in the SES grew from about 7 percent to about 13

percent over the decade. Each minority—African Americans, Hispanics,

Asian Americans, and Native Americans—showed increased

representation during the 1990s. The pattern of increased representation

also occurred in most of the 24 agencies we reviewed.

The growth in overall representation of women and minorities in the

career SES resulted from the greater proportion of appointments to the

career SES from these groups. The percentage of appointments of women

 4

Although there were twice as many GS-14s as GS-15s as of September 30, 1999, GS-14s

only accounted for 1 percent of appointments to the SES at that time. Therefore, we did not

include GS-14s as a feeder group for comparison to the SES.

5

EEOC does not endorse our RCLF because they do not consider it to be the most

appropriate measure for determining the extent of diversity in the SES. EEOC prefers a

comparison of the SES with the GS-14 and GS-15 workforces and does not construct RCLF

groupings for purposes of comparison to the SES labor force.

Results in Brief
Page 4 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

and minorities substantially increased in the 1990s. Rates in 1999 were 29

percent of appointments for women and 15 percent for minorities

compared with 17 percent and 10 percent, respectively, in 1990. The vast

majority of career SES appointments came from the ranks of GS-15

employees and for the 3 years we reviewed (1990, 1995, and 1999), the

percentage of women appointed to the SES exceeded their proportion of

GS-15 employees in each of the previous years. The same was true for

minorities in 1995, but appointments were somewhat less than GS-15

representation in the other 2 years. The pattern of appointments compared

with the pipeline was different across minority groups.

When we compared women and minorities in the SES with our RCLF—the

closest match we could find to the SES in terms of requisite skills and

experience to perform the duties of the SES—we found that women,

minorities as a whole, and each minority group, except Asian Americans,

were as well or better represented in the SES than in our RCLF. For the

alternative comparison suggested by Justice, the GS-15 workforce, women

and minorities overall had somewhat lower representation in the SES.

African Americans and Native Americans had higher representation in the

SES than in the GS-15 workforce, and Hispanics and Asian Americans had

lower representation. Our comparisons of SES representation with

broader and therefore less closely matched labor forces—those in the

overall CLF, the federal executive branch workforce, and federal

employees in professional and administrative occupations—generally

showed lower SES representation, as did comparison with the Postal

Service’s career executive corps. No single one of these comparisons,

however, can be seen as definitive as to whether the SES corps is

sufficiently diverse.

Like the career SES, the composition of and appointments to the

noncareer SES became more diverse over the 1990 through 1999 period.

For example, the number of noncareer SES women increased from 181 (26

percent) in 1990 to 269 (40 percent) in 1999, and noncareer SES minorities

increased from 75 (11 percent) to 154 (23 percent) over these 10 years.

In commenting on a draft of this report, OPM said that it shows the

numbers on diversity are going in the right direction. Even so, OPM

believes that continued improvement will require commitment to

reviewing and revising employment practices that foster diversity. EEOC

took issue with certain aspects of our methodology and expressed

concern that readers could draw inappropriate conclusions from this

report. As we discuss in this report, while our methodology is not perfect,

it was the best we could devise considering the available data. Moreover,
Page 5 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

in this report, we caution the reader about drawing conclusions from the

data presented.

The SES was established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. As of

September 30, 1999, the SES had 6,871 members.6

 The majority (6,205) of

the SES members were in the career SES as of that date; the remaining 666

were in the noncareer SES. Career SES members are individuals with civil

service status who are appointed competitively to SES positions that are

below the top political appointees in the federal executive branch. The

noncareer SES members are individuals who receive noncompetitive

appointments to SES positions that usually involve advocating,

formulating, and directing the programs and policies of the administration.

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 also states that the policy of the

federal government is to ensure equal employment opportunity in the

workforce. To carry out this policy, the act calls for implementation of

agency action through a continuing minority recruitment program

designed to “eliminate underrepresentation of minorities in the various

categories of civil service employment.”

7

 It further requires that EEOC

establish guidelines for use by executive agencies in complying with this

statutory requirement.8

 According to EEOC’s October 6, 1987, directive,

issued under this provision to aid agencies in their affirmative employment

activities, women and minorities are fully represented when their

percentage representation in the workforce at an agency equals or

exceeds their percentage representation in an RCLF. An RCLF consists of

the pool of individuals in the CLF that have the necessary skills and

qualifications to perform the duties of the particular job or occupation.

 6

We excluded from our study SES members who were either in limited-term or limited

emergency appointments, which are nonrenewable, noncompetitive SES appointments for

a fixed term of up to 3 years and 18 months, respectively. OPM must approve each

proposed use of limited appointment authority. As of September 30, 1999, 169 individuals

were in either a limited-term or limited emergency SES appointment.

7

5 U.S.C. 7201.

8

Although the minority recruitment program provisions of 5 U.S.C. 7201 pertain to

“categories of civil service employment” that do not include the SES [5 U.S.C. 7201 (a)(2)],

the SES is not exempt from the prohibition of discriminatory practices against federal

government employees (and applicants for federal employment) or the requirements of

equal employment opportunity (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16).

Background
Page 6 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

According to EEOC, it advises agencies to first compare their workforces

with established broad occupational categories, such as administrative,

technical and clerical, within the CLF. Then, agencies are to compare

specific significant occupations within their overall workforce with the

same broad CLF occupational categories to identify areas of possible

underrepresentation for further analysis. For professional occupations

that require advanced degrees and/or licenses, such as engineers, doctors,

or attorneys, EEOC advises agencies to compare each of the professional

occupations in their agencies with the corresponding occupations in the

CLF.

EEOC also said it advises agencies, in determining whether

underrepresentation of minorities exists in the various levels of the

workforce, to follow the guidance contained in the Department of Justice’s

February 29, 1996, memorandum on affirmative action in federal

employment. Among other things, that memorandum gives examples of

comparative labor forces that agencies can use to determine whether

minority groups are underrepresented in particular jobs. For example, the

memorandum states that an agency would determine whether minorities

were underrepresented in its workforce by comparing minority

representation in the job at issue to the relevant or qualified labor pool in

the CLF, rather than to the national CLF. The memorandum also indicates

that where the job at issue cannot be precisely matched to a job in the

CLF, an agency should use the qualified labor force that most closely

matches its qualifications for the job at issue. For example, the

memorandum states that an agency would determine whether minorities

were underrepresented in its SES workforce by comparing the number of

minority GS-15 employees it employs, and others with similar

qualifications, to the number of minority SES members it employs.

Comparisons with other labor forces are an important part of determining

what further actions agencies need to take. However, even if women and

minorities are not as well represented in the career SES when compared

with other selected labor forces, this information alone would not be

sufficient evidence to conclude that discrimination had occurred. In

addition, it should not be concluded that affirmative employment efforts

are no longer needed to further improve the representation of women and

minorities in the career SES if the comparisons show they are as well or

better represented in the SES as in other selected labor forces.
Page 7 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

To assess change in the career SES composition during the 1990s, we

analyzed data obtained from OPM’s CPDF on the female and minority

makeup of the career SES from fiscal year-end 1990 through 1999. We

analyzed the data, by race/ethnicity and gender, to identify trends in the

percentages of women and minorities employed in the career SES

governmentwide and in each of 24 CFO agencies over the 10-year period.

We did not independently verify the CPDF data on the SES for the years

we reviewed. However, we reported in 1998 that governmentwide data

from the CPDF for the key variables in this study (gender, race/ethnicity,

GS-grade, pay plan, occupation, career status, agency, and personnel

action) were 97 percent or more accurate.9

For the first part of our second objective, to determine the proportion of

women and minorities appointed to the career SES annually over this 10-

year period, we obtained and analyzed data from the CPDF for each fiscal

year from 1990 through 1999.10 We excluded career SES appointments that

were reinstatements into the career SES and transfers of career SES

individuals from one agency to another (about 1 percent combined). For

the second part of our second objective, to determine whether career SES

appointments reflected the SES pipeline from which most new SES

members were generally appointed, we obtained and analyzed data from

the CPDF for each of 3 years (1990, 1995, and 1999). The 3 years

represented the beginning, middle, and end of our overall review period.

We compared the diversity of the career SES appointees with the diversity

of the pipeline. Because data were not readily available on who actually

applied for SES vacancies and because we could not clearly determine the

workforces from which all career SES appointees came, we limited the

pipeline analysis to career SES appointments of career GS-15 and

equivalent employees from within the appointing agency. Over 90 percent

of those appointed to the career SES from within an agency were career

GS-15 and equivalent employees the year prior to their appointment and

about 83 percent of all career SES appointments were from within an

agency. Although we recognized that all GS-15 employees were not in

managerial or supervisory positions, we selected the GS-15 workforce and

its equivalent as the SES pipeline because we found that 25 percent of the

 9

See OPM’s Central Personnel Data File: Data Appear Sufficiently Reliable to Meet Most

Customer Needs, (GAO/GGD-98-199, Sept. 30, 1998).

10The CPDF does not include appointment data for the Federal Bureau of Investigation

(FBI), which is part of the Department of Justice.

Scope and

Methodology
Page 8 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

GS-15 workforce appointed to the SES in fiscal year 1999 were not

managers or supervisors in fiscal year 1998.

To look at representation in the career SES compared with other labor

forces, we calculated the proportions of women and minorities in the

career SES, as of September 30, 1999, and compared the result with

similarly calculated proportions of women and minorities in the six labor

forces. The labor forces, which varied in the extent to which they were

similar to the career SES in terms of occupation and salary, were the

national CLF, excluding federal employees; an RCLF, excluding federal

employees, that we developed; the federal executive branch career

workforce as a whole; career federal employees in professional and

administrative occupations; the GS-15 career workforce; and the Postal

Service career executive corps.

To provide data on the composition of and appointments to the noncareer

SES, we obtained and analyzed governmentwide and agency-specific data

from OPM’s CPDF. Data were obtained for each fiscal year from 1990

through 1999.

We did our work in Washington, D.C., from January 2000 through January

2001 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing

standards. A more detailed description of the scope and methodology used

to answer each of the objectives is provided in appendix II.

The proportion of women and minorities in the career SES generally

increased both governmentwide and in the 24 CFO agencies during the

1990 through 1999 period. The percentage of white women increased

substantially while the percentage of white men declined.

From fiscal years 1990 through 1999, the career SES varied in size from a

high of 7,583 in 1992 to a low of 6,183 in 1998. While the number of career

SES employees overall decreased, the number of women and minorities

steadily increased over this 10-year period, as shown in figure 1. The

number of women in the career SES governmentwide more than doubled

from 626 in 1990 to 1,352 in 1999, while the number of men declined. The

number of minorities increased from 487 as of September 30, 1990, to 807

by the end of fiscal year 1999. Figure 1 also shows that the number of

white and male career SES members declined over the 10-year period but

continued to make up the majority of the career SES workforce.

Career SES

Composition Changed

From 1990 Through

1999

Women and Minorities

Steadily Increased During

Fiscal Years 1990 Through

1999
Page 9 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 1: Number of Women, Men, Minorities, and Whites in the Career SES—Fiscal

Year-End 1990-1999

Note: Minority women are counted in both the women and minority trend lines.

Source: GAO’ analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.

Governmentwide, women and minorities became a greater proportion of

the career SES workforce over the 1990 through 1999 period. The amount

of growth that minorities experienced as a group was more modest than

that of women. As shown in figure 2, the proportion of women in the

career SES grew to 21.8 percent as of the end of fiscal year 1999, up 12

percentage points from the fiscal year-end 1990 rate of 9.5 percent.

Minorities grew from 7.4 percent of the career SES as of September 30,

1990, to 13 percent as of September 30, 1999.
Page 10 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 2: Percentage of Women and Minorities in the Career SES, 1990-1999

Note: Percentages are based on the number of career SES members employed as of September 30

of each fiscal year. Minority women are counted in both trend lines.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.

The annual rate of increase for women and minorities in the career SES

over the 10-year period was generally less than 1 percent. The highest

annual rate of increase for women (2.4 percent) and minorities (1.1

percent) occurred between 1993 and 1994. The number of women and

minorities in the career SES each fiscal year from 1990 through 1999 is

shown in table III.1 of appendix III.

Figure 3 shows the growth trends among the four minority groups—

African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans—

over the 1990 through 1999 period. African Americans increased from 4.6

percent as of September 30, 1990, to 7.8 percent as of September 30,

1999—a 3.2 percentage point increase over the 10-year period. The

proportion of Native Americans in the career SES was 0.6 percent as of

September 30, 1990, and from fiscal year 1991 through fiscal year 1997,
Page 11 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

they consistently made up 0.8 percent of the career SES. By the end of

fiscal year 1999, the proportion of Native Americans in the career SES had

increased to 1.1 percent, resulting in a 0.5 percentage point increase over

the 1990 through 1999 period. The proportion of Asian Americans and

Hispanics in the career SES over the 1990 through 1999 period was slightly

above the percentage of Native Americans.

Figure 3: Percentage of Different Minority Groups in the Career SES, 1990-1999

Note: Percentages are based on the total number of career SES members employed as of

September 30 of each fiscal year.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.
Page 12 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

The extent of change in the composition of the career SES

governmentwide varied when analyzed by gender and race/ethnicity

combined. Governmentwide, white women experienced a higher

percentage point change relative to each of the minority women groups

over the 1990 through 1999 period. As figure 4 shows, the proportion of

white women in the career SES increased more than 9 percentage points

from 8.2 percent in 1990 to 17.6 percent in 1999. Although minority women

also experienced some growth over the 1990 through 1999 period, the

extent of change in their growth was substantially less than that of white

women. African-American women increased about 2 percentage points

over the 10-year period from nearly 1 percent in 1990 to 2.7 percent in

1999; Hispanic, Asian-American, and Native-American women each

increased less than 1 percentage point. Minority women, as a group, made

up 4 percent of the career SES workforce by the end of fiscal year 1999.

The extent of change in the number of career SES women is shown by

race and ethnicity in table III.2 of appendix III.

Governmentwide Changes

in Percentage of Women

and Men in the Career SES

Varied by Race and

Ethnicity
Page 13 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 4: Percentage of Women in the Career SES by Race/Ethnicity, 1990-1999

Note: Percentages are based on the total number of career SES members employed as of

September 30 of each fiscal year.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.

Figure 4 also shows that over the 10-year period, differences existed

between the proportion of white women and minority women in the career

SES, and these differences became more pronounced in 1994 and

continued to widen. As of September 30, 1990, the difference between

white women and African-American women, the largest group of minority

women, was 7 percentage points. By the end of fiscal year 1999, the

difference had increased to about 15 percentage points.
Page 14 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

The proportion of white men, who made up the majority of the career SES

workforce governmentwide over the 1990 through 1999 period, declined

by 15 percentage points during this 10-year period from 84 percent in 1990

to 69 percent in 1999, as shown in figure 5. This decline in the percentage

of white men can, in part, be attributed to their retirement11 and their

replacement with more white women and minorities rather than with

white men. African-American men increased 1.4 percentage points over

the 10-year period from 3.7 percent in 1990 to 5.1 percent in 1999.

Hispanic, Asian-American, and Native-American men each made up nearly

2 percent or less of the career SES workforce during the 1990 through

1999 period.

 11In May 2000, we reported that in each of fiscal years 1992 through 1998, between 2

percent and 10 percent of the career SES workforce, which was comprised mostly of white

men, retired. See Senior Executive Service: Retirement Trends Underscore the Importance

of Succession Planning (GAO/GGD-00-113BR, May 12, 2000).
Page 15 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 5: Percentage of Men in the Career SES by Race/Ethnicity, 1990-1999

Note: Percentages are based on the total number of career SES members employed as of

September 30 of each fiscal year.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.

The extent of change in the proportion of women and minorities in the

career SES varied among the 24 CFO agencies over the 1990 through 1999

period. The proportion of women in the career SES increased over the 10-

year period in each of the 24 agencies. The proportion of minorities in the

career SES also increased over this 10-year period in all of the 24 agencies,

except two—FEMA and State.

As figure 6 shows, each of the 24 CFO agencies, and the federal

government as a whole, had a higher proportion of women career SES

Changes in the Proportion

of Women and Minorities

in the Career SES Varied

Among the 24 CFO

Agencies
Page 16 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

members as of September 30, 1999, than in 1990. This figure also shows

that OPM, which had a relatively small career SES workforce (38) as of the

end of fiscal year 1999, had the highest proportion of women (42 percent)

in its career SES workforce. Veterans Affairs, with 248 career SES

members as of the end of fiscal year 1999, had the lowest proportion (13

percent) of women in its career SES. The number of career SES women in

each of the 24 agencies from 1990 through 1999 is shown in table III.1 of

appendix III.

Figure 6: Percentage of Career SES Women in the 24 CFO Agencies as of Fiscal Year-End 1990 and 1999

Note: The agencies are ordered by the percentage change between 1990 and 1999. (See fig. 7 also.)

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.

The percentage of women career SES members increased at each agency.

There was a larger percentage-point increase at some agencies than at

others, as figure 7 shows. The change ranged from 21-percentage points

(Interior) to 5-percentage points (Veterans Affairs). There was even more
Page 17 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

variation across agencies when we examined trends in women by race and

ethnicity. Details of that analysis are presented in table III.2 in appendix

III.

Figure 7: Extent of Change in the Percentage of Career SES Women in the 24 CFO Agencies Over the 1990-1999 Period

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.

As shown in figure 8, the percentage of minority career SES employees

increased over the 1990 through 1999 period at all of the 24 CFO agencies

except two—FEMA and State. Figure 8 also shows that SBA, with 34

career SES members as of September 30, 1999, had the highest percentage

of minorities in its career SES workforce. FEMA, which had 29 career SES

members as of the end of fiscal year 1999, had the lowest percentage of

minority career SES members.
Page 18 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 8: Percentage of Career SES Minority Employees in the 24 CFO Agencies as of Fiscal Year-End 1990 and 1999

Note: The agencies are ordered by the percentage change between 1990 and 1999. (See fig. 9 also.)

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.

As with the change in the percentage of women, figure 9 shows that

agencies differed in the extent of change in the percentage of minorities

over this period. The amount of increase among minority career SES

employees ranged from 0.2 percentage point at Veterans Affairs to 19

percentage points at SBA. The percentage of minorities declined by 0.8

percentage point and 1.8 percentage points at FEMA and State,

respectively. For details on the number of career SES minorities at each of

the 24 CFO agencies from 1990 through 1999 and on the extent of change

in the number of minorities, see tables III.1 and III.3, respectively, in

appendix III.

Interior n = 182

Agriculture n = 276

SBA n = 34

HHS n = 417

GSA n = 86

OPM n = 38

Transportation n = 174

Treasury n = 509

State n = 107

NASA n = 404

HUD n = 70

EPA n = 249

Commerce n = 306

Justice n = 556

Energy n = 381

SSA n = 104

AID n = 26

NSF n = 81

Defense n = 1109

NRC n = 140

Labor n = 126

FEMA n = 29

Veterans Affairs n = 248

Percentage

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Education n = 57

Governmentwide n = 6,205

FY 1999

FY 1990

N = The total number of career SES members employed as of September 30, 1999.

A
Page 19 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 9: Extent of Change in the Percentage of Minority Career SES Employees in the 24 CFO Agencies Over the 1990-1999

Period

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.

The gender and racial/ethnic diversity of those appointed to the SES each

year will, of course, affect the composition of the SES workforce. For

fiscal years 1990 through 1999, annual appointments to the career SES

included more women and minorities as the decade went on. The extent of

diversity in SES appointments varied among the selected agencies.

We also found that in comparing SES appointments to the GS-15

workforce, the pipeline from which almost all SES appointments came

over the 3 years (1990, 1995, and 1999) that we reviewed, the percentage of

women appointed to the SES was greater than the percentage of women in

the GS-15 workforce for all 3 years. A higher percentage of minorities was

SES Appointments

Became More Diverse

and Mirrored

Diversity in Pipeline
Page 20 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

appointed to the SES from the GS-15 workforce in 1 of 3 years, and the

pattern of appointments compared with the pipeline was quite different

across the minority groups.

During the period from 1990 through 1999, the general pattern was an

increase in women and minority SES appointments in the mid-1990s from

a lower level in the early years of the decade. From 1990 through 1999,

about 25 percent (1,298) of the 5,294 career SES appointments were

women and 14.4 percent (763) were minorities. African Americans

received 9 percent of the career SES appointments followed by Hispanics

(2.6 percent), Asian Americans (1.7 percent), and Native Americans (1.2

percent). For details on the number of women, minorities as a whole, and

minority groups appointed annually to the career SES over the 10-year

period, see appendix IV.

As shown in figure 10, the percentage of career SES appointees that were

women increased from 17 percent in 1990 to 29 percent in 1999. Minority

appointments to the career SES increased from 9.5 percent in 1990 to 14.9

percent in 1999.

Trends in SES

Appointments, 1990

Through 1999
Page 21 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 10: Percentage of Women and Minorities Appointed to the Career SES, 1990-

1999

Note: Percentages are based on the total number of career SES appointments, except for the FBI,

each fiscal year from 1990 through 1999. Minority women are counted in both trend lines.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data in OPM’s CPDF.

Figures 11 and 12 show trends in appointments for women and men by

race and ethnicity. In each year, the largest percentages of appointments

were white women and white men. Of all appointments during this period,

19.8 percent were white women; 65.5 percent were white men.
Page 22 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 11: Percentage of SES Appointments That Were Women, by Race/Ethnicity

1990-1999

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data in OPM’s CPDF.
Page 23 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 12: Percentage of SES Appointments That Were Men, by Race/Ethnicity

1990-1999

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data in OPM’s CPDF.

Figures 13 and 14 below show the percentage of career SES appointments

that were women and minorities for each CFO agency and the government

as a whole from 1990 through 1999. For details on the number of women

and minorities appointed annually to the career SES in each agency and

governmentwide, see table IV.1 in appendix IV.
Page 24 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 13: Percentage of Appointments to Career SES That Were Women, by Agency, 1990-1999

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data in OPM’s CPDF.
Page 25 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 14: Percentage of Appointments to Career SES That Were Minorities, by Agency, 1990-1999

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data in OPM’s CPDF.
Page 26 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

As part of our analysis of diversity in appointments to the SES, we

compared the composition of actual SES appointments to the composition

of the pipeline—the feeder group from which new SES members were

appointed. We compared the percentages of women and minorities in the

group appointed from GS-15 and its equivalent to the SES in a given year

to the percentages of women and minorities in the GS-15 workforce as a

whole for the year before.12 We made this comparison for 3 fiscal years

(1990, 1995, and 1999), which covered the beginning, middle, and end of

our review period.

In each of these 3 years, the percentage of women appointed to SES from

GS-15 was greater than the percentage of women GS-15 employees in the

previous year. A similar pattern occurred for minorities in 1 of the 3 years,

and the percentage was slightly lower in the other 2 years. (See fig. 15.)

 12As a basis for comparison, we decided to use the entire GS-15 workforce and its

equivalent, including those who were not in a supervisory or managerial status, because (1)

over 90 percent of all new SES appointees came from the ranks of GS-15 level employees

during the 3 years covered by our analysis; (2) data were not readily available on applicants

for career SES vacancies; and (3) 25 percent of those appointed to the SES in fiscal year

1999 were not supervisors or managers in fiscal year 1998. The GS-15 equivalent workforce

consists of those in equivalent grades under other pay plans that follow the GS grade

structure and job evaluation methodology or are equivalent by statute. (See app. II for more

details.)

Trends in SES

Appointments

Compared With the

GS-15 Pipeline
Page 27 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Figure 15: Percentage of Women and Minorities Among GS-15s and Career SES

Appointments from GS-15

Note 1: Percentages for women and minorities are their percentages of all GS-15s, including the FBI

and, separately, their percentages of all career SES appointments from GS-15, excluding the FBI

because the CPDF does not include FBI appointments. GS-15 includes employees in GS-15 and

equivalent grades. The total number of GS-15 employees in 1989, 1994, and 1998 was 42,663;

50,687; and 51,476, respectively. The total number of career SES members appointed from GS-15 in

1990, 1995, and 1999 was 482, 487, and 441, respectively.

Note 2: Minority women are counted both as women and minorities.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data and GS-15 workforce data in OPM’s CPDF.

When we analyzed the minority percentages shown in figure 15 by gender,

we found that the percentage of minority women increased steadily both

in the GS-15 workforce as a whole (2 percent in 1989, 4 percent in 1994,

and 5 percent in 1998) and in the GS-15 SES appointments (2 percent in

1990, 5 percent in 1995, and 6 percent in 1999). For minority men, the

percentage in GS-15 increased (8 percent in 1989, 9 percent in 1994, and 10
Page 28 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

percent in 1998), and the percentage of GS-15 SES appointees went from 7

percent in 1990 to 12 percent in 1995 but was back at 7 percent in 1999.

We also analyzed the minority appointment percentages by race and

ethnicity (see fig. 16). The percentage of SES appointees was greater than

or equal to the percentage in the feeder group, except for Hispanics in

1990 and for Asian Americans in all 3 years.

Figure 16: Minority Group Percentages in GS-15 and in Career SES Appointments

From GS-15

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data and GS-15 workforce data in OPM’s CPDF.

We analyzed SES appointments of African Americans from GS-15 by

gender during the 3 years (the smaller overall number of appointments

makes such an analysis not meaningful for Asian Americans, Hispanics,

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1989-901994-951998-99

African American

1989-901994-95

1998-99

Hispanic

1989-90

1994-95

1998-99

Asian American

1989-901994-951998-99

Native American

Percentage

Minority GS-15s

Minority SES appointments from GS-15s

Fiscal year

A
Page 29 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

and Native Americans). The appointee percentage for African-American

women was consistently greater than the feeder group percentage, and

both percentages increased later in the decade. The appointment

percentage for African-American men was substantially less in 1999 (3.2

percent) than in 1995 (6.8 percent); the feeder group percentage for

African-American men was 3.1 percent in 1994 and 3.4 percent in 1998.

We compared the SES to six labor forces, as shown in table 1 (see p. 31).

The labor force to use as a benchmark to assess representation depends

on the skills, experience, and qualifications required for the job or

workforce being examined. Our comparison to the entire CLF places the

race and gender composition of the SES into the broadest possible labor

force context. By comparing SES diversity with our RCLF, the comparison

is being made to individuals outside the federal workforce who are in

occupations and whose income is equivalent to that of the SES. An RCLF

is the pool of people in the CLF with the requisite skills and experience to

perform the duties of the positions in their agencies. Comparing the SES

workforce with the entire federal workforce and with the federal

workforce in professional and administrative job categories parallels the

CLF and RCLF comparisons but uses the federal labor force rather than

the civilian workforce outside the federal government. The GS-15

workforce provides a useful basis for comparison because it is the primary

feeder group for the SES. In addition to these comparisons, the Postal

Service provides a comparison with an executive workforce that has

qualification, skill, and experience requirements comparable to those of

the SES. While we recognize that other benchmarks could also be used to

assess the level of representation of women and minorities in the SES,

none of our comparisons are definitive or conclusive about the level of

diversity achieved.

In making our comparisons to these six labor forces, we compared an

employee group’s proportion in the SES with its proportion in the

comparison labor force to determine the extent of parity. The extent of

parity describes by gender and race and ethnicity how well employees

were represented in the career SES workforce as of September 30, 1999,

when compared with their representation in each of the selected labor

forces. For example, if the percentage of women is the same in the career

SES workforce as in the comparison labor force, the representation of

women in the SES would be at parity with the representation of women in

the comparison labor force and would be shown without shading in table

1. If the percentage of women in the SES is less than in the comparison

labor force, their representation would be less than parity and would be

Career SES Diversity

Compared With Other

Labor Forces
Page 30 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

shaded either light or dark gray in table 1, depending on the extent to

which the SES percentage is below the comparison labor force

percentage.

As shown in table 1, the proportion of women and minorities in the career

SES exceeded their proportion in our RCLF. But women and minorities

were represented at lower rates when compared with the CLF; the federal

executive workforce, as a whole; the portion of these workers in

professional and administrative occupations; and the GS-15 workforce.

The proportion of women in the Postal Service career executive corps was

about the same as the proportion of women in the career SES. Minorities

were represented in the career SES at a lower rate than they were in the

Postal Service career executive corps. African Americans and Native

Americans exceeded their percentages in our RCLF; Asian Americans did

not. For Hispanics, the difference between their percentage in the SES

workforce and their percentage in our RCLF was not statistically

significant because the difference was so small that it could be due to

sampling error or chance. Table 1 shows the representation rates for

minorities in the remaining five labor forces.

The table also shows that the percentages of men and whites in the career

SES were below their percentages in our RCLF but exceeded their

percentages in the CLF, overall federal workforce, federal professional

and administrative workforce, and GS-15 workforce. The percentage of

men in the career SES were slightly below their percentage in the Postal

Service career executive corps. Whites were represented in the career SES

at a higher rate than they were in the Postal Service career executive

corps.
Page 31 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table 1: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups as of September 30, 1999, to

the Same Employee Groups in Selected Labor Forces

Note: The extent of parity between an employee group’s proportion in the SES compared with its

proportion in the comparison labor force was computed by dividing the career SES percentage for

each employee group by the percentage for the same employee group in each of the selected labor

forces and multiplying by 100. All results are statistically significant unless otherwise noted. CLF and

RCLF results have certain limitations that are described in detail in appendix II.

Sources: GAO’s analysis of data obtained from OPM’s CPDF and of CLF data obtained from the

March 1999 CPS and the 1990 Census.

We also compared the career SES workforce at each of the 24 CFO

agencies to the same six labor forces. To the extent that we could, we

tailored each labor force, except the CLF and Postal Service, to be similar

to the makeup of each agency’s career SES workforce, because the

mission of each of the agencies is different with a different occupational

mix (see app. II).

Although our comparisons showed variation among the 24 CFO agencies,

the results were similar to those for the SES as a whole. We found that the

percentages of women and minorities in most agencies’ career SES were

above the percentages of women and minorities in agency-specific RCLFs

that we developed. But the percentages of women and minority career

SES employees were generally either below the percentages in the five

remaining labor forces—the national CLF, overall agency workforce,

agency professional and administrative workforce, agency GS-15

workforce, and U.S. Postal Service career executive corps—or else not

significantly different from them. In contrast, the pattern for men and

Labor forces Women Men

All

minorities Whites

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans

CLF

RCLF

Federal executive branch

workforce

Postal career executive

corps

Federal employees in

professional and

administrative occupations

SES employee group percentage met or exceeded its percentage in the selected labor force.

SES employee group percentage was 1 percent to 50 percent below its percentage in the selected labor force.

SES employee group percentage was more than 50 percent below its percentage in the selected labor force.

Selected SES employee groups

GS-15 workforce

SES employee group percentage was either above, below, or the same as the percentage for the same employee

group in the selected labor force, but the difference between the percentages was not statistically significant.
Page 32 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

whites was usually higher percentages in the SES than in the CLF or the

federal workforce comparisons but lower percentages in our RCLF.

Comparisons of specific minority groups showed substantial variations

across agencies but because of the small numbers, most of the differences

were not statistically significant. For more details, see appendix V.

The noncareer SES, like the career service, became more diverse in terms

of gender and race/ethnicity during the period from 1990 through 1999. In

1990, women constituted 26.3 percent of the noncareer SES; in 1999, 40.4

percent of the noncareer SES were women. Similarly, 10.9 percent of the

noncareer SES were minorities in 1990 and in 1999, it was 23.1 percent.

The percentage of each minority group in the SES increased during this

period. Appendix VI contains more detailed information on the

composition of the noncareer SES governmentwide and at each of the 24

agencies each fiscal year over the 1990 through 1999 period.

The proportion of women and minorities appointed to the noncareer SES

increased from 1990 through 1999. The percentage of noncareer SES

appointees that were women ranged from 26 percent in 1990 to 40 percent

in 1999. The minority percentage of appointments ranged from about 13

percent in 1990 to 22 percent in 1999. The percentage of appointments of

each minority group increased, except for Native Americans. Appendix VII

contains more detailed information on the noncareer SES appointments,

showing appointments governmentwide and by agency each year over the

1990 through 1999 period.

We provided a draft of this report to the Acting Director of OPM and the

Chairwoman of EEOC for their review and comments. OPM and EEOC

provided us written comments, which we reprinted in appendixes VIII and

IX, respectively.

OPM’s Acting Director said our assessment shows that diversity in the SES

is moving in the right direction. He further commented that while our

assessment shows improvement in SES diversity and indicates that OPM

and agency initiatives in this area have been fruitful, OPM is convinced

that continued improvement will require a commitment to reviewing and

revising employment practices that foster diversity. OPM cited several

initiatives that it believes have made a difference in fostering diversity in

the SES. Details of these initiatives can be found in appendix VIII.

Composition of and

Appointments to the

Noncareer SES, Like

the Career SES,

Changed Over the

1990 Through 1999

Period to Include

More Women and

Minorities

Agency Comments

and Our Evaluation
Page 33 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

EEOC’s Chairwoman expressed a variety of concerns about certain

aspects of our methodology and possible interpretations of the report’s

message. She said the SES analysis contained in this report ignores and

rejects much of the traditional analysis that EEOC has used to assist

agencies in their equal employment opportunity efforts. For example, she

said we did not examine the potential barriers that may prevent qualified

individuals in the pipeline from moving into the SES. Our objective was

not to examine potential barriers that might limit equal access of women

and minorities to the SES. As we pointed out in this report, our objective,

among others, was to describe how the representation of women and

minority employees in the career SES compared with other labor forces.

EEOC said it advises agencies to use both the GS-14 and GS-15 labor

forces when evaluating the representation of women and any particular

minority groups in their SES workforces, because it believes the use of

both grades is more appropriate since they are the feeder groups that

eventually lead to the SES. However, we believe that our use of the GS-15

labor force only was appropriate because, as we pointed out in this report,

we found it to be the primary feeder group into the SES in 1999 as well as

in preceding years.

The Chairwoman also said that of the six labor forces included in this

report, EEOC finds our construction and use of an RCLF to be particularly

problematic because of the manner in which we constructed it and the

lack of recognition in this report of possible artificial barriers and

discriminatory factors that may limit the presence of women and

minorities in our RCLF. EEOC said it appears that we restricted our RCLF

to occupations in the private sector that require particular expertise when

the nature of the SES requires more broad-based leadership skills. As we

explain in this report, our RCLF consists of the portion of nonfederal

civilian workers in 1999 who were in occupations and earning salaries that

corresponded as closely as possible to that of career SES employees. Our

RCLF occupations include both management and professional/technical

occupations because, as we stated in this report, 87 percent of the career

SES workforce were in these types of occupations as of September 30,

1999. Furthermore, we are aware that discrimination and lack of

opportunity would limit the number of women and minorities in top

management positions in any benchmark labor force. We recognized in

this report that our RCLF is not a perfect benchmark and that other

benchmarks can be used to assess the representation of women and

minorities in the SES. We also state that our RCLF was the closest match

to the SES we could identify because data were not available to construct

a direct comparison group.
Page 34 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

EEOC also opposes the use of representation indexes, which are the ratios

that we calculated to present our comparison of the percentage of an

employee group in the SES workforce to that same group’s percentage in

the benchmark workforce (see table 1 and appendix V of this report).

EEOC believes these indexes magnify the impact of imperfections and

flaws in the benchmark used and imply conclusions that are misleading

and inappropriate. As we explain in this report, we did statistical tests to

determine whether the percentage comparisons were dissimilar enough to

be unlikely due to imperfections and flaws in the benchmark data. We also

noted in this report where differences in the compared percentages are

not large enough to provide the confidence that they might not be due to

imperfections and flaws in the benchmark data. We provide six different

comparisons in this report, and because the results vary for each of them,

we have drawn no conclusions. Furthermore, we have cautioned the

reader about drawing conclusions from these results.

The Chairwoman said EEOC is concerned that our use of aggregate data

from 24 federal agencies may be statistically inappropriate and therefore

result in misleading conclusions. She also said that appendix III of this

report indicates that many of the 24 agencies have had problems in

achieving diversity. We do not agree that aggregation of the data for the 24

agencies results in misleading conclusions, because we have clearly

delineated our governmentwide and agency-specific findings. We provide

full disclosure of governmentwide and agencywide numbers throughout

this report. We also do not agree with EEOC’s statement that the data in

appendix III of this report indicate many agencies have had problems

achieving diversity if EEOC’s basis for saying this is the fact that some

agencies had a smaller number of women and minorities than other

agencies. The data in appendix III simply represent a statistical profile of

the agencies’ SES workforces, and one should not conclude from these

data alone that agencies with smaller numbers of women and minorities

had problems achieving diversity in their SES workforces.

In conclusion, EEOC stated that a reader of this report might get the

impression that whites and men are underrepresented in the career SES

and that women and minorities are overrepresented. We do not believe

that a reader would get such an impression, as EEOC suggested, given that

the results of the comparisons we present in table 1 of this report vary

across the six different workforces. For example, the GS-15 workforce

comparison, which is the primary feeder group into the SES, shows that

whites and men are overrepresented and that women and minorities are

underrepresented. Moreover, we caution the reader that none of the
Page 35 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

comparison labor forces, including our RCLF, can be seen as definitive or

conclusive as to whether the level of diversity in the SES is sufficient.

As agreed with your offices, unless you announce the contents of this

report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days after the date

of the report. At that time we will send copies of this report to the Acting

Director of OPM and the Chairwoman of EEOC. We will also send copies

to Representative Dan Burton and Representative Henry A. Waxman,

Chairman and Ranking Minority Member, respectively, Committee on

Government Reform; Representative Joe Scarborough, Chairman,

Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, Committee on

Government Reform; Senator Fred Thompson and Senator Joseph I.

Lieberman, Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, Committee on

Governmental Affairs; Senator George Voinovich and Senator Richard

Durbin, Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, Subcommittee on

Oversight, Government Management, and the District of Columbia,

Committee on Governmental Affairs; and Senator Thad Cochran and

Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively,

Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation and Federal

Services, Committee on Governmental Affairs. We will make copies

available to others upon request.

The key contributors to this report are listed in appendix X. If you have

any questions about this report, please call me on (202) 512-6806.

Carlotta C. Joyner

Director, Strategic Issues
Appendix I: Agencies Covered in Our Review

Page 36 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of the Interior

Department of Justice

Department of Labor

Department of State

Department of Transportation

Department of the Treasury

Department of Veterans Affairs

Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Science Foundation

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Personnel Management

Small Business Administration

Social Security Administration

U.S. Agency for International Development

Appendix I: Agencies Covered in Our Review
Appendix II: Objectives, Scope, and

Methodology

Page 37 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Our first objective was to assess to what extent the composition of the

career Senior Executive Service (SES) changed over the 1990 through

1999 period to include more women and minorities. We did so by obtaining

data, by race/ethnicity and gender, on the number of career SES members

employed governmentwide and at the 24 agencies covered by the Chief

Financial Officer (CFO) Act as of September 30 of each year from 1990

through 1999.1

 These data were obtained from the Central Personnel Data

File (CPDF), the database of federal employees2

 maintained by the Office

of Personnel Management (OPM). We excluded from our study SES

members who were either in limited-term or limited emergency

appointments; 169 individuals were in such appointments as of September

30, 1999. We analyzed these data to identify the composition of the career

SES as of the end of each fiscal year from 1990 through 1999. We also

analyzed these data to identify trends in how much change occurred

governmentwide and in the selected agencies in the percentages of women

and minorities employed in the career SES over the 1990 through 1999

period. We did not independently verify the CPDF data on the SES for the

years we reviewed. However, in a 1998 report, we found that

governmentwide data from the CPDF for the key variables in this study—

gender, race/ethnicity, general schedule (GS) grade, pay plan, occupation,

career status, agency, and personnel action—were 97 percent or more

accurate.3

For the first part of our second objective, to determine the proportion of

women and minorities appointed to the career SES annually over this 10-

year period, we obtained and analyzed data from the CPDF for each fiscal

year from 1990 through 1999. We excluded career SES appointments that

were reinstatements into the career SES and transfers of career SES

individuals from one agency to another (about 11 percent combined). SES

appointments in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), an agency

within the Department of Justice, are not included because the FBI does

not submit personnel action data to the CPDF.

 1

We obtained data on career SES members employed in the executive branch of the federal

government, including the FBI but excluding the intelligence agencies and the Postal

Service. We chose the 24 CFO agencies because 92 percent of the 6,205 career SES

members, employed as of September 30, 1999, were in these agencies.

2

By federal employees, we mean employees in the executive branch of the federal

government excluding the intelligence agencies and the Postal Service.

3

See OPM’s Central Personnel Data File: Data Appear Sufficiently Reliable to Meet Most

Customer Needs, (GAO/GGD-98-199, Sept. 30, 1998).

Appendix II: Objectives, Scope, and

Methodology
Appendix II: Objectives, Scope, and

Methodology

Page 38 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

For the second part of our second objective, to determine whether career

SES appointments reflected the SES pipeline from which most new SES

members were generally appointed, we obtained and analyzed data from

the CPDF for each of 3 years (1990, 1995, and 1999). The 3 years

represented the beginning, middle and end of our overall review period.

We compared the diversity of the career SES appointees with the diversity

of the pipeline. Because data were not readily available on who actually

applied for SES vacancies and because we could not clearly determine the

workforces from which all career SES appointees came, we limited the

pipeline analysis to career SES appointments of career GS-15 and

equivalent employees4

 from within the appointing agency. Over 90 percent

of those appointed to the career SES from within an agency were career

GS-15 employees the year prior to their appointment and about 83 percent

of all career SES appointments were from within an agency. Because we

could not clearly determine the labor force (pipeline) for career SES

appointments of individuals from outside an agency, we excluded

nonfederal employees (about 10 percent of appointees) and federal

employees from other agencies (about 7 percent of appointees). Similarly,

because we could not clearly determine the labor force for career SES

appointments of nonGS-15 federal employees and noncareer GS-15

employees within an agency, we excluded these two groups (about 8

percent) of appointees.

In our analysis of appointment and pipeline data, we did not distinguish

between GS-15 employees who had supervisory or managerial experience

and those who did not have such experience. We did not make this

distinction because we found that 25 percent of the GS-15 employees

appointed to the SES in fiscal year 1999 were not managers or supervisors

in fiscal year 1998.

Our third objective entailed identifying how the representation of women

and minority employees in the career SES governmentwide and in the 24

CFO agencies as of September 30, 1999, compared with other labor forces.

On the basis of agreements reached with your staff, we compared the

career SES to six labor forces to provide some context for the extent of

diversity in the career SES. The six labor forces varied in the extent to

which they were similar to the SES in terms of occupation, salary, and

 4

GS-15 equivalent employees are those in equivalent grades under other pay plans that

follow the GS grade structure and job evaluation methodology or are equivalent by statute.
Appendix II: Objectives, Scope, and

Methodology

Page 39 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

size. Table II.1 shows the size of the six labor forces used in our

governmentwide comparisons.

Table II.1: Labor Forces Selected for Comparison to the SES

Labor force

Number of

employees

National civilian labor force (CLF)a 123.8 million

Relevant CLF (RCLF)a 1.2 million

Federal executive workforceb 1.6 million

Federal employees in professional/administrative occupationsb 888,000

GS-15 workforcec 51,000

U.S. Postal Service career executive corps 812

a

We included only employees receiving wages or salaries and excluded federal employees from the

CLF and the RCLF that we constructed. The CLF was derived from the March 1999 Current

Population Survey (CPS). Our RCLF was constructed based on the CLF to correspond to the career

SES workforce as closely as possible in terms of salary and occupation. Because salary data

collected for the CPS are only in ranges of dollars, we used the salary range of $100,000 and over as

that most comparable to SES salaries.

b

Includes career employees only.

c

The GS-15 workforce includes career GS-15 employees and career employees in equivalent grades

under other pay plans that follow the GS grade structure and job evaluation methodology or are

equivalent by statute.

Sources: OPM’s CPDF, March 1999 CPS, and U.S. Postal Service: Diversity in the Postal Career

Executive Service (GAO/GGD-00-76, Mar. 30, 2000).

In addition to governmentwide comparisons of the career SES to each of

the labor forces, we also assessed the diversity of each of the CFO agency

career SES workforces separately. Because the mission of each of the CFO

agencies is different with a different occupational mix, we compared the

diversity of each agency’s career SES workforce to the diversity of its own

agency total career workforce, its own career professional and

administrative workforce, and its own career GS-15 workforce. We also

compared the diversity of each agency’s career SES occupations to the

diversity of corresponding occupations in a RCLF that we developed.

However, in comparing the diversity of each agency’s career SES to the

CLF and Postal Service, we did not tailor these labor forces to correspond

to the SES occupational mix of each of the 24 agencies.

We used a proxy RCLF and the GS-15 workforce as comparative groups.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the

Department of Justice have provided agencies advice on assessing the

extent of diversity in their SES workforces. EEOC said it has suggested

that agencies look at their relevant feeder groups when assessing the level

of representation of women and minorities in the SES or at any particular
Appendix II: Objectives, Scope, and

Methodology

Page 40 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

grade level, and in the case of the SES, it has suggested that agencies look

at their GS-14 and GS-15 workforces.5

 When an agency’s positions cannot

be precisely matched to those in the CLF, Justice has advised agencies to

compare their labor forces to those in other labor forces that have the

qualifications to perform the duties of the positions in their agencies—

such as comparing their SES with employees in their GS-15 workforce. We

constructed an RCLF that consists of civilian workers employed in

occupations and earning salaries similar to those in the SES. We recognize

that our RCLF is not a perfect benchmark, and EEOC does not endorse it.6

However, our RCLF was the closest match to the SES we could identify in

terms of occupations and salary level, because data were not available on

level of responsibilities for those in the CLF. We also used the CLF as a

comparative group, recognizing that it does not provide as comparable a

workforce to the SES as one that includes workers with education, skills,

experience, and age similar to the SES, because it includes workers with

limited education, skills, and experience as well as workers as young as

age 16.

The Bureau of the Census conducts the CPS for the Bureau of Labor

Statistics. Because of the age of the CLF data from the 1990 decennial

census, we used CLF data from the March 1999 CPS, the most recent data

available at the time of our analyses, when it was statistically feasible to

do so.7

 We found that the CLF data from the 1999 CPS were statistically

feasible for all racial/ethnic groups except Asian Americans and Native

Americans. CLF data were not statistically reliable for Asian Americans

and Native Americans because the CPS does not cover enough households

 5

Although there were twice as many GS-14s as GS-15s as of September 30, 1999, GS-14s

only accounted for 1 percent of appointments to the SES as of that time. Therefore, we did

not include GS-14s as a feeder group for comparison to the SES.

6

EEOC does not endorse our RCLF because they do not consider it to be the most

appropriate measure for determining the extent of diversity in the SES. EEOC prefers a

comparison of the SES with the GS-14 and GS-15 workforces and does not construct RCLF

groupings for purposes of comparison to the SES labor force.

7

CLF data derived from the 1999 CPS were insufficient for civilian workers with salaries of

$100,000 or more in the following eight occupations: nuclear engineers (0840), physicists

(1310), general biological scientists (401), foreign affairs specialists (0130), general

managers (0301), program managers (0345), general business (1101) and transportation

managers (2101). About 20 percent of the SES we analyzed were in these occupations.

Because the 1999 CLF data were insufficient, we substituted comparable 1990 CLF data on

civilian workers with salaries between $75,000 and $99,999, because this was the closest

CLF salary range comparable to the salaries of the SES in 1990. We did not independently

verify the CLF data obtained from the 1990 decennial census and from the 1999 CPS.
Appendix II: Objectives, Scope, and

Methodology

Page 41 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

to provide statistically sound projections for these two groups. Although

the 1999 data were not reliable for these two groups, we used the data

because the results of the 1999 CPS RCLF comparisons for Asian

Americans and Native Americans indicated the same findings as the 1990

CLF comparisons for Asian Americans and Native Americans. Based on

these similar findings, we believe the 1999 CPS RCLF comparisons are not

misleading.

To construct our governmentwide and agency-specific RCLF, we identified

the occupations that accounted for a large proportion of the entire career

SES as of September 30, 1999, as well as occupations that were small

relative to the entire career SES workforce but relatively large within an

agency’s career SES workforce (such as Correctional Administrators in

the Department of Justice).8

 This resulted in a total of 34 SES occupations

that accounted for 87 percent of the career SES workforce as of the end of

fiscal year 1999. We then identified, using a crosswalk used by EEOC,

occupations in the CLF that corresponded as closely as possible to these

SES occupations. Because the CPDF and the CPS do not use the same

occupational categories, some CPS occupations included more than one

CPDF SES occupation. This resulted in a total of 28 occupations in the

CPS that were comparable to the 34 SES occupations identified in the

CPDF. We extracted data from the CLF only for those salaried civilian

workers in the 28 occupations with salaries of $100,000 and over, which

were comparable to the base salaries of career SES members in 1999.

These data were weighted to reflect the occupational composition of each

agency. For example, if 50 percent of an agency’s SES were attorneys, then

our RCLF that they were compared to also included 50 percent attorneys.

We then calculated a representation index to measure the extent of parity

between an employee group’s proportion in the SES and its proportion in

the comparison labor force by dividing the career SES percentage for each

employee group by the percentage for the same employee group in each of

the selected labor forces and multiplying by 100. The extent of parity for a

particular group can vary widely from one comparative labor force to

another. However, none of the comparisons of the SES to the other labor

forces, governmentwide or by agency, can be seen as definitive as to

 8

Occupations (26) that represented a large proportion of the entire career SES workforce

included those that had at least 50 SES members as of September 30, 1990 or as of

September 30, 1999. Occupations (8) that represented a relatively large proportion (from 7

percent to 31 percent) of an agency’s SES workforce as of September 30, 1999 ranged in

size from 12 to 42 career SES members.
Appendix II: Objectives, Scope, and

Methodology

Page 42 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

whether the SES corps is sufficiently diverse. We used shading to describe

the extent of parity between employee group representation in the SES

and comparative labor forces.

Using appropriate statistical tests, we tested whether the proportions of

women and minorities in the SES were significantly over or under (twotailed test) their proportions in the six labor forces to determine whether

the proportional differences were statistically significant. We used the

two-standard deviation difference between compared proportions, as

recommended by the Justice Department, as our test of significance. A

difference of two-standard deviations indicates that the difference in

proportions is very unlikely to be due to sampling error or chance. Such a

sizable difference provides a strong basis for concluding that the

differences are noteworthy. The results of our comparisons are

statistically significant unless otherwise noted.

To provide data on the noncareer SES, we obtained data from the CPDF.

Specifically, we obtained data for each fiscal year from 1990 through 1999,

on the composition of and appointments to the noncareer SES

governmentwide and for the 24 CFO agencies. Because noncareer SES

appointments are made at the discretion of the administration and are not

subject to merit selection or to OPM approval, we did not include the

noncareer SES in our pipeline or comparative labor force analyses.
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 43 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

The following tables provide data on the number of women and minorities

in the career SES at each of the 24 CFO agencies and governmentwide.

Table III.1 shows the total number of career SES each year over the 1990

through 1999 period and how many of the career SES members were

women and minorities. Tables III.2 and III.3 show, by race and ethnicity,

the extent of change in the number of women and minorities, respectively,

between 1990 and 1999.

Table III.1: Number of Women and Minorities in the 24 CFO Agencies and Governmentwide as of the End of Fiscal Years 1990

Through 1999

Number of:

Agency Year

Career SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Agency for International Development 1990 23 3 3

1991 29 6 2

1992 33 7 3

1993 34 8 3

1994 29 8 3

1995 34 11 4

1996 30 11 4

1997 30 10 4

1998 30 9 5

1999 26 6 5

Agriculture 1990 275 18 18

1991 302 26 21

1992 320 33 25

1993 313 31 27

1994 278 39 32

1995 271 47 32

1996 269 58 32

1997 269 64 38

1998 278 66 45

1999 276 72 52

Commerce 1990 345 27 21

1991 365 29 24

1992 384 30 24

1993 382 31 24

1994 340 37 28

1995 322 45 28

1996 321 49 32

1997 305 50 25

1998 308 54 31

1999 306 62 30

Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 44 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Career SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Defense 1990 1309 65 59

1991 1402 73 72

1992 1386 78 66

1993 1358 85 69

1994 1178a 87 60

1995 1157a 113 62

1996 1161b 134 65

1997 1139 141 68

1998 1099 152 61

1999 1109b 163 66

Education 1990 60 13 12

1991 65 14 12

1992 67 17 11

1993 68 19 11

1994 64 19 11

1995 57 21 12

1996 59 22 10

1997 59 20 11

1998 60b 19 9

1999 57 16 14

Energy 1990 433 33 26

1991 478 37 27

1992 515 38 32

1993 508 41 34

1994 444 45 35

1995 447 59 38

1996 412 58 38

1997 391 57 33

1998 374 55 33

1999 381 70 35

Environmental Protection Agency 1990 233 39 11

1991 256 46 11

1992 268 51 14

1993 267 56 15

1994 259 61 14

1995 244 62 17

1996 239 62 21

1997 232 62 21

1998 230 67 25

1999 249 73 32
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 45 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Career SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Federal Emergency Management Agency 1990 24 2 1

1991 32 2 1

1992 37 2 1

1993 36 2 1

1994 33 2 2

1995 33 2 2

1996 33 4 1

1997 33 5 2

1998 29 4 2

1999 29 4 1

General Services Administration 1990 90 8 6

1991 97 10 7

1992 94 10 7

1993 91 11 6

1994 86 13 8

1995 96 18 12

1996 94 18 11

1997 86 19 12

1998 88 21 13

1999 86 21 12

Health and Human Services 1990 380 65 35

1991 481 88 51

1992 498 94 61

1993 509 100 61

1994 489 107 63

1995 451 109 66

1996 435 117 73

1997 422 126 70

1998 418 133 75

1999 417 143 81

Housing and Urban Development 1990 78 11 13

1991 90 15 14

1992 98 16 20

1993 95 16 19

1994 85 18 21

1995 79 18 21

1996 76 21 21

1997 74 22 24

1998 71 20 20

1999 70 19 22
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 46 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Career SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Interior 1990 212 17 24

1991 234 19 35

1992 236 21 37

1993 247 26 41

1994 212 28 35

1995 196 41 30

1996 186 43 30

1997 181 45 34

1998 186 45 41

1999 182 53 40

Justice 1990 441 27 32

1991 463 34 35

1992 497 42 42

1993 500 42 45

1994 480 48 51

1995 497 56 56

1996 526 70 65

1997 520 76 68

1998 547b 85 71

1999 556b 95 73

Labor 1990 123 24 15

1991 152 31 21

1992 152 31 23

1993 149 30 22

1994 135 31 22

1995 131 31 27

1996 127 32 25

1997 130 34 27

1998 118 33 27

1999 126 35 25

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 1990 521 25 24

1991 571 30 28

1992 564 29 25

1993 550 33 31

1994 500 43 46

1995 451 48 47

1996 435 50 50

1997 385 53 44

1998 381 61 47

1999 404 74 55
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 47 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Career SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

National Science Foundation 1990 94 14 8

1991 103 14 11

1992 104 14 12

1993 99 14 12

1994 95 18 12

1995 97 19 12

1996 92 16 13

1997 90 18 13

1998 84 17 14

1999 81 20 14

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1990 208 9 16

1991 212 9 16

1992 213 10 15

1993 207 11 14

1994 192 12 13

1995 183 14 13

1996 182 14 12

1997 184 20 16

1998 179 21 17

1999 140 18 15

Office of Personnel Management 1990 47 13 6

1991 51 14 6

1992 57 16 6

1993 52 15 5

1994 39 12 5

1995 34 12 4

1996 34 14 3

1997 34 14 2

1998 36 15 4

1999 38 16 7

Small Business Administration 1990 31 4 5

1991 37 6 9

1992 42 9 10

1993 43 10 11

1994 36 10 12

1995 37 10 12

1996 40 11 12

1997 36 11 12

1998 35 11 12

1999 34 11 12
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 48 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Career SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Social Security Administration 1990 45 10 13

1991 75 19 23

1992 74 19 25

1993 78 21 27

1994 75 21 27

1995 80 23 30

1996 80 23 29

1997 84 26 31

1998 94 30 31

1999 104 34 34

State 1990 77b 9 5

1991 90b 11 7

1992 96b 14 5

1993 101 16 5

1994 97 18 5

1995 89 17 5

1996 90 19 5

1997 88 21 5

1998 92 25 7

1999 107 27 5

Transportation 1990 315 32 29

1991 374 44 31

1992 385 47 36

1993 381 50 33

1994 329 49 30

1995 318 52 40

1996 186 38 22

1997 184 40 24

1998 184 43 26

1999 174 42 24

Treasury 1990 459 42 33

1991 544 52 39

1992 569 60 44

1993 559 68 44

1994 533 75 45

1995 493 82 47

1996 481 95 50

1997 512 106 55

1998 489 101 55

1999 509 116 63
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 49 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Career SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Veterans Affairs 1990 253 19 23

1991 317c 19 30

1992 329a 24 29

1993 324a 27 25

1994 291c 29 28

1995 293b 31 27

1996 285a 34 25

1997 272a 30 26

1998 261c 31 28

1999 248c 32 23

Governmentwide 1990 6609b 626 487

1991 7379d 750 592

1992 7583c 816 631

1993 7537a 876 648

1994 6838e 954 666

1995 6629c 1063 704

1996 6397c 1142 709

1997 6255a 1195 731

1998 6183e 1244 767

1999 6205e 1352 807

a

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for two SES members.

b

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for one SES member.

c

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for three SES members.

d

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for four SES members.

e

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for five SES members.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 50 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table III.2: Extent of Change in the Number of Career SES Women in the 24 CFO Agencies and Governmentwide From Fiscal

Years 1990 Through 1999, by Race and Ethnicity

Number of career SES women who were:

Agency Year

Career SES as

of September 30 White

African

American Hispanic

Asian

American Native American

AID 1990 23 2 1 0 0 0

1999 26 5 1 0 0 0

Difference 3 3 0 0 0 0

Agriculture 1990 275 17 1 0 0 0

1999 276 58 11 2 4 1

Difference 1 41 10 2 4 1

Commerce 1990 345 24 1 1 1 0

1999 306 54 3 3 2 0

Difference -39 30 2 2 1 0

Defense 1990 1309 60 2 2 1 0

1999 1109a 141 10 4 7 1

Difference -200 81 8 2 6 1

Education 1990 60 9 2 2 0 0

1999 57 13 1 1 1 0

Difference -3 4 -1 -1 1 0

Energy 1990 433 29 4 0 0 0

1999 381 62 5 2 1 0

Difference -52 33 1 2 1 0

EPA 1990 233 38 1 0 0 0

1999 249 64 5 0 4 0

Difference 16 26 4 0 4 0

FEMA 1990 24 2 0 0 0 0

1999 29 3 1 0 0 0

Difference 5 1 1 0 0 0

GSA 1990 90 7 1 0 0 0

1999 86 17 4 0 0 0

Difference -4 10 3 0 0 0

HHS 1990 380 52 8 0 2 3

1999 417 103 23 5 5 7

Difference 37 51 15 5 3 4

HUD 1990 78 9 2 0 0 0

1999 70 8 10 1 0 0

Difference -8 -1 8 1 0 0

Interior 1990 212 15 1 1 0 0

1999 182 38 4 3 0 8

Difference -30 23 3 2 0 8

Justice 1990 441 24 3 0 0 0

1999 556a 79 13 2 1 0

Difference 115 55 10 2 1 0
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 51 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of career SES women who were:

Agency Year

Career SES as

of September 30 White

African

American Hispanic

Asian

American Native American

Labor 1990 123 17 7 0 0 0

1999 126 27 7 0 0 1

Difference 3 10 0 0 0 1

NASA 1990 521 22 3 0 0 0

1999 404 59 11 2 1 1

Difference -117 37 8 2 1 1

NSF 1990 94 14 0 0 0 0

1999 81 19 0 0 1 0

Difference -13 5 0 0 1 0

NRC 1990 208 9 0 0 0 0

1999 140 15 2 0 1 0

Difference -68 6 2 0 1 0

OPM 1990 47 12 1 0 0 0

1999 38 14 1 1 0 0

Difference -9 2 0 1 0 0

SBA 1990 31 3 1 0 0 0

1999 34 7 4 0 0 0

Difference 3 4 3 0 0 0

SSA 1990 45 4 4 1 1 0

1999 104 17 10 4 3 0

Difference 59 13 6 3 2 0

State 1990 77a 8 10 0 0

1999 107 27 0 0 0 0

Difference 30 19 -1 0 0 0

Transportation 1990 315 27 2 2 1 0

1999 174 36 6 0 0 0

Difference -141 9 4 -2 -1 0

Treasury 1990 459 39 3 0 0 0

1999 509 102 11 1 1 1

Difference 50 63 8 1 1 1

Veterans Affairs 1990 253 17 1 1 0 0

1999 248b 27 3 0 2 0

Difference -5 10 2 -1 2 0

Governmentwide 1990 6609a 540 60 16 7 3

1999 6205c 1093 169 38 32 20

Difference -404 553 109 22 25 17

a

Gender and race/ ethnicity information missing for one SES member.

b

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for three SES members.

c

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for five SES members.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 52 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table III.3: Extent of Change in the Number of Minority Career SES Members in the 24 CFO Agencies and Governmentwide

From Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, by Race and Ethnicity

Agency Year

Career SES as of

September 30

African

American Hispanic

Asian

 American

Native

American

AID 1990 23 2 1 0 0

1999 26 3 1 0 1

Difference 3 1 0 0 1

Agriculture 1990 275 15 1 0 2

1999 276 36 9 4 3

Difference 1 21 8 4 1

Commerce 1990 345 12 1 7 1

1999 306 17 7 5 1

Difference -39 5 6 -2 0

Defense 1990 1309 31 13 8 7

1999 1109a 29 11 19 7

Difference -200 -2 -2 11 0

Education 1990 60 7 3 1 1

1999 57 8 3 2 1

Difference -3 1 0 1 0

Energy 1990 433 13 6 6 1

1999 381 16 9 9 1

Difference -52 3 3 3 0

EPA 1990 233 9 1 1 0

1999 249 21 6 5 0

Difference 16 12 5 4 0

FEMA 1990 24 0 0 1 0

1999 29 1 0 0 0

Difference 5 1 0 -1 0

GSA 1990 90 5 0 1 0

1999 86 11 0 1 0

Difference -4 6 0 0 0

HHS 1990 380 20 1 3 11

1999 417 44 10 9 18

Difference 37 24 9 6 7

HUD 1990 78 13 0 0 0

1999 70 18 3 0 1

Difference -8 5 3 0 1

Interior 1990 212 6 2 0 16

1999 182 9 6 1 24

Difference -30 3 4 1 8

Justice 1990 441 20 9 3 0

1999 556a 44 23 5 1

Difference 115 24 14 2 1
Appendix III: Profile of the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 53 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Career SES as of

September 30

African

American Hispanic

Asian

 American

Native

American

Labor 1990 123 12 3 0 0

1999 126 18 6 0 1

Difference 3 6 3 0 1

NASA 1990 521 14 6 2 2

1999 404 30 11 10 4

Difference -117 16 5 8 2

NSF 1990 94 4 1 3 0

1999 81 7 2 5 0

Difference -13 3 1 2 0

NRC 1990 208 6 3 6 1

1999 140 9 2 4 0

Difference -68 3 -1 -2 -1

OPM 1990 47 3 3 0 0

1999 38 3 4 0 0

Difference -9 0 1 0 0

SBA 1990 31 4 1 0 0

1999 34 9 3 0 0

Difference 3 5 2 0 0

SSA 1990 45 8 4 1 0

1999 104 22 9 3 0

Difference 59 14 5 2 0

State 1990 77a 40 10

1999 107 1 4 0 0

Difference 30 -3 4 -1 0

Transportation 1990 315 21 4 4 0

1999 174 19 0 5 0

Difference -141 -2 -4 1 0

Treasury 1990 459 25 5 1 2

1999 509 48 6 5 4

Difference 50 23 1 4 2

Veterans Affairs 1990 253 17 6 0 0

1999 248b 16 2 3 2

Difference -5 -1 -4 3 2

Governmentwide 1990 6609a 306 85 51 45

1999 6205c 487 151 100 69

Difference -404 181 66 49 24

a

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for one SES member.

b

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for three SES members.

c

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for five SES members.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 54 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

The following tables provide data on the appointments of women and

minorities to the career SES at each of the 24 CFO agencies1

 and

governmentwide. Table IV.1 shows the total number of appointments to

the career SES each year over the 1990 through 1999 period at each of the

24 CFO agencies and how many of the career SES members appointed

were women and minorities. Tables IV.2 shows, by race and ethnicity, the

number of minority group members appointed from 1990 through 1999 at

each of the 24 CFO agencies.

Table IV.1: Number of Women and Minorities Appointed to the Career SES at the 24

CFO Agencies and Governmentwide During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999

Agency Year

Career SES

appointments Women Minorities

AID 1990 1 1 0

1991 3 2 0

1992 4a 1 0

1993 2 1 0

1994 0 0 0

1995 7a 3 0

1996 1 1 0

1997 2a 0 0

1998 2 0 0

1999 0 0 0

Total 22b 9 0

Agriculture 1990 18 4 1

1991 20 6 2

1992 36 9 3

1993 21 3 5

1994 37 13 10

1995 28 10 2

1996 30 9 7

1997 27 11 11

1998 24 4 10

1999 24 7 7

Total 265 76 58

 1

SES appointments in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), an agency within the

Department of Justice, are not included because the FBI does not submit appointment and

other personnel action data to the CPDF.

Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career

SES During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999,

By Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 55 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Career SES

appointments Women Minorities

Commerce 1990 32 5 2

1991 19 3 2

1992 22 1 1

1993 18 2 1

1994 17 7 3

1995 28 10 3

1996 28 8 7

1997 21 5 2

1998 27 4 5

1999 28 12 4

Total 240 57 30

Defense 1990 104a 13 6

1991 56 8 6

1992 50 7 2

1993 41 9 4

1994 67 14 3

1995 114 27 9

1996 135 28 10

1997 97 14 9

1998 100a 17 5

1999 104 19 6

Total 868c 156 60

Education 1990 10 3 1

1991 1 0 0

1992 5 3 1

1993 2 2 0

1994 1 0 0

1995 7 4 4

1996 6 2 0

1997 6 2 2

1998 7 2 1

1999 4 1 1

Total 49 19 10
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 56 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Career SES

appointments Women Minorities

Energy 1990 44 6 2

1991 43 3 1

1992 51 3 4

1993 12 2 2

1994 16 4 4

1995 44 15 4

1996 16 7 1

1997 31 5 1

1998 21 4 2

1999 43 15 3

Total 321 64 24

Environmental Protection Agency 1990 15 2 2

1991 32 11 0

1992 21 5 3

1993 6 5 1

1994 11 5 1

1995 13 5 3

1996 8 2 4

1997 8 6 2

1998 15 6 7

1999 29 8 5

Total 158 55 28

FEMA 1990 1 0 0

1991 5 0 0

1992 8 1 0

1993 0 0 0

1994 2 0 0

1995 4 0 0

1996 2 1 0

1997 2 1 1

1998 0 0 0

1999 4 1 0

Total 28 4 1

GSA 1990 5 0 0

1991 5 1 0

1992 2 1 0

1993 1 0 0

1994 4 3 2

1995 22 7 4

1996 0 0 0

1997 8 2 2

1998 6 2 1

1999 7 1 0

Total 60 17 9
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 57 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Career SES

appointments Women Minorities

HHS 1990 52 11 8

1991 39 12 5

1992 39 9 9

1993 28 8 6

1994 34 13 7

1995 33 16 13

1996 43 19 7

1997 39 18 6

1998 48 16 8

1999 46 21 10

Total 401 143 79

HUD 1990 10 1 1

1991 10 2 1

1992 14 5 8

1993 0 0 0

1994 6 4 2

1995 7 2 3

1996 6 4 2

1997 7 4 5

1998 6 3 3

1999 9 4 4

Total 75 29 29

Interior 1990 21 3 7

1991 8 1 4

1992 13 4 3

1993 17 4 4

1994 20 7 3

1995 36 16 4

1996 10 4 4

1997 18 6 9

1998 21 2 7

1999 18 11 4

Total 182 58 49
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 58 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Career SES

appointments Women Minorities

Justice 1990 35 6 3

1991 31 6 3

1992 32 8 5

1993 16 2 0

1994 30 5 5

1995 58 11 15

1996 59 17 11

1997 29 5 5

1998 49 8 6

1999 44 10 6

Total 383 78 59

Labor 1990 9 5 1

1991 8 2 1

1992 4 1 1

1993 0 0 0

1994 6 3 3

1995 17 3 8

1996 9 3 2

1997 14 5 3

1998 4 0 1

1999 17 5 2

Total 88 27 22

NASA 1990 45 5 5

1991 60 4 4

1992 24 2 1

1993 25 3 6

1994 38 11 14

1995 43 10 6

1996 19 2 4

1997 29 8 3

1998 60 15 7

1999 51 10 6

Total 394 70 56
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 59 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Career SES

appointments Women Minorities

NSF 1990 15 4 2

1991 9 0 3

1992 7 1 1

1993 1 1 0

1994 8 5 0

1995 9 2 0

1996 2 0 0

1997 2 1 0

1998 1 1 1

1999 5 2 0

Total 59 17 7

NRC 1990 16 0 1

1991 12 2 1

1992 3 0 0

1993 4 1 0

1994 4 1 0

1995 7 1 1

1996 4 0 0

1997 14 4 1

1998 10 3 2

1999 2 0 1

Total 76 12 7

OPM 1990 1 0 1

1991 4 1 0

1992 1 1 0

1993 1 0 0

1994 1 0 0

1995 3 3 0

1996 7 3 1

1997 3 1 0

1998 4 2 0

1999 7 3 3

Total 32 14 5
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 60 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Career SES

appointments Women Minorities

SBA 1990 5 1 1

1991 7 2 4

1992 9 3 2

1993 1 1 1

1994 6 1 6

1995 6 1 1

1996 3 1 0

1997 0 0 0

1998 2 0 1

1999 3 1 3

Total 42 11 19

SSA 1990 5 1 2

1991 7 4 3

1992 2 1 2

1993 5 2 2

1994 2 1 1

1995 3 1 0

1996 8 4 2

1997 10 4 3

1998 15 6 4

1999 18 8 6

Total 75 32 25

State 1990 18 4 1

1991 9 1 1

1992 9 4 0

1993 3 0 1

1994 3 2 0

1995 4 0 0

1996 4 3 0

1997 5 2 0

1998 9 4 1

1999 7 3 0

Total 71 23 4
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 61 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Career SES

appointments Women Minorities

Transportation 1990 30 2 4

1991 57 13 5

1992 26 4 5

1993 16 4 0

1994 15 5 1

1995 40 8 12

1996 28 10 5

1997 17 2 3

1998 12 5 3

1999 12 3 1

Total 253 56 39

Treasury 1990 49 9 2

1991 83 11 7

1992 49 11 5

1993 28 7 3

1994 54 10 9

1995 44 13 8

1996 49 19 9

1997 72 17 9

1998 54 7 11

1999 62 16 12

Total 544 120 75

Veterans Affairs 1990 18 2 1

1991 34a 1 2

1992 10 3 0

1993 16 2 0

1994 34 8 5

1995 20a 0 2

1996 10a 5 2

1997 14 4 0

1998 22 5 6

1999 13 1 1

Total 191b 31 19
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 62 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Career SES

appointments Women Minorities

Governmentwide 1990 608a 104 58

1991 602c 104 62

1992 475a 93 57

1993 293 68 40

1994 461 137 84

1995 641c 181 106

1996 533a 170 85

1997 514a 133 83

1998 569b 132 99

1999 598c 176 89

Total 5294d 1298 763

a

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for one appointee.

b

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for three appointees.

c

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for two appointees.

d

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for thirteen appointees.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data in OPM’s CPDF.
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 63 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table IV.2: Number of Career SES Appointments at the 24 CFO Agencies and Governmentwide From Fiscal Years 1990

Through 1999, by Race and Ethnicity

Agency Year

Total

appointments Whites

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans

AID 1990 1 1 0 0 0 0

1991 3 3 0 0 0 0

1992 4a 3 00 0 0

1993 2 2 0 0 0 0

1994 0 0 0 0 0 0

1995 7a 6 00 0 0

1996 1 1 0 0 0 0

1997 2a 1 00 0 0

1998 2 2 0 0 0 0

1999 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 22b 19 0 0 0 0

Agriculture 1990 18 17 1 0 0 0

1991 20 18 1 1 0 0

1992 36 33 2 0 1 0

1993 21 16 5 0 0 0

1994 37 27 8 2 0 0

1995 28 26 2 0 0 0

1996 30 23 5 2 0 0

1997 27 16 6 2 3 0

1998 24 14 8 0 1 1

1999 24 17 4 2 0 1

Total 265 207 42 9 5 2

Commerce 1990 32 30 1 0 1 0

1991 19 17 1 1 0 0

1992 22 21 1 0 0 0

1993 18 17 1 0 0 0

1994 17 14 2 0 1 0

1995 28 25 0 1 2 0

1996 28 21 4 3 0 0

1997 21 19 0 2 0 0

1998 27 22 5 0 0 0

1999 28 24 3 1 0 0

Total 240 210 18 8 4 0
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 64 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Total

appointments Whites

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans

Defense 1990 104a 97 6 0 0 0

1991 56 50 2 1 2 1

1992 50 48 1 0 1 0

1993 41 37 3 1 0 0

1994 67 64 1 1 0 1

1995 114 105 6 1 2 0

1996 135 125 6 0 4 0

1997 97 88 2 4 2 1

1998 100a 94 4 0 1 0

1999 104 98 2 1 3 0

Total 868c 806 33 9 15 3

Education 1990 10 9 1 0 0 0

1991 1 1 0 0 0 0

1992 5 4 0 0 1 0

1993 2 2 0 0 0 0

1994 1 1 0 0 0 0

1995 7 3 3 0 0 1

1996 6 6 0 0 0 0

1997 6 4 1 0 0 1

1998 7a 5 10 0 0

1999 4 3 1 0 0 0

Total 49a 38 7 0 1 2

Energy 1990 44 42 1 0 1 0

1991 43 42 0 1 0 0

1992 51 47 2 1 1 0

1993 12 10 1 1 0 0

1994 16 12 2 0 2 0

1995 44 40 3 1 0 0

1996 16 15 0 1 0 0

1997 31 30 0 0 1 0

1998 21 19 1 1 0 0

1999 43a 39 1 1 0 1

Total 321a 296 11 7 5 1
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 65 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Total

appointments Whites

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans

EPA 1990 15 13 1 1 0 0

1991 32 32 0 0 0 0

1992 21 18 3 0 0 0

1993 6 5 1 0 0 0

1994 11 10 0 1 0 0

1995 13 10 3 0 0 0

1996 8 4 4 0 0 0

1997 8 6 0 0 2 0

1998 15 8 5 0 2 0

1999 29 24 3 2 0 0

Total 158 130 20 4 4 0

FEMA 1990 1 1 0 0 0 0

1991 5 5 0 0 0 0

1992 8 8 0 0 0 0

1993 0 0 0 0 0 0

1994 2 2 0 0 0 0

1995 4 4 0 0 0 0

1996 2 2 0 0 0 0

1997 2 1 1 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0 0 0 0

1999 4 4 0 0 0 0

Total 28 27 1 0 0 0

GSA 1990 5 5 0 0 0 0

1991 5 5 0 0 0 0

1992 2 2 0 0 0 0

1993 1 1 0 0 0 0

1994 4 2 2 0 0 0

1995 22 18 4 0 0 0

1996 0 0 0 0 0 0

1997 8 6 2 0 0 0

1998 6 5 1 0 0 0

1999 7 7 0 0 0 0

Total 60 51 9 0 0 0
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 66 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Total

appointments Whites

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans

HHS 1990 52 44 6 0 1 1

1991 39 33 3 1 1 0

1992 39 30 3 3 2 1

1993 28 22 3 1 0 2

1994 34 27 4 1 1 1

1995 33 20 10 3 0 0

1996 43 36 2 2 0 3

1997 39 33 4 1 0 1

1998 48 40 1 1 2 4

1999 46 36 5 2 3 0

Total 401 321 41 15 10 13

HUD 1990 10 9 1 0 0 0

1991 10 9 0 1 0 0

1992 14 6 6 2 0 0

1993 0 0 0 0 0 0

1994 6 4 2 0 0 0

1995 7 4 3 0 0 0

1996 6 4 2 0 0 0

1997 7 2 5 0 0 0

1998 6 3 1 1 0 1

1999 9 5 3 0 0 1

Total 75 46 23 4 0 2

Interior 1990 21 14 1 0 0 6

1991 8 4 2 0 0 2

1992 13 10 1 0 0 2

1993 17 13 2 0 1 1

1994 20 17 1 0 0 2

1995 36 32 2 0 0 2

1996 10 6 0 0 0 4

1997 18 9 3 2 0 4

1998 21 14 1 1 0 5

1999 18 13 0 1 0 3

Total 182 132 13 4 1 31
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 67 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Total

appointments Whites

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans

Justice 1990 35 32 2 1 0 0

1991 31 28 2 1 0 0

1992 32 27 2 3 0 0

1993 16 16 0 0 0 0

1994 30 25 3 2 0 0

1995 58 43 10 5 0 0

1996 59 48 8 1 2 0

1997 29 24 3 2 0 0

1998 49 42 2 4 0 0

1999 44 38 4 1 1 0

Total 383 323 36 20 3 0

Labor 1990 9 8 1 0 0 0

1991 8 7 1 0 0 0

1992 4 3 1 0 0 0

1993 0 0 0 0 0 0

1994 6 3 1 1 0 1

1995 17 9 6 2 0 0

1996 9 7 2 0 0 0

1997 14 11 2 1 0 0

1998 4 3 0 1 0 0

1999 17 15 2 0 0 0

Total 88 66 16 5 0 1

NASA 1990 45 40 4 1 0 0

1991 60 56 3 0 1 0

1992 24 23 1 0 0 0

1993 25 19 4 0 1 1

1994 38 24 8 2 4 0

1995 43 37 4 0 2 0

1996 19 15 1 3 0 0

1997 29 26 1 1 1 0

1998 60 53 4 1 2 0

1999 51 45 3 1 1 1

Total 394 338 33 9 12 2
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 68 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Total

appointments Whites

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans

NSF 1990 15 13 2 0 0 0

1991 9 6 2 0 1 0

1992 7 6 0 1 0 0

1993 1 1 0 0 0 0

1994 8 8 0 0 0 0

1995 9 9 0 0 0 0

1996 2 2 0 0 0 0

1997 2 2 0 0 0 0

1998 1 0 0 0 1 0

1999 5 5 0 0 0 0

Total 59 52 4 1 2 0

NRC 1990 16 15 1 0 0 0

1991 12 11 1 0 0 0

1992 3 3 0 0 0 0

1993 4 4 0 0 0 0

1994 4 4 0 0 0 0

1995 7 6 0 0 1 0

1996 4 4 0 0 0 0

1997 14 13 1 0 0 0

1998 10 8 1 0 1 0

1999 2 1 1 0 0 0

Total 76 69 5 0 2 0

OPM 1990 1 0 1 0 0 0

1991 4 4 0 0 0 0

1992 1 1 0 0 0 0

1993 1 1 0 0 0 0

1994 1 1 0 0 0 0

1995 3 3 0 0 0 0

1996 7 6 1 0 0 0

1997 3 3 0 0 0 0

1998 4 4 0 0 0 0

1999 7 4 0 3 0 0

Total 32 27 2 3 0 0
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 69 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Total

appointments Whites

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans

SBA 1990 5 4 0 1 0 0

1991 7 3 4 0 0 0

1992 9 7 1 0 1 0

1993 1 0 1 0 0 0

1994 6 0 3 2 1 0

1995 6 5 0 1 0 0

1996 3 3 0 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0 0 0 0

1998 2 1 1 0 0 0

1999 3 0 2 1 0 0

Total 42 23 12 5 2 0

SSA 1990 5 3 2 0 0 0

1991 7 4 2 1 0 0

1992 2 0 2 0 0 0

1993 5 3 1 0 1 0

1994 2 1 0 1 0 0

1995 3 3 0 0 0 0

1996 8 6 1 1 0 0

1997 10 7 2 1 0 0

1998 15 11 2 2 0 0

1999 18 12 5 0 1 0

Total 75 50 17 6 2 0

State 1990 18 17 1 0 0 0

1991 9 8 0 1 0 0

1992 9 9 0 0 0 0

1993 3 2 0 1 0 0

1994 3 3 0 0 0 0

1995 4 4 0 0 0 0

1996 4 4 0 0 0 0

1997 5 5 0 0 0 0

1998 9 8 0 1 0 0

1999 7 7 0 0 0 0

Total 71 67 1 3 0 0
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 70 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Total

appointments Whites

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans

Transportation 1990 30 26 3 1 0 0

1991 57 52 3 2 0 0

1992 26 21 3 1 1 0

1993 16 16 0 0 0 0

1994 15 14 0 1 0 0

1995 40 28 6 2 3 1

1996 28 23 4 0 1 0

1997 17 14 3 0 0 0

1998 12 9 3 0 0 0

1999 12 11 1 0 0 0

Total 253 214 26 7 5 1

Treasury 1990 49 47 2 0 0 0

1991 83 76 4 0 2 1

1992 49 44 4 1 0 0

1993 28 25 3 0 0 0

1994 54 45 8 0 1 0

1995 44 36 6 2 0 0

1996 49 40 5 1 2 1

1997 72 63 5 3 1 0

1998 54 43 8 1 1 1

1999 62 50 10 1 1 0

Total 544 469 55 9 8 3

Veterans Affairs 1990 18 17 1 0 0 0

1991 34a 31 2 0 0 0

1992 10 10 0 0 0 0

1993 16 16 0 0 0 0

1994 34 29 4 0 1 0

1995 20a 17 2 0 0 0

1996 10a 7 20 0 0

1997 14 14 0 0 0 0

1998 22 16 5 0 1 0

1999 13 12 1 0 0 0

Total 191b 169 17 0 2 0
Appendix IV: Appointments to the Career SES

During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, By

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

Page 71 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Agency Year

Total

appointments Whites

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans

Governmentwide 1990 608a 549 41 6 4 7

1991 602c 538 39 12 7 4

1992 475a 417 34 12 8 3

1993 293 253 28 5 3 4

1994 461 377 52 15 12 5

1995 641c 533 73 18 11 4

1996 533a 447 51 17 9 8

1997 514a 430 45 20 11 7

1998 569b 467 59 15 13 12

1999 598c 507 53 18 11 7

Total 5294d 4518 475 138 89 61

a

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for one appointee.

b

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for three appointees.

c

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for two appointees.

d

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for thirteen appointees.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data in OPM’s CPDF.
Appendix V: 24 CFO Agencies’ Career SES

Workforce Compared With Selected Labor

Forces

Page 72 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

In tables V.1 through V.6, we compare, by gender, minority group, race,

and ethnicity, the percentage of employees in the career SES at each of the

24 CFO agencies as of September 30, 1999, to the percentage of employees

in the following labor forces to determine the extent of parity:

• the national CLF ( see table V.1);

• our agency-specific RCLFs—the proportion of employees in the overall

CLF who were in occupations and had incomes equivalent to that of the

career SES at each of the 24 CFO agencies (see table V.2);

• each agency’s total workforce (see table V.3);

• each agency’s workforce in professional and administrative occupations

(see table V.4);

• each agency’s GS-15 workforce (see table V.5); and

• the U.S. Postal Service career executive corps (see table V.6).

We used shading to illustrate the extent of parity between the career SES

employee group percentages and the percentages for the same employee

group in the comparative labor forces. To measure the extent of parity, we

calculated a representation index by dividing the career SES percentage

for each employee group by the percentage for the same employee group

in each of the comparative labor forces and multiplying by 100. The results

of our comparisons are statistically significant unless otherwise noted.

Appendix II describes the tests we performed to determine whether

proportional differences between the SES and the comparative labor

forces were statistically significant.

Appendix V: 24 CFO Agencies’ Career SES

Workforce Compared With Selected Labor

Forces
Appendix V: 24 CFO Agencies’ Career SES

Workforce Compared With Selected Labor

Forces

Page 73 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table V.1: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24 CFO Agencies as

of September 30, 1999, to the Same Employee Groups in the National CLF

a

CLF data obtained from the 1999 CPS for Asian Americans and Native Americans were not

statistically reliable because the CPS does not cover enough households to provide statistically

sound projections for these two groups. However, our comparisons for Asian Americans and Native

Americans using CLF data derived from the 1999 CPS and from the 1990 Census indicated similar

results. Therefore, we believe that the comparisons using CLF data from the 1999 CPS are not

misleading.

Sources: GAO’s analysis of workforce data in OPM’s CPDF and of CLF data obtained from the March

1999 CPS and the 1990 Census.
Appendix V: 24 CFO Agencies’ Career SES

Workforce Compared With Selected Labor

Forces

Page 74 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table V.2: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24 CFO Agencies as

of September 30, 1999, to the Same Employee Groups in Our Agency-Specific

RCLFs

Note: Our RCLF is the CLF that corresponds to the career SES workforce as closely as possible in

terms of occupations and salary levels but not necessarily in terms of the level of responsibilities. For

more details on how we constructed agency-specific RCLFs and identified occupations in the CLF

that were comparable to the SES occupations, see appendix II.

a

CLF data obtained from the 1999 CPS for Asian Americans and Native Americans were not

statistically reliable because the CPS does not cover enough households to provide statistically

sound projections for these two groups. However, our comparisons for Asian Americans and Native

Americans using CLF data derived from the 1999 CPS and from the 1990 Census indicated similar

results. Therefore, we believe that the comparisons using CLF data from the 1999 CPS are not

misleading.

Sources: GAO’s analysis of workforce data in OPM’s CPDF and of CLF data obtained from the March

1999 CPS and the 1990 Census.
Appendix V: 24 CFO Agencies’ Career SES

Workforce Compared With Selected Labor

Forces

Page 75 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table V.3: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24 CFO Agencies as

of September 30, 1999, to the Same Employee Groups in Each Agency’s Total

Workforce

Source: GAO’s analysis of workforce data in OPM’s CPDF.
Appendix V: 24 CFO Agencies’ Career SES

Workforce Compared With Selected Labor

Forces

Page 76 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table V.4: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24 CFO Agencies as

of September 30, 1999, to the Same Employee Groups in Professional and

Administrative Occupations at Each Agency

Source: GAO’s analysis of workforce data in OPM’s CPDF.
Appendix V: 24 CFO Agencies’ Career SES

Workforce Compared With Selected Labor

Forces

Page 77 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table V.5: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24 CFO Agencies as

of September 30, 1999, to the Same Employee Groups in the Agencies’ GS-15

Workforces

Source: GAO’s analysis of workforce data in OPM’s CPDF.

Selected SES employee groups

Agency Women Men Minorities

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans Whites

AID

Agriculture

Commerce

Defense

Education

Energy

EPA

FEMA

GSA

HHS

HUD

Interior

Justice

Labor

NASA

NSF

NRC

OPM

SBA

SSA

State

Transportation

Treasury

Veterans Affairs

SES employee group percentage met or exceeded the percentage for the same employee group in

the selected labor force.

SES employee group percentage was below the percentage for the same employee group in the

selected labor force.

SES employee group percentage was either above, below, or the same as the percentage for the

same employee group in the selected labor force, but the difference between the percentages was

not statistically significant.
Appendix V: 24 CFO Agencies’ Career SES

Workforce Compared With Selected Labor

Forces

Page 78 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table V.6: Comparison of Career SES Employee Groups in the 24 CFO Agencies as

of September 30, 1999, to the Same Employee Groups in the U.S. Postal Service

Sources: GAO’s analysis of workforce data in OPM’s CPDF and of Postal Service workforce data.

Selected SES employee groups

Agency Women Men Minorities

African

Americans Hispanics

Asian

Americans

Native

Americans Whites

AID

Agriculture

Commerce

Defense

Education

Energy

EPA

FEMA

GSA

HHS

HUD

Interior

Justice

Labor

NASA

NSF

NRC

OPM

SBA

SSA

State

Transportation

Treasury

Veterans Affairs

SES employee group percentage met or exceeded the percentage for the same employee group in

the selected labor force.

SES employee group percentage was either above, below, or the same as the percentage for the

same employee group in the selected labor force, but the difference between the percentages was

not statistically significant.

SES employee group percentage was below the percentage for the same employee group in the

selected labor force.
Appendix VI: Composition of the Noncareer

SES During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999

Page 79 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

The following tables provide data on the composition of the noncareer

SES governmentwide and at each of the 24 CFO agencies. Table VI.1

shows for each year over the 1990 through 1999 period the overall size of

the noncareer SES as well as the number of women, men, minorities, and

whites. Table VI.2 shows the number of women and minorities for each

year from 1990 through 1999 at each of the 24 agencies.

Table VI.1: Size of the Noncareer SES—Fiscal Year End 1990-1999

Year Totala Women Men Minorities Whites

1990 688 181 507 75 610

1991 727 190 537 87 637

1992 711 201 510 81 628

1993 364 134 230 62 302

1994 713 277 436 159 554

1995 753 293 460 169 584

1996 674 265 409 152 522

1997 657 254 403 144 512

1998 658 262 396 153 505

1999 666 269 397 154 510

a

The totals for fiscal years 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997 and 1999 do not add up to the remaining columns

because gender and race/ethnicity information was missing for some noncareer SES members during

these years.

Source: OPM’s CPDF.

Table VI.2: Number of Women and Minorities in the Noncareer SES at the 24 CFO Agencies as of the End of Fiscal Years 1990

Through 1999

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

AID 1990 6 1 0

1991 11 3 0

1992 12 3 0

1993 3 1 0

1994 8 2 4

1995 9 2 4

1996 7 3 2

1997 8 3 2

1998 7 2 3

1999 7 3 3

Appendix VI: Composition of the Noncareer

SES During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999
Appendix VI: Composition of the Noncareer

SES During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999

Page 80 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Agriculture 1990 46 13 3

1991 51 15 5

1992 52 17 4

1993 13 6 7

1994 46 18 11

1995 54 20 12

1996 50 18 14

1997 45 16 14

1998 47 18 18

1999 49 19 15

Commerce 1990 59 12 9

1991 54 11 9

1992 52 14 8

1993 30 13 9

1994 64 24 19

1995 66 27 24

1996 61 24 19

1997 52 21 15

1998 48 18 12

1999 49 18 12

Defense 1990 67 12 4

1991 76 13 4

1992 72 12 6

1993 45 15 6

1994 84 31 10

1995 86 29 10

1996 81 23 12

1997 72 20 10

1998 70 19 9

1999 75a 17 13

Education 1990 21 8 4

1991 20 9 2

1992 19 9 1

1993 10 4 3

1994 20 8 7

1995 20 9 8

1996 14 5 5

1997 18 9 6

1998 18 10 6

1999 15 8 4
Appendix VI: Composition of the Noncareer

SES During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999

Page 81 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Energy 1990 39 10 2

1991 37 10 1

1992 40 10 3

1993 18 7 1

1994 38 13 5

1995 43 14 10

1996 35 12 6

1997 35 10 6

1998 37 16 8

1999 42 13 6

Environmental Protection Agency 1990 15 1 0

1991 18 3 0

1992 19 5 0

1993 6 5 0

1994 21 10 2

1995 19 9 3

1996 17 9 1

1997 18 6 2

1998 19 6 2

1999 19 6 2

Federal Emergency Management Agency 1990 10 2 1

1991 14 2 1

1992 14 2 1

1993 6 1 0

1994 12 4 3

1995 13 4 2

1996 15 5 3

1997 15 5 3

1998 15 6 3

1999 16 5 3

General Services Administration 1990 20 5 2

1991 21 3 3

1992 23 3 3

1993 5 2 1

1994 16 8 5

1995 16 6 5

1996 14 5 5

1997 17 6 6

1998 17 6 6

1999 20 7 6
Appendix VI: Composition of the Noncareer

SES During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999

Page 82 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Health and Human Services 1990 54 23 12

1991 62 25 15

1992 59 24 13

1993 29 13 3

1994 66 34 11

1995 58 31 7

1996 58 34 14

1997 55b 33 13

1998 58 40 11

1999 54 36 15

Housing and Urban Development 1990 25 5 5

1991 27 5 7

1992 11 2 1

1993 5 2 2

1994 17 8 6

1995 20 9 7

1996 15 7 7

1997 20 9 8

1998 18 6 5

1999 17 8 5

Interior 1990 32 7 3

1991 39 10 6

1992 49 12 9

1993 28 11 2

1994 38 17 6

1995 40 21 6

1996 37 19 5

1997 36 17 5

1998 35 15 9

1999 39 18 6

Justice 1990 59 7 3

1991 59 6 5

1992 54 6 6

1993 20 4 2

1994 52 18 9

1995 59 18 11

1996 55 15 9

1997 49 16 7

1998 48 15 11

1999 45 12 10
Appendix VI: Composition of the Noncareer

SES During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999

Page 83 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Labor 1990 21 10 5

1991 17 9 4

1992 19 12 2

1993 9 2 0

1994 28 9 10

1995 29 12 9

1996 27 11 6

1997 29 10 7

1998 24 9 7

1999 26 12 7

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 1990 3 1 0

1991 3 1 0

1992 4 1 0

1993 2 0 0

1994 3 1 0

1995 6 2 1

1996 4 2 1

1997 4 2 1

1998 3 2 1

1999 3 3 1

National Science Foundation 1990 0 0 0

1991 0 0 0

1992 0 0 0

1993 0 0 0

1994 0 0 0

1995 0 0 0

1996 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0

1999 0 0 0

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1990 0 0 0

1991 0 0 0

1992 0 0 0

1993 0 0 0

1994 0 0 0

1995 0 0 0

1996 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0

1999 0 0 0
Appendix VI: Composition of the Noncareer

SES During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999

Page 84 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Office of Personnel Management 1990 9 4 1

1991 8 4 3

1992 7 4 2

1993 9 6 2

1994 8 5 1

1995 6 3 0

1996 6 5 1

1997 5 3 2

1998 5 3 1

1999 7 3 1

Small Business Administration 1990 18 7 3

1991 15 5 2

1992 16 7 2

1993 7 3 2

1994 10 4 4

1995 7 3 3

1996 7 3 3

1997 8 2 2

1998 7 2 2

1999 10 5 3

Social Security Administration 1990 4 3 0

1991 4 3 0

1992 4 3 0

1993 0 0 0

1994 4 4 3

1995 8 5 4

1996 8 5 4

1997 8 5 4

1998 12 7 6

1999 13 9 6

State 1990 28c 6 2

1991 32c 8 3

1992 30a 6 4

1993 12 2 0

1994 29 9 7

1995 34 13 9

1996 32 13 9

1997 29 13 7

1998 31 13 5

1999 26 10 4
Appendix VI: Composition of the Noncareer

SES During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999

Page 85 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES as of

September 30 Women Minorities

Transportation 1990 38 10 5

1991 39 10 5

1992 31 10 3

1993 18 8 4

1994 37 15 12

1995 38 17 10

1996 24 11 6

1997 23 8 6

1998 22 6 9

1999 27 11 12

Treasury 1990 21 6 2

1991 22 6 2

1992 26 6 3

1993 24 9 8

1994 31 8 9

1995 30 8 8

1996 27 6 6

1997 26 6 2

1998 28 8 5

1999 26 11 5

Veterans Affairs 1990 5 2 2

1991 6 1 1

1992 3 1 1

1993 7 2 2

1994 7 1 3

1995 6 2 3

1996 6 2 2

1997 6 2 2

1998 6 2 2

1999 8 4 3

a

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for two persons.

b

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for one person.

c

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for three persons.

Source: GAO’s analysis of noncareer SES composition data in OPM’s CPDF.
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 86 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

The following tables provide data on the composition of the noncareer

SES governmentwide and at each of the 24 CFO agencies. Table VII.1

shows for each year over the 1990 through 1999 period the total number of

noncareer SES appointments as well as the number of women, men,

minorities, and whites. Table VII.2 shows the total number of

appointments to the noncareer SES each year over the 1990 through 1999

period at each of the 24 agencies and how many of the noncareer SES

members appointed were women and minorities. Tables VII.3 shows the

number of minority group members, by race and ethnicity, appointed from

1990 through 1999 at each of the 24 agencies.

Table VII.1: Noncareer SES Appointments—Fiscal Year End 1990-1999

Year Totala Women Men Minorities Whites

1990 336 88 245 42 291

1991 184 47 135 18 164

1992 175 56 117 19 154

1993 367 144 221 56 309

1994 430 166 260 101 325

1995 193 71 121 47 145

1996 129 56 73 28 101

1997 152 60 92 27 125

1998 182 78 103 46 135

1999 183 73 109 40 142

a

The totals for fiscal years 1990 through 1995, 1998, and 1999 do not add up to the remaining

columns because gender and race/ethnicity information was missing for some noncareer SES

members during these years.

Source: OPM’s CPDF.

Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 87 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table VII.2: Number of Women and Minorities Appointed to the Noncareer SES at the 24 CFO Agencies During Fiscal Years

1990 Through 1999

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES

Appointments Women Minorities

AID 1990 1 1 0

1991 4a 2 0

1992 4a 0 0

1993 2 1 0

1994 7 2 4

1995 2 1 1

1996 2 1 1

1997 2 0 0

1998 0 0 0

1999 1 1 0

Total 25b 9 6

Agriculture 1990 22 9 2

1991 15 5 3

1992 16 6 1

1993 20 9 8

1994 33 12 5

1995 16 6 3

1996 7 4 4

1997 8 2 2

1998 17 7 8

1999 10 3 2

Total 164 63 38

Commerce 1990 26 5 4

1991 12 3 1

1992 15 7 1

1993 39 16 8

1994 34 12 13

1995 13 6 8

1996 14 7 3

1997 8 5 2

1998 13 5 4

1999 10 5 4

Total 184 71 48
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 88 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES

Appointments Women Minorities

Defense 1990 40 9 5

1991 18 2 0

1992 8 0 2

1993 37 14 5

1994 55 21 5

1995 17 4 3

1996 12 2 3

1997 11 1 0

1998 17a 5 2

1999 15a 1 3

Total 230b 59 28

Education 1990 13 4 2

1991 5 2 0

1992 11 6 0

1993 14 6 4

1994 11 4 2

1995 2 2 1

1996 2 1 1

1997 7 5 3

1998 3 2 0

1999 1 1 0

Total 69 33 13

Energy 1990 20 2 1

1991 5 0 0

1992 13 4 3

1993 17 5 1

1994 21 7 4

1995 12 2 5

1996 5 2 0

1997 9 3 1

1998 11 7 3

1999 18 3 4

Total 131 35 22
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 89 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES

Appointments Women Minorities

Environmental Protection Agency 1990 7 2 0

1991 2 1 0

1992 5 2 0

1993 7a 5 0

1994 15c 4 2

1995 2a 0 0

1996 1 0 0

1997 7 0 1

1998 1 0 0

1999 3 1 0

Total 50d 15 3

Federal Emergency Management Agency 1990 5 0 1

1991 3 1 0

1992 0 0 0

1993 4 1 0

1994 8 3 3

1995 4 1 0

1996 2 1 1

1997 4 1 0

1998 1 1 0

1999 2 0 0

Total 33 9 5

General Services Administration 1990 4 3 0

1991 4 0 1

1992 1 0 0

1993 6 2 1

1994 11 5 4

1995 1 0 0

1996 2 2 1

1997 3 1 0

1998 0 0 0

1999 4 2 1

Total 36 15 8
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 90 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES

Appointments Women Minorities

Health and Human Services 1990 31a 12 6

1991 18 8 2

1992 13 4 4

1993 29a 13 3

1994 37a 21 7

1995 9 5 1

1996 10 7 3

1997 7 4 0

1998 17 13 1

1999 12 5 6

Total 183c 92 33

Housing and Urban Development 1990 11 1 3

1991 7 2 2

1992 3 0 0

1993 6 3 2

1994 14 8 5

1995 4 1 3

1996 4 3 1

1997 8 5 2

1998 6 1 1

1999 3 2 1

Total 66 26 20

Interior 1990 9 1 2

1991 14 3 4

1992 11 2 2

1993 32 12 1

1994 14 8 3

1995 13 9 2

1996 5 3 0

1997 9 5 2

1998 6 1 2

1999 11 7 2

Total 124 51 20
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 91 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES

Appointments Women Minorities

Justice 1990 40 4 2

1991 22 1 2

1992 13 1 0

1993 25 7 2

1994 42 14 8

1995 18 5 3

1996 13 4 1

1997 8 3 0

1998 16 6 8

1999 15 3 2

Total 212 48 28

Labor 1990 13 4 3

1991 6 1 0

1992 12 5 2

1993 9 2 0

1994 26 7 7

1995 17 9 4

1996 11 2 1

1997 9 4 2

1998 5 3 1

1999 12 7 3

Total 120 44 23

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 1990 2 1 0

1991 0 0 0

1992 1 0 0

1993 3 0 0

1994 1 1 0

1995 4 1 1

1996 1 0 0

1997 1 1 0

1998 2 0 0

1999 1 1 0

Total 16 5 1
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 92 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES

Appointments Women Minorities

National Science Foundation 1990 0 0 0

1991 0 0 0

1992 0 0 0

1993 0 0 0

1994 0 0 0

1995 0 0 0

1996 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0

1999 0 0 0

Total 0 0 0

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1990 0 0 0

1991 0 0 0

1992 1 1 0

1993 0 0 0

1994 1 1 0

1995 0 0 0

1996 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0

1999 0 0 0

Total 2 2 0

Office of Personnel Management 1990 2 1 1

1991 5 1 2

1992 2 1 1

1993 9 5 3

1994 0 0 0

1995 0 0 0

1996 2 2 0

1997 2 0 1

1998 2 0 0

1999 3 1 0

Total 27 11 8
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 93 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES

Appointments Women Minorities

Small Business Administration 1990 5 1 2

1991 3 1 0

1992 4 2 0

1993 7 3 2

1994 4 2 2

1995 2 1 1

1996 3 0 2

1997 3 0 0

1998 2 1 0

1999 11 7 4

Total 44 18 13

Social Security Administration 1990 3 2 0

1991 0 0 0

1992 0 0 0

1993 0 0 0

1994 4 4 3

1995 2 0 1

1996 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0

1998 4 2 2

1999 2 2 1

Total 15 10 7

State 1990 11a 1 1

1991 6a 3 0

1992 8a 1 1

1993 10 2 0

1994 23 8 7

1995 10 5 3

1996 5 2 2

1997 9 5 1

1998 7 4 0

1999 13 4 1

Total 102c 35 16
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 94 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of:

Agency Year

Noncareer SES

Appointments Women Minorities

Transportation 1990 16 3 1

1991 10 2 0

1992 5 3 0

1993 21 11 3

1994 23 9 9

1995 5 2 0

1996 11 5 3

1997 7 3 3

1998 10 3 6

1999 14 7 3

Total 122 48 28

Treasury 1990 5 2 0

1991 8 2 0

1992 10 2 1

1993 33 11 8

1994 10 0 2

1995 16 3 3

1996 6 2 0

1997 9 1 0

1998 17 6 5

1999 7 4 1

Total 121 33 20

Veterans Affairs 1990 3a 2 1

1991 2 1 0

1992 0 0 0

1993 8 2 3

1994 2 0 1

1995 3 1 1

1996 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0

1999 3 1 1

Total 21a 7 7

a

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for one appointee.

b

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for two appointees.

c

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for three appointees.

d

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for five appointees.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data in OPM’s CPDF.
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 95 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Table VII.3: Number of Noncareer SES Appointments at the 24 CFO Agencies From Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1999, by Race

and Ethnicity

Number of noncareer SES appointees who were:

Agency Year Appointments White

African

American Hispanic

Asian

American

Native

American

AID 1990 1 1 0 0 0 0

1991 4a 30000

1992 4a 30000

1993 2 2 0 0 0 0

1994 7 3 2 2 0 0

1995 2 1 0 1 0 0

1996 2 1 1 0 0 0

1997 2 2 0 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0 0 0 0

1999 1 1 0 0 0 0

Total 25b 17 3 3 0 0

Agriculture 1990 22 20 1 0 1 0

1991 15 12 1 1 1 0

1992 16 15 1 0 0 0

1993 20 12 8 0 0 0

1994 33 28 3 1 1 0

1995 16 13 2 1 0 0

1996 7 3 3 0 0 1

1997 8 6 0 1 1 0

1998 17 9 4 3 1 0

1999 10 8 1 0 0 1

Total 164 126 24 7 5 2

Commerce 1990 26 22 2 1 1 0

1991 12 11 1 0 0 0

1992 15 14 0 1 0 0

1993 39 31 7 1 0 0

1994 34 22 5 5 3 0

1995 13 5 4 3 1 0

1996 14 11 3 0 0 0

1997 8 6 1 0 1 0

1998 13 9 2 2 0 0

1999 10 6 3 0 1 0

Total 184 137 28 13 7 0
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 96 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of noncareer SES appointees who were:

Agency Year Appointments White

African

American Hispanic

Asian

American

Native

American

Defense 1990 40 35 1 4 0 0

1991 18 18 0 0 0 0

1992 8 6 1 1 0 0

1993 37 32 3 1 1 0

1994 55 50 3 1 0 1

1995 17 14 3 0 0 0

1996 12 9 2 1 0 0

1997 11 11 0 0 0 0

1998 17a 14 0 2 0 0

1999 15a 11 2 1 0 0

Total 230b 200 15 11 1 1

Education 1990 13 11 0 2 0 0

1991 5 5 0 0 0 0

1992 11 11 0 0 0 0

1993 14 10 2 1 1 0

1994 11 9 2 0 0 0

1995 2 1 0 1 0 0

1996 2 1 0 1 0 0

1997 7 4 3 0 0 0

1998 3 3 0 0 0 0

1999 1 1 0 0 0 0

Total 69 56 7 5 1 0

Energy 1990 20 19 0 1 0 0

1991 5 5 0 0 0 0

1992 13 10 2 0 1 0

1993 17 16 1 0 0 0

1994 21 17 3 0 1 0

1995 12 7 2 2 1 0

1996 5 5 0 0 0 0

1997 9 8 0 1 0 0

1998 11 8 0 1 2 0

1999 18 14 1 3 0 0

Total 131 109 9 8 5 0
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 97 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of noncareer SES appointees who were:

Agency Year Appointments White

African

American Hispanic

Asian

American

Native

American

EPA 1990 7 7 0 0 0 0

1991 2 2 0 0 0 0

1992 5 5 0 0 0 0

1993 7a 60000

1994 15c 10 1 0 0 1

1995 2a 10000

1996 1 1 0 0 0 0

1997 7 6 0 0 0 1

1998 1 1 0 0 0 0

1999 3 3 0 0 0 0

Total 50d 42 1 0 0 2

FEMA 1990 5 4 0 0 0 1

1991 3 3 0 0 0 0

1992 0 0 0 0 0 0

1993 4 4 0 0 0 0

1994 8 5 1 1 1 0

1995 4 4 0 0 0 0

1996 2 1 1 0 0 0

1997 4 4 0 0 0 0

1998 1 1 0 0 0 0

1999 2 2 0 0 0 0

Total 33 28 2 1 1 1

GSA 1990 4 4 0 0 0 0

1991 4 3 1 0 0 0

1992 1 1 0 0 0 0

1993 6 5 1 0 0 0

1994 11 7 3 1 0 0

1995 1 1 0 0 0 0

1996 2 1 1 0 0 0

1997 3 3 0 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0 0 0 0

1999 4 3 1 0 0 0

Total 36 28 7 1 0 0
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 98 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of noncareer SES appointees who were:

Agency Year Appointments White

African

American Hispanic

Asian

American

Native

American

HHS 1990 31a 24 5 0 1 0

1991 18 16 1 0 1 0

1992 13 9 2 0 2 0

1993 29a 25 2 0 0 1

1994 37a 29 4 2 1 0

1995 9 8 0 1 0 0

1996 10 7 2 0 1 0

1997 7 7 0 0 0 0

1998 17 16 0 1 0 0

1999 12 6 5 1 0 0

Total 183c 147 21 5 6 1

HUD 1990 11 8 3 0 0 0

1991 7 5 1 1 0 0

1992 3 3 0 0 0 0

1993 6 4 0 2 0 0

1994 14 9 4 1 0 0

1995 4 1 1 1 1 0

1996 4 3 0 1 0 0

1997 8 6 1 1 0 0

1998 6 5 0 1 0 0

1999 3 2 1 0 0 0

Total 66 46 11 8 1 0

Interior 1990 9 7 0 0 0 2

1991 14 10 1 1 0 2

1992 11 9 0 0 0 2

1993 32 31 1 0 0 0

1994 14 11 2 0 0 1

1995 13 11 1 0 0 1

1996 5 5 0 0 0 0

1997 9 7 0 0 1 1

1998 6 4 0 0 0 2

1999 11 9 0 0 2 0

Total 124 104 5 1 3 11
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 99 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of noncareer SES appointees who were:

Agency Year Appointments White

African

American Hispanic

Asian

American

Native

American

Justice 1990 40 38 1 1 0 0

1991 22 20 1 1 0 0

1992 13 13 0 0 0 0

1993 25 23 0 2 0 0

1994 42 34 4 2 2 0

1995 18 15 3 0 0 0

1996 13 12 0 0 1 0

1997 8 8 0 0 0 0

1998 16 8 2 3 3 0

1999 15 13 0 2 0 0

Total 212 184 11 11 6 0

Labor 1990 13 10 1 1 0 1

1991 6 6 0 0 0 0

1992 12 10 0 2 0 0

1993 9 9 0 0 0 0

1994 26 19 0 7 0 0

1995 17 13 1 3 0 0

1996 11 10 0 1 0 0

1997 9 7 2 0 0 0

1998 5 4 1 0 0 0

1999 12 9 2 1 0 0

Total 120 97 7 15 0 1

NASA 1990 2 2 0 0 0 0

1991 0 0 0 0 0 0

1992 1 1 0 0 0 0

1993 3 3 0 0 0 0

1994 1 1 0 0 0 0

1995 4 3 1 0 0 0

1996 1 1 0 0 0 0

1997 1 1 0 0 0 0

1998 2 2 0 0 0 0

1999 1 1 0 0 0 0

Total 16 15 1 0 0 0
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 100 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of noncareer SES appointees who were:

Agency Year Appointments White

African

American Hispanic

Asian

American

Native

American

NSF 1990 0 0 0 0 0 0

1991 0 0 0 0 0 0

1992 0 0 0 0 0 0

1993 0 0 0 0 0 0

1994 0 0 0 0 0 0

1995 0 0 0 0 0 0

1996 0 0 0 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0 0 0 0

1999 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 0 0 0 0 0 0

NRC 1990 0 0 0 0 0 0

1991 0 0 0 0 0 0

1992 1 1 0 0 0 0

1993 0 0 0 0 0 0

1994 1 1 0 0 0 0

1995 0 0 0 0 0 0

1996 0 0 0 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0 0 0 0

1999 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 2 2 0 0 0 0

OPM 1990 2 1 0 1 0 0

1991 5 3 1 0 1 0

1992 2 1 0 1 0 0

1993 9 6 1 1 1 0

1994 0 0 0 0 0 0

1995 0 0 0 0 0 0

1996 2 2 0 0 0 0

1997 2 1 1 0 0 0

1998 2 2 0 0 0 0

1999 3 3 0 0 0 0

Total 27 19 3 3 2 0
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 101 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of noncareer SES appointees who were:

Agency Year Appointments White

African

American Hispanic

Asian

American

Native

American

SBA 1990 5 3 2 0 0 0

1991 3 3 0 0 0 0

1992 4 4 0 0 0 0

1993 7 5 1 1 0 0

1994 4 2 2 0 0 0

1995 2 1 1 0 0 0

1996 3 1 2 0 0 0

1997 3 3 0 0 0 0

1998 2 2 0 0 0 0

1999 11 7 1 2 1 0

Total 44 31 9 3 1 0

SSA 1990 3 3 0 0 0 0

1991 0 0 0 0 0 0

1992 0 0 0 0 0 0

1993 0 0 0 0 0 0

1994 4 1 2 0 0 1

1995 2 1 0 1 0 0

1996 0 0 0 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0 0 0 0

1998 4 2 2 0 0 0

1999 2 1 1 0 0 0

Total 15 8 5 1 0 1

State 1990 11a 91000

1991 6a 50000

1992 8a 60010

1993 10 10 0 0 0 0

1994 23 16 5 1 1 0

1995 10 7 3 0 0 0

1996 5 3 1 1 0 0

1997 9 8 0 1 0 0

1998 7 7 0 0 0 0

1999 13 12 0 1 0 0

Total 102c 83 10 4 2 0
Appendix VII: Noncareer SES Appointments,

1990-1999

Page 102 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Number of noncareer SES appointees who were:

Agency Year Appointments White

African

American Hispanic

Asian

American

Native

American

Transportation 1990 16 15 0 1 0 0

1991 10 10 0 0 0 0

1992 5 5 0 0 0 0

1993 21 18 1 2 0 0

1994 23 14 3 4 2 0

1995 5 5 0 0 0 0

1996 11 8 2 1 0 0

1997 7 4 0 3 0 0

1998 10 4 5 0 1 0

1999 14 11 2 0 1 0

Total 122 94 13 11 4 0

Treasury 1990 5 5 0 0 0 0

1991 8 8 0 0 0 0

1992 10 9 0 0 1 0

1993 33 25 4 4 0 0

1994 10 8 0 1 1 0

1995 16 13 2 1 0 0

1996 6 6 0 0 0 0

1997 9 9 0 0 0 0

1998 17 12 3 2 0 0

1999 7 6 1 0 0 0

Total 121 101 10 8 2 0

Veterans Affairs 1990 3a 10100

1991 2 2 0 0 0 0

1992 0 0 0 0 0 0

1993 8 5 1 0 2 0

1994 2 1 0 1 0 0

1995 3 2 1 0 0 0

1996 0 0 0 0 0 0

1997 0 0 0 0 0 0

1998 0 0 0 0 0 0

1999 3 2 1 0 0 0

Total 21a 13 3 2 2 0

a

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for one appointee.

b

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for two appointees.

c

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for three appointees.

d

Gender and race/ethnicity information missing for five appointees.

Source: GAO’s analysis of career SES appointment data in OPM’s CPDF.
Appendix VIII: Comments From OPM

Page 103 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Appendix VIII: Comments From OPM
Appendix VIII: Comments From OPM

Page 104 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity
Appendix IX: Comments From EEOC

Page 105 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Appendix IX: Comments From EEOC

Note: GAO comments

supplementing those in

the report text appear at

the end of this appendix.
Appendix IX: Comments From EEOC

Page 106 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity
Appendix IX: Comments From EEOC

Page 107 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

See comment.
Appendix IX: Comments From EEOC

Page 108 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity
Appendix IX: Comments From EEOC

Page 109 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity
Appendix IX: Comments From EEOC

Page 110 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

The following is GAO’s comment on EEOC’s attachments to its letter

dated March 6, 2001.

The data presented in EEOC’s two attachments are virtually identical to

the data we present in our report, except for its data on the GS-14 and GS15 white collar workforces. In our report, we have explained that we

excluded GS-14s a feeder group for our comparison to the SES, because

GS-14s constituted only 1 percent of appointments to the SES as of the end

of fiscal year 1999.

GAO Comment
Appendix X: GAO Contact and Staff

Acknowledgements

Page 111 GAO-01-377 SES Diversity

Carlotta C. Joyner (202) 512-6806

In addition to the individual named above, Richard W. Caradine, Mary Y.

Martin, Gregory H. Wilmoth, Steven J. Berke, Ellen T. Grady, William

Trancucci, Michael R. Volpe, Sylvia L. Shanks, Thomas G. Dowdal,

Katharine M. Raheb, and Jena Y. Sinkfield made key contributions to this

report.

Appendix X: GAO Contact and Staff

Acknowledgements

GAO Contact

Acknowledgements

(410494)

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