THE SECRETARY'S INITIATIVE 

ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN 

TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 

 REPORT 

 

TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 

THE SECRETARY’S INITIATIVE 

ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN 

REPORT TO THE SECRETARY 

DECEMBER 2012 

TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women I

SECRETARY’S STATEMENT OF 

COMMITMENT TO 

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 

We live in one of the most diverse nations in the world. Here at Treasury, we believe that diversity and inclusion, 

in both our workforce and our business practices, enable us to more effectively fulfll our vital mission. We are 

committed to a workforce that refects the diversity of the people we serve. 

We strive to build a diverse and inclusive workforce at all levels of the Department, starting with recruitment 

and continuing with professional development. We are learning from the experiences of current employees to 

create an environment that allows them to meet their full potential, and we challenge managers to create an 

inclusive culture. 

In our commitment to diversity in our business practices, we have worked hard to maximize opportunities 

for small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses to participate in the business activities of the 

Department. For instance, in 2011, we exceeded our goal by more than double for contracting with womenowned small businesses, as well as with small and disadvantaged businesses, which are largely minorityowned. 

We continue to make important strides in promoting diversity and inclusion at Treasury, but we can do more 

together. A commitment to diversity and inclusion is the responsibility of every Treasury employee, and is 

essential for the Department’s continued progress in service to the American people. 

Thank you for your continued support for this important objective and for all of the valuable contributions you 

make each day. 

Timothy F. Geithner 

Secretary of the Treasury 

TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women III

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

On September 24 and 25, 2012, nearly 100 women from across Treasury convened in a landmark forum, 

TreasuryWomen 3.0: The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women. The intent of this report is to record 

their open and honest views to present to the Treasury leadership. Contingent upon leadership support, we will 

develop a detailed implementation plan responsive to the Task Force recommendations. 

The purpose of this initiative was to elicit insights, recommendations, and priorities to enhance the experience 

of women throughout the Treasury workplace. The participants, who comprise the TreasuryWomen 3.0 Task 

Force, were charged with formulating recommendations and priorities that could help ensure that Treasury 

women at all levels experience fair inclusion and have equal opportunities for advancement. 

The two-day forum consisted of speakers, panel discussions and intensive workgroup deliberations. Treasury 

Secretary Timothy F. Geithner opened the forum, noting that Treasury has the most women appointed to 

Senate-confrmed positions in its history, with fve of Treasury’s nine key functional units headed by women, 

in addition to the Treasurer of the United States. He further indicated that while there has been considerable 

progress increasing gender diversity and advancement, the work is not fnished and more can be done. He 

stated that he would eagerly await the results and recommendations from the TreasuryWomen 3.0 Task Force. 

The participating employees, who comprised the TreasuryWomen 3.0 Task Force, were each nominated by 

their organizations and represented a microcosm of the women in the Treasury workforce across career stages, 

occupations, and demographic characteristics. They were assigned to one of ten workgroups, based on their 

career stage or occupations, and engaged in intensive deliberations, which generated rich, candid discussions 

that impact women and proposed solutions to concerns. The entire Task Force voted to identify the priority 

recommendations proposed from each workgroup and subsequently voted to achieve fnal consensus on ten 

priority rank-ordered recommendations. Below is a summary of the top ten ranked priority recommendations, 

which would apply to and beneft the workforce as a whole: 

Career Stage Category Priorities 

1. Increased Coaching and Mentoring 

2. Increasing Diversity Awareness 

3. Centralized Recruitment and Training 

4. Consistent Recruitment and Hiring Methods 

5. Mandatory Supervisory Training 

Occupations Category Priorities 

1. Expanded Leadership/Training Opportunities 

2. Consistent Work/Life Balance Implementation 

3. Diversity Policy Accountability 

4. Rotated/Shared Developmental Opportunities 

5. Increased Succession Planning 

TreasuryWomen 3.0 was a collaborative effort of the Treasury Departmental Offces (DO), Offce of Minority and 

Women Inclusion (OMWI), Offce of the Comptroller of the Currency, OMWI (OCC OMWI), Offce of Civil Rights 

and Diversity (OCRD), and Treasury Executive Institute (TEI). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

SECRETARY’S STATEMENT OF 

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION I 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY III 

PREFACE 1 

INTRODUCTION 4 

TASK FORCE PRIORITIES 7 

Career Stage Category Priorities 7

 #1 Coaches and Mentors

 #2 Increased Diversity Awareness

 #3 Centralized Recruitment and Training

 #4 Consistent Recruitment and Hiring Method

 #5 Mandatory Supervisory Training 

Occupations Category Priorities 9

 #1 Expanded Leadership/Training Opportunities

 #2 Consistent Work/Life Balance Policy

 #3 Diversity Policy Accountability

 #4 Rotated/Shared Developmental Opportunities

 #5 Succession Planning 

THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS 12 

• Professional Development

• Diversity and Inclusion

• Recruitment and Hiring

• Work/Life Balance 

CONCLUSION 16 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 17 

APPENDICES 18 

A. TreasuryWomen 3.0 Task Force Participants 

B. TreasuryWomen 3.0 Agenda 

C. Speaker Biographies (alphabetical) 

TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women V

TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 1

PREFACE 

Excerpted from Treasury Women Matter, the opening speech at the TreasuryWomen 3.0 Forum 

by Rosie Rios, Treasurer of the United States [September 24, 2012] 

If we look at the history of the women’s movement, it is widely accepted that there have been three waves. The 

frst wave, Wave 1.0 if you like, was in the late 19th and early 20th century and focused on women’s suffrage – 

the right to vote. Women fought for the right to be heard, to lend their voices to the electoral process, to have a 

say about their future. This battle reached its height during World War I. Victory came with the ratifcation of the 

19th Amendment in 1920. 

World War I also brought a frst for Treasury. In 1917, the Secretary of the Treasury, William McAdoo, created 

the National Woman’s Liberty Loan Committee. The Committee was charged with selling Government Bonds 

to help fnance the war. It was the frst time in the history of the country that a member of the United States 

Cabinet appointed a National Woman’s Committee, giving it the same recognition and privilege as other 

committees of his department. In the Committee’s campaign report to the Treasury, the members noted that 

it was also the frst time that women were recognized as “potential factors in infuencing public opinion” and 

“empowered to give, through their united efforts, aid to the Government.” 

The second wave of feminism, Wave 2.0, took place in the 1960’s and ‘70s. Betty Friedan’s book, “The 

Feminine Mystique,” ignited the women’s liberation movement. Spurred by the anti-war and civil rights 

movements, women took to the streets bringing social and economic issues to the forefront. Sexual 

harassment, equal pay, reproductive rights, education, equality in employment -- these were the concerns of 

the second wave. 

In the early 1960’s, President John F. Kennedy established the President’s Commission on the Status of 

Women to explore women’s issues. The Executive Order charged the Commission with “the responsibility 

for developing recommendations for overcoming discriminations in government and private employment on 

the basis of sex . . . .” The Commission’s report documented workplace discrimination against women. In 

addition to workplace discrimination, state laws at the time could prohibit women from serving on juries, owning 

property or a business or even having control of what they earned if they were lucky enough to have a job. The 

Commission advocated for change and recommended affordable child care, equal employment opportunity for 

women, and paid maternity leave. 

Treasury, I am proud to say, was ahead of the game for the time. In 1964, the chair of the U.S. Civil Service 

Commission reported to the Interdepartmental Committee on the Status of Women and said: “The Treasury 

Department is especially noteworthy for opening up greater areas of work in which the employment of women 

was previously unknown or exceptional . . . . The Treasury has also been a lead in advancing women to new 

career heights.” This second wave brought unprecedented change for women. Some of you may remember 

those days. Many of us are here because of those days. 

The third wave of the women’s movement began in the 1990’s and it hasn’t crested yet. Women have risen 

to the highest levels of leadership in the public, private and academic sector. For the last three years, Treasury 

hosted Women In Finance Symposiums. At these events, we highlighted the contributions of women in the 

fnance sector and discussed the best means to foster success among future generations of women. In his 

introduction to the 2010 Women in Finance event, Secretary Geithner spoke about re-energizing a national 

conversation, one that takes priority in both the private and the public sectors and one that would ultimately 

make a real difference in increasing the presence and infuence of women. 

Today, we continue that conversation. It is a conversation about opportunity and fairness and merit. Let’s take 

a look now at how Treasury has responded to that conversation. 
2 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

 

The Obama administration has set the record for the most women serving in Senate-confrmed positions at 

Treasury since its establishment in 1789. For the frst time, Treasury has two female Under Secretaries. I serve 

as Treasurer of the United States. There are fve Assistant Secretaries and an Acting Assistant Secretary who 

are all women and include women of color. 

If we take a look at Treasury’s permanent workforce, though, it shows a more complex picture. 

Overall, women represent 63 percent of Treasury’s workforce compared to only 47 percent of the civilian labor force. 

That’s good news. However, a large portion of these women are in lower graded occupations, at grades GS-12 and 

below. That’s not so good news. But, there has been progress. 

Over the past seven years, Treasury has seen a 4 percent increase in the representation of women in mid to 

senior level grades, GS-13 and above. Women at this level currently represent 49.3 percent of all staff at this 

level. Over the same time span, we have also shown a sizable increase in women at the Senior Executive Staff 

or SES level, growing from 32 percent to 42 percent. That’s excellent, but we need to work even harder to 

ensure women have opportunities in all of Treasury’s major occupations. 

We are well represented amongst Accountants, Attorneys, Criminal Investigators, Economists, and Information 

Technology, but not as well represented as Auditors, Bank Examiners, Financial Analysts, and Intelligence 

Analysts. This is one area that we need to think about and perhaps today and tomorrow, we can discuss why this 

is and come up with some ideas on how to address it. 

One statistic we should be aware of is that the IRS represents 85 percent of Treasury’s permanent workforce. 

Without the IRS, the overall representation of Hispanic and White women would be below the civilian labor force 

rates. So, there’s still a lot of work to be done to ensure that we are fully represented Treasury-wide and at 

every level, horizontally as well as vertically. 

All of us here today are part of a long tradition of women serving their country through their work at the 

Department of Treasury. This tradition began in 1795 when Sarah Waldrake and Rachel Summers were the 

frst women hired by Treasury. Employed by the Mint as adjusters, they earned 50 cents a day. I am proud 

to be part of a tradition that includes women like Mrs. Willard A. Leonard. She served Treasury as the chief 

counterfeit detector. Called the “Female Sherlock Holmes,” she never made an error in the course of her 

41-year career. The Treasury legacy, as Abby Gilbert wrote in her fascinating book, Treasury Women, which 

you can fnd in the Treasury Library by the way, includes six women, who in 1871 after the great Chicago fre, 

pieced together and identifed with extraordinary patience and meticulous care the charred remains of 100 

cases of money, bonds, certifcates, and stamps. I am proud to be part of a tradition that includes Margaret 

Ellis, the frst woman customs examiner in the U.S. and Mary K. Reed, one of the frst women tax analysts and 

Josephine Roche, the frst woman Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. And, in the Gallery of Women, located 

on the second foor corridors on the west side of the Main Treasury building, there are 21 historic photos 

there that recognize women who played a role in Treasury from 1874 to 1926. I am honored to follow in the 

footsteps of Georgia Neese Clark, appointed the frst woman Treasurer by President Truman, and all my fellow 

women Treasurers who came after her. 

We have all come a long, long way. But in this third wave, our wave, Wave 3.0, there is still much to do—which 

brings us to today. The purpose of this gathering is to elicit your insights, recommendations and priorities so 

that, together, we can enhance our workplace experience and ensure that Treasury women at all levels have 

opportunities for advancement. Your fndings and recommendations will form the basis of a Treasury Women 

3.0 Report. This report will be presented to the Secretary and we have the expectation that it will help shape 

future actions throughout the Treasury Department. 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 3

This event, Treasury Women 3.0, is modeled on the highly successful Wall Street Journal Women in the 

Economy Task Force meetings conducted in 2011 and 2012. Outcomes of those meetings included specifc 

industry and career-stage priorities and recommendations. Some of the top recommendations for government 

included policy review of maternity leave, fextime and re-entry, seniority practices, mentorship, union provisions, 

and child care. Other themes that emerged from the Career-Stage focused recommendations included top 

team accountability, training on gender equity and leadership, and driving action individually and collectively. 

Talk to action starts with each one of us. But, before we act, we must imagine. What should the future hold? 

Where should the fourth wave, Treasury Women 4.0, take us? What does it look like? We must envision it, 

dream it, imagine it over the next two days. Because without a vision, there is no plan and there is no action. 

Less than 100 years ago, women saw themselves as part of the electoral process. This November, when 

we cast our votes, how many of us will remember that and remember how much has changed in just a few 

generations. We must honor the past and create the future by crafting our own vision of what can and should 

be for those who walk through the door in coming years and administrations. 

Over the next two days, we need to envision the future from every level and perspective. What can we do 

systemically? What can our leadership do? And what can we, personally, as individuals do? What kind of 

workplace culture embraces all of those perspectives and how do we create it? For the next two days, the 100 

of you in this room represent all Treasury women. Let me emphasize to you the importance of what we are 

doing and how seriously we need to take it. What you say will be heard. What you do over the next two days, 

will matter. What you recommend, will impact you, your co-workers and your future colleagues. 

Suffragette Alice Paul once said “I always feel the movement is a sort of mosaic. Each of us puts in one little 

stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end.” Together, we can create a great mosaic. I have the utmost 

confdence in you and I’m counting on you. 
4 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

 

INTRODUCTION 

On September 24 and 25, 2012, nearly 100 women from across the bureaus and Departmental Offces of the 

U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) convened in a landmark forum, TreasuryWomen 3.0: The Secretary’s 

Initiative on the Status of Women. Branded with a customized image of the iconic Rosie the Riveter, the purpose 

of this initiative was to elicit insights, recommendations and priorities to enhance the experience of women 

throughout the Treasury workplace. The forum participants, who comprised the TreasuryWomen 3.0 Task Force, 

were charged with formulating recommendations and priorities that could help ensure that women employed at 

all levels of Treasury experience fair inclusion and have equal opportunities for advancement. TreasuryWomen 

3.0 appears to have been the frst ever Treasury-wide forum – of, by, and for women – conducted to generate 

in-depth perspectives, concerns, and recommendations for enabling women to reach their full potential within 

Treasury and in their careers. 

TreasuryWomen 3.0 Objectives 

1. To identify, through a deliberative group process, the concerns of women in Treasury, by career stage 

and occupation, related to overall work experience and career paths. 

2. To propose recommendations for addressing the concerns of women in Treasury related to overall 

work experience and career paths. 

3. To achieve consensus among the entire TreasuryWomen 3.0 Task Force members on 10 priority 

recommendations, i.e., fve ranked recommendations from career-stage category and fve ranked 

recommendations from the occupations category. 

The two-day forum consisted of speakers, panel discussions and intensive workgroup deliberations. Treasury 

Secretary Timothy F. Geithner opened the forum, noting that Treasury has the most women appointed to 

Senate-confrmed positions in its history, with fve of Treasury’s nine key functional units headed by women, in 

addition to a woman Treasurer of the United States. He further indicated that while there has been signifcant 

progress in increasing gender diversity and advancement, the work is not fnished and there is more that can be 

done. He stated that he would eagerly await the results and recommendations from the TreasuryWomen 3.0 

Task Force. 

Evan Ryan, Special Assistant to President Obama and Assistant to Vice President Biden, brought greetings 

from the White House and encouraged the participants to consider self-advocacy as part of the formula for 

career advancement. Nani Coloretti, Then-Acting Assistant Secretary for Management, described some of 

the recent activities and efforts of Treasury’s new Offce of Minority and Women Inclusion, established as part 

of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, which took the lead in developing the TreasuryWomen 3.0 forum. 

Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios explained the historical context for the title of the TreasuryWomen 3.0 

forum and challenged the Task Force members to “envision the future from every level and perspective.” 

The program included panel and keynote presentations. The Voices of Experience panel described leading-edge 

diversity and inclusion strategies from two exemplary global companies. The panel included Karen Penn, Market 

Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, Sodexo and Betty Thompson, Senior Vice President and Chief Personnel 

Offcer, Booz Allen Hamilton; and was moderated by Lorraine Cole, Director, Offce of Minority and Women 

Inclusion, Treasury Departmental Offces. 

The presentation, Unlocking the Full Potential of Women, was presented by Joanna Barsh of McKinsey & 

Company. She enlightened the participants with the results of her research on the diversity and inclusion 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

practices of major corporations pertaining to women in the workplace. Barsh is also the author of How 

Remarkable Women Lead and provided pertinent highlights from research fndings included in her book. 

Charlotte Beers, who presented the keynote presentation on Self-Marketing for Women is the author of I’d 

Rather Be in Charge. Beers described her path of self-discovery and shared several of the lessons she has 

learned about women and power in the workplace. 

Three of Treasury’s outstanding Presidential Rank Award recipients provided insights into their personal 

Strategies for Success. Panel members included: Deborah Butler, Associate Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue 

Service; Patricia (Marty) Greiner, Assistant Commissioner for Management/Chief Financial Offcer, Financial 

Management Service; and Lori Santamorena, Executive Director, Government Securities Regulations 

Staff, Bureau of Public Debt. The panel was moderated by Nani Coloretti, Acting Assistant Secretary for 

Management. 

Latifa Lyles is the Acting Director of the Women’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor where she works to 

advance and improve standards, practices and opportunities for women in the labor force. During her keynote 

presentation on National Perspectives on Working Women, she provided an overview of some of the issues 

American women are facing in the workforce and described several national initiatives that are being undertaken 

to address them. 

The core of the forum was the deliberations of the TreasuryWomen 3.0 Task Force that ultimately led to the 

generation of recommendations. The women who comprised the Task Force were each nominated from their 

bureaus or Departmental Offces. They represented a microcosm of the women in the Treasury workforce 

across career stages, occupations, position grade or service levels, and demographic characteristics. They 

each were assigned to one of 10 career-stage or occupation workgroups: 

1. Early-Career Stage (1-5 years experience) 

2. Mid-Career Stage (6-15 years experience) 

3. Administration 

4. Directors 

5. Enforcement 

6. Financial 

7. Legal and Policy 

8. Legislative and Public Affairs 

9. Manufacturing 

10. Technology 

Workgroups served as think tanks of innovations in policies and practices that could have lasting impacts. 

Each group engaged in intensive facilitated deliberations, generating rich, candid discussions of issues that 

impact women and proposed solutions to concerns. Each workgroup was assisted by a professional facilitator 

from outside of the federal government to elicit participants’ perceptions through their particular career-stage or 

occupational lens. 

Each workgroup reported back on the highlights of their discussions to the entire Task Force, presenting their 

four top recommendations. The entire Task Force voted to identify one recommendation from the top four 

proposed from each workgroup. The entire Task Force subsequently voted to achieve fnal consensus on ten 

priority rank-ordered recommendations (fve from among the career-stage groups’ recommendations and fve 
6 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

from among the occupations groups’ recommendations). Following is the Task Force consensus of the top 

ranked priority recommendations: 

TASK FORCE PRIORITIES 

Career Stage Category Priorities 

1. Increased Coaching and Mentoring 

2. Increasing Diversity Awareness 

3. Centralized Recruitment and Training 

4. Consistent Recruitment and Hiring Methods 

5. Mandatory Supervisory Training 

Occupations Category Priorities 

1. Expanded Leadership/Training Opportunities 

2. Consistent Work/Life Balance Implementation 

3. Diversity Policy Accountability 

4. Rotated/Shared Developmental Opportunities 

5. Increased Succession Planning 

Explanations of the issues and concerns that underlie these recommendations, as well as details about what 

each recommendation entails, follow in the subsequent section of this report (refer to Task Force Priorities 

section). Numerous other concerns and recommendations that emanated from the rich deliberations in each 

group are also included (refer to Thematic Discussions section). 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 7

 

 

 

 

TASK FORCE PRIORITIES 

The members of the TreasuryWomen 3.0 Task Force were generous with their time and trust, sharing their 

honest opinions, perceptions, concerns, experiences, and recommendations. In this report, great care has 

been taken to honor their trust, candor and commitment to the process. There was concerted effort to 

accurately represent and preserve the integrity of their rich, robust and frank deliberations. This section includes 

the ten priority recommendations with a summary of the principal discussion about concerns and issues that 

underlie the respective recommendations. The ten priority recommendations and discussion commentaries 

are put forth in this report as the consensus of the entire Task Force, not the views of any individual Task Force 

member or specifc workgroup. 

CAREER STAGE CATEGORY PRIORITIES 

#1 PRIORITY - INCREASED COACHING AND MENTORING 

Discussion: In the absence of clearly defned expectations for professional development and no mandated 

individual development plans, mentors who can provide career advice, coaches who can help develop 

special skills, or sponsors who can advocate for the employee are invaluable resources. There is no formal 

mentoring program established within Treasury open to employees across all grade levels of which women and 

employees in underrepresented demographic groups can avail themselves. 

Recommendation: There should be greater marketing of mentoring and coaching opportunities, accessibility 

to such programs by employees at all levels, and management accountability for such programs. 

There needs to be enhanced visibility of all existing mentoring and coaching programs and activities. There 

should be formal mentoring programs (e.g., mentoring circles, monthly breakfasts, or networking opportunities) 

available for employees at all levels that women can access. The mentoring programs should allow employees 

to be exposed to different offces/divisions/units and different employees. 

Mentoring should be a performance measure for managers. Mid-career employees should be encouraged to 

provide mentorship to early career employees. 

#2 PRIORITY - INCREASING DIVERSITY AWARENESS 

Discussion: There is a general view that Treasury is a male-centric system or “Old Boys Club,” with women 

and minorities more often concentrated in lower GS level positions and occupations. Gender disparities in the 

representation of women are seen across most of the occupational spectrum at Treasury, from manufacturing 

to fnance. The majority of senior management and executives are White males. It was the general view that 

there are not enough women in career senior management positions. And, where gender and racial/ethnic diversity 

does exist within Treasury, inclusion does not. The predominant culture of White males was described as very 

cliquish. It also was stated that stereotyping of employees exists. It is a general belief that there is a dismissive 

mindset regarding diversity and inclusion and true diversity efforts are not being implemented. 

Recommendation: There must be efforts to create an organizational environment or culture to drive behavior 

change where the values of diversity and inclusion are embraced, that is open to different perspectives and 

ideas, and that is supportive and inclusive of women and minorities. 

There must be consistent messaging about diversity and inclusion and organizational culture change from the 

top that is informed by the success stories of people at all different levels within Treasury. Formal diversity and 

inclusion training should be required for all senior executive service (SES) level managers. 
8 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

 

 

 

There is a need to examine and seek ways to overcome real and perceived challenges/barriers preventing 

qualifed women from advancing into senior positions. For instance, the broad use of “back door” methods for 

flling positions thwarts diversity and inclusion within Treasury. Although it is recognized that hiring decisions 

cannot be based on race and gender, practices in selection and promotion should mirror the values and 

leadership commitment as stated in the Secretary’s diversity and inclusion policy. 

Men must become allies to women. The entire set of concerns that are deemed important to women must be 

understood and recognized as important by men. Toward these ends, there needs to be a women’s affnity 

group, comprised of both women and men, that meets regularly to discuss topical issues related to the career 

advancement for women. Also, in areas within Treasury where there are the greatest gender disparities, there 

also needs to be affnity groups to enhance the role and visibility of women, such as “Women in Manufacturing.” 

#3 PRIORITY - CENTRALIZED RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING 

Discussion: There is the perception that supervisors tend to hire people “like themselves,” thus perpetuating the 

“Old Boy’s Network” and causing frustration among women employees. Concern was expressed that there is no 

centralized method of recruitment that is practiced or utilized Treasury-wide. Recruitment processes and outreach 

are viewed as being generally narrow, confusing, varying across bureaus and Departmental Offces, and even 

varying from position to position. Opportunities are not actively or widely marketed across Treasury, across internal 

and external networks, or via alternative sources that reach minority and women candidates. 

Recommendation: There is a call for greater consistency across Treasury in recruitment practices, greater 

transparency about the various processes for hiring and promotion, and more aggressive practices to ensure 

diversity with candidate pools. 

There was general agreement of a need to recruit, retain, and advance more women and minorities across 

Treasury at all levels. There needs to be a centralized Treasury-wide recruitment process or method for 

outreach to women and minorities, internally and externally. The hiring and promotion processes should be 

made clearer. Policies should be in place and enforced to aggressively seek and establish diverse candidate 

pools for positions. This can be done by: actively marketing existing opportunities across Treasury; increasing 

partnerships with women and minority organizations; and outreaching to alternative sources, such as historically 

Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving academic institutions, women’s colleges, minority 

candidates attending majority schools, etc. 

There also needs to be centralized Treasury-wide career development training available to all employees. 

Expanded recommendations are included under the priority heading “Expanded Leadership and Training 

Opportunities.” 

#4 PRIORITY - CONSISTENT RECRUITMENT AND HIRING METHODS 

Discussion: The public Web site, USAJobs.gov, is promoted as the primary source for solicitation of individuals 

seeking permanent positions in the federal government, including Treasury. However, concern was expressed that 

there are several “back door” hiring vehicles and authorities in use in Treasury that provide entry to employment 

without posting on USAJobs.gov. This results in an uneven playing feld for some job seekers. The perception 

was expressed that use of these alternative hiring methods results in less diversity by perpetuating pre-selection of 

individuals who are known to the hiring manager, selecting from a limited group of elite academic institutions, or 

other preferred criteria. 

Recommendation: Consistent and fair use of the formal, competitive and transparent recruitment and hiring 

methods should be required across Treasury. 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 9

 

 

There should be strict limitations on “special” hiring practices and programs that do not include public 

announcement. This would promote a diverse candidate pool, leveling the playing feld for all candidates. 

#5 PRIORITY - MANDATORY SUPERVISORY TRAINING 

Discussion: Concern was expressed that there is a lack of focus on the supervisory skills of individuals who 

have been given management responsibilities. As such, many individuals in supervisory positions lack effective 

supervisory skills. There also are no articulated standards for consistent practices in employee recognition, 

rewards, and promotion. 

Recommendation: There must be greater focus on skills building through mandatory supervisory training for 

all individuals in supervisory positions that goes beyond equal employment opportunity regulatory compliance. 

The focus of supervisory training should be on consistent application of employment policies that promote 

fairness, interpersonal skills, strategic diversity management, management styles that foster inclusiveness, and 

consistent standards for employee recognition, rewards, and promotion. Additionally, managers should be 

trained to lead, as well as manage. 

OCCUPATIONS CATEGORY PRIORITIES 

#1 PRIORITY - EXPANDED LEADERSHIP AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES 

Discussion: It was indicated that opportunities for promotion are limited and the process for upward mobility 

is rigid. There are no clearly-defned expectations for professional development. There also is a lack of 

leadership building opportunities that are tailored to address issues and needs that pertain to women and 

minority employees. 

Recommendation: Leadership training and opportunities should be designed to include issues and build 

skills in areas that differentially pertain to women and minority employees. 

There needs to be an expanded range and type of leadership and training opportunities available to all 

employees of which women can avail themselves (e.g., SES development program or real world experience 

that helps build skill sets and the resume). In addition, leadership training should be mapped to succession 

planning. However, beyond developing technical skills, there needs to opportunities available that can build 

the capacity of employees in underrepresented groups to market themselves, network, take risks, and build 

resumes that refect leadership. 

#2 PRIORITY - CONSISTENT WORK/LIFE BALANCE IMPLEMENTATION 

Discussion: There was general agreement expressed that fexible work arrangements, such as telework, 

alternative work schedules (AWS), maxi-fex, job sharing, part-time opportunities, and other work/life balance 

fexibilities, are not fully supported by the workplace culture, not embraced by all supervisors, and not accessed 

or applied consistently across job functions throughout all of Treasury. Also, concerns were conveyed that 

there is limited support for women who are in the primary caregiver role in their family. Some employed at 

Treasury have chosen to step down from management roles after having children, given the existence of a 24/7 

workplace culture. Additionally, concerns were expressed that the federal government remains an outlier by 

failing to offer paid parental (maternity/paternity) leave. There also was concern expressed about the limited 

availability of health and wellness programs and other support services for parents, such as onsite childcare, 

which is common among large private sector employers. 
10 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

 

Recommendation: There should be an internal Treasury-wide assessment of current work/life practices, 

promotion of consistent support and implementation of work/life policies, and a comprehensive review of best 

practices employed in a variety of sectors and globally. 

There should be a Treasury-wide evaluation of the implementation of work/life policies and programs and 

identifcation of models within Treasury of effective utilization. Additionally, the implementation of such programs 

and policies by individual managers should be tracked. 

There must be aggressive communication and leadership support from the top down to increase the acceptance 

and use of work/life fexibility programs and consistent implementation of federal work/life balance policies. 

To promote greater acceptance and understanding of how work/life balance policies and programs can be 

successfully utilized, practical examples should be publicized and celebrated of how women have managed work/ 

life balance effectively and what managers have done to prioritize work/life fexibilities (e.g., job sharing, fexible 

schedules, part-time opportunities, and training for managers pertaining to fexibilities). The workgroups also 

noted that management should seek to foster a culture where meetings outside of core hours are exceptional, not 

routine. Consistent fexible workplace policies across the leadership level should be reinforced by requiring active 

support of work/life programs as a measurable element of managers’ performance plans. 

There also should be more health and wellness programs established, especially those that can assist 

employees with stress management. 

A working group or commission should be established to study ways to support women as primary caregivers. 

In addition, the working group or commission should be charged with developing a compilation and review of 

best practices, such as paid parental (maternity/paternity) leave and childcare from private industry, within the 

federal government, and in other countries for addressing parental support. This should lead to the promotion 

of new legislation for improved parental leave benefts for federal employees, separate from regular leave 

benefts. 

#3 PRIORITY - DIVERSITY POLICY ACCOUNTABILITY 

Discussion: The workgroups conveyed that true diversity efforts are not being implemented. Further, a 

perception exists that managers and leaders are not truly held accountable for following guidelines that ensure 

equal opportunity in hiring or promoting. And, while equal protections statutes preclude hiring decisions based 

on race/ethnicity and gender characteristics, there is no accountability for ensuring that commitment to the 

values of diversity and inclusion are realized. 

Recommendation: Each individual manager must be held accountable for equity, diversity, and inclusion in 

hiring and promotion. 

There should be a diversity and inclusion element in the performance plan of every hiring manager, in addition 

to mandated equal employment opportunity related elements. Performance should be tied to qualitative 

measures of diversity and inclusion, not quotas or representation goals. Assessment of management 

performance regarding diversity and inclusion should be strongly encouraged or frmly enforced, via incentives 

or penalties. 

#4 PRIORITY - ROTATED/SHARED DEVELOPMENTAL OPPORTUNITIES 

Discussion: The creation of Individual Development Plans is not mandatory for employees. Some staff feel 

pigeon-holed at certain grade levels or in certain occupations because of the limited focus on individual career 

development and limited opportunities outside of their sphere of responsibilities. It was acknowledged that 

there are several good programs for career development, but such opportunities are not widely communicated 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 11

 

or made available to employees across an entire offce/division/unit. 

It also was noted that the demographic profles of specifc mission-critical occupations are not diverse across 

Treasury and within specifc bureaus and Departmental Offces, such as bank examiners, economists, and 

criminal investigators. Employees in other occupational groups are not typically viewed as pipeline pools for 

mission critical roles. 

Recommendation: Strategies should be employed that would allow all employees to have the opportunity to 

engage in career development activities. 

The creation of Individual Development Plans should be encouraged. Opportunities for career development 

activities should be rotated or shared so that they can be spread across an entire offce/division/unit. This also 

could provide opportunities for staff in lower GS level positions who feel they have restricted career mobility. 

A rotational program should be established for Treasury offces that are short staffed that would allow shortterm opportunities for employees to gain new skills. Developmental opportunities should include training and 

exposure to mission critical roles, with a clear path to movement into those roles. 

#5 PRIORITY - INCREASED SUCCESSION PLANNING 

Discussion: Concern was expressed about the fact that upper level management throughout Treasury is not 

diverse, particularly in career positions. Lack of succession planning, knowledge transfer, internal pipelines of 

qualifed candidates, and leadership building for women were cited as some of the underlying causes. Also, there 

are no bridge positions between certain grade levels that can serve as a career path through GS-13 and higher 

levels. Additionally, there is a negative stigma of employees who work part-time that affect consideration for career 

path progression. 

Recommendation: There should be succession planning for specifc upper management career positions 

with cultivation of diverse pipelines of prospective candidates. 

There should be succession planning within specifc management tracks with leadership training mapped to the 

plan. There should be a process for identifying individuals who have potential for GS-13 and above grade level 

positions that can be cultivated as an internal pipeline of prospective candidates. The diversity and inclusion 

of the internal pipeline should be tracked as part of the process. In addition, it should be conveyed that 

opportunities for career path progression are open to all qualifed employees and without regard to full-time, 

part-time, or fextime status. All leaders should be expected to sponsor successors. 

There also should be bridge positions that provide a career path to upper grade levels. Employees in a bridge 

position or other career pathway positions should be partnered with coaches and mentors in Treasury who can 

help identify and prepare the employee for future opportunities. 
12 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS 

The ten facilitated discussions among the Treasury women revealed many shared concerns and ideas, recurring 

themes, and recommendations rooted in similar contexts. In addition to the summaries of the ten priority 

recommendations included in the preceding section, this section includes a compilation of notes taken by the 

facilitators that refect the authentic voices of the women during the workgroup sessions. The following four tables 

represent the commonalities and contextual overlap that occurred across the various workgroups, organized 

within four general topic areas: Professional Development, Diversity and Inclusion, Recruitment and Hiring, 

and Work/Life Balance. Presented in this manner, the comments reveal the landscape for the resultant priority 

recommendations that emanated. The recommendations listed below may apply to numerous concerns. 

Table 1: Professional Development 

Concerns Recommendations

Men typically have sponsors and women do not, 

and employees need a sponsor to [help further their 

opportunities for] professional development. 

• Provide mandatory manager training/education, and

this information should be shared with the teams 

• Develop sponsorship opportunities for all, including

developing mentors and champions specifcally for 

women 

• Identify and create additional paths to professional

development 

• Create and SES-specific professional development

program 

• Create more opportunities for within-Agency training

and cross-training, as well as external-training 

• Include implementation of a successful mentoring

program as a metric in managers’ performance 

evaluation 

• Present research results showing that professional

development programs increase productivity and 

employee satisfaction 

Senior management has not made professional 

development a priority, particularly professional 

development for women. 

There is not a central offce or department dedicated to 

training and professional development (i.e., funding). 

There are not skills assessment tools to gauge properly 

appropriate training and professional development needs 

of employees. 

There are limitations on upward mobility for nonmanagerial positions. 

Some existing leaderships development programs require 

too much time and/or travel. 

It isn’t enough to go through professional development 

training; it must be accompanied with “real world” 

experience. Women are not always given those 

opportunities as much as men, i.e., speaking at 

conferences. 

There is a lack of information/knowledge on issues that 

affect individuals (i.e., salaries, opportunities, budget, 

Agency philosophy) 

Employees may have interest in training unrelated to job 

specifcations. 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 13

Table 2: Diversity and Inclusion 

Concerns Recommendations

Diversity is more visible at lower levels. • Streamline communications to all new employees

• Develop partnerships with women and minority groups

to recruit 

• Branch out to more diverse colleges to become more

diverse in order to create a fair playing feld 

• Hold management accountable for diversity in all levels

and tie into performance evaluations of managers 

• Provide a clear path for employees to move up within

departments, e.g., offer training, mentor staff to 

ensure promotions are attainable, communicate skills/ 

experiences/development needed to help internal 

applicants be promotion competitive 

• Require all departments to adhere to the same hiring/

promoting practices 

• Create an environment that is supportive and inclusive

of women 

• Create a Board to ensure consistency of diversity

implementation 

• Implement a quarterly, mixed-gender Women’s Forum

• Implement improved diversity and sensitivity interactive

and in-person training to help managers understand 

unaccepatable behavior 

• Work on retaining mid-level female managers

• Increase the pipeline of qualified women to executive

status 

• Create two-way mentoring programs

• Make diversity and inclusion inherent in department

culture and really defne the level of commitment to 

diversity 

• Identify male champion supervisors to help outline

strategies for supporting buy-in among other male 

supervisors 

Opportunities are not across levels or internal agencies 

because of Agency culture; more programs are needed. 

“Profling” or stereotyping occurs, e.g., more women in 

support roles. 

Executives look very “white male.” SES is a “clubhouse,” 

“Old Boys Network,” and cliquish that is diffcult to get 

into. 

Employees in lower level positions are not trained to 

qualify for upper level positions within their department. 

There is a perception of a male-centric system. 

Internal agencies are not being held accountable for 

implementing their diversity policies and programs. 

The network of men in leadership positions perpetuates 

a culture of men not typically sharing information with 

women and excluding them from conversations that lead 

to decision making. 

There is a dismissive mindset regarding diversity and 

inclusion. 

Women are categorized as emotional and their opinions, 

ideas, and expertise are overlooked or not valued. 

There are few female role models at all levels. There is 

a lack of female mentors and sponsors for Executive 

training (women who are in the position and/or who 

accept the responsibility). 

For higher grade/profle positions, the Agency hires from 

outside. 

The environment is not safe to express opinions about 

the lack of diversity and inclusion; there is a perception of 

“professional suicide.” 

There is a glass ceiling. 
14 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

Table 3: Recruitment and Hiring 

Concerns Recommendations

To get into the Department of the Treasury, you need to 

know someone or start as an intern. 

• Provide more resources to Human Resources

• Develop and implement improved initiatives for

recruitment and hiring 

• Market hiring opportunities to women and minorities

• Implement a coaching/mentoring program

• Build capacity of women to market themselves,

network, and take risks 

• Encourage women to be their own advocates

• Develop formal mentoring opportunities to help women

achieve professional development and advancement 

• Create a culture of sponsorship so that all leaders

are eager to sponsor successful (qualifed and 

experienced) women 

• Create transparent and consistent processes, including

a diverse interview panels with grade structure no more 

than two levels above position 

• Set hiring goals and include a review of these goals in

managers’ performance evaluations 

• Remove names from resumes prior to review to

decrease assumptions, nepotism 

• Aggressively identify qualified women, people of color,

and various ethnic/racial backgrounds, including 

targeting HBCUs, women’s colleges, or minority 

candidates at majority schools, STEM programs 

• Hold managers accountable, tying progression of

female staff to performance assessment 

• Create a “glass ceiling” award for mangers that have

the best track record for fostering upward mobility for 

women 

Women need coaching to increase grade. 

There is a disparity in salary between men and women 

on average for the same job, even when women have 

advanced degrees and experience. 

There is no oversight regarding salary and titles, for 

example, a man would be Senior Policy Advisors, woman 

would be Policy Advisor. 

There is no room for upward mobility. 

Hiring process is unclear and unfair. It isn’t transparent. 

Women don’t know how to market themselves, e.g., 

resumes that speak more comprehensively about 

experience. 

Pay bands can leave women out because salary history is 

considered. 

Lack of sponsors limits women’s ability to get hired; 

sponsors who have connections can advocate and help 

women advance. 

Lack of succession planning, knowledge transfer, and 

leadership building. 

Offce managers are hiring too many of their “own,” 

previous colleagues, same gender and race; nepotism is 

pervasive. 

There are preferred segments for hire, which may 

overlook qualifcation. 

Ivy league recruiting overshadows recruiting from all other 

types of institutions. 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 15

Table 4: Work/Life Balance 

Concerns Recommendations

There is no paid maternity/parental leave, only vacation 

and sick leave. 

• Implement telework and AWS policies consistently

across the Agency 

• Provide opportunities and the flexibility for employees to

exercise during the day to promote health and wellness 

• Publicize and celebrate practical examples of women

leaders and managers and what they have done to 

prioritize work/life balance, e.g., job sharing and PT 

opportunities 

• Require active support or work/life programs as part of

performance plans for managers 

• Implement paid parental leave

• Create a panel to research private sector and

neighboring countries’ practices and policies to 

increase work/life balance 

• Implement “No Phone/No Blackberry” day

• Establish and reinforce consistent interpretation of

work/life balance policy implementation 

Telecommuting or alternative work schedule is determined 

at the manager/employee level; it is not consistent across 

the Agency, including not an option or favored by some 

managers. 

Those who telework are not trusted; there is a belief that 

if you are not in the offce (face-to-face time) you are not 

completing work. 

There is a lack of health and wellness and other support 

(i.e., childcare) programs. 

Women with families or who want to start families don’t 

want to put the time in to move up; the expectation is 

high. 

There is a lack of visibility of women who have children 

and are succeeding in demanding positions. 

The technology infrastructure does not adequately 

support telework. 

There is an assumption that employees will be available 

24/7, particularly with technology (i.e., email). 

Part-time employees are marginalized, with the 

expectation of the same level of work as a full-time 

employee. 

Department culture of “late hours” and “need to be 

visible” interferes with work/life balance. 
16 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

 

CONCLUSION 

Treasury Women have spoken. They took very seriously their individual and collective roles as TreasuryWomen 

3.0 Task Force members. It is their expectation that their concerns will be heard and that their 

recommendations will help shape behaviors and actions throughout Treasury for both the near term and the 

future. The intent of this report is to record their open and honest views to present to the Treasury leadership. 

Contingent upon leadership support, we will develop a detailed implementation plan responsive to the Task 

Force recommendations. 

Treasury is indebted to the nearly 100 women who gave their time and shared their personal experiences, 

observations, and candid opinions. They committed two work days to this process. Across the ten 

workgroups, more than 30 hours of group problem-solving was devoted to this endeavor. This was not viewed 

as a “gripe session,” but rather as an opportunity to offer their best thinking and propose solutions. There was 

sincere appreciation among the participants that Treasury engaged its employees in this way. There also was 

an overall sense of pride that support for the TreasuryWomen 3.0 initiative came from top leadership. It was 

clearly evident that women care about Treasury as a workplace, about their role as public servants, and for their 

colleagues, both current and future. 

TreasuryWomen 3.0 was rated highly for bringing a representative cross-section of women employees together 

to network, share issues and concerns, and propose improvements specifc to the advancement of women 

in Treasury. The overwhelming majority (89 percent) of Task Force members rated the overall forum as either 

“outstanding,” “excellent,” or “good.” It was described by many as “a great experience,” “inspiring,” “informative,” 

“engaging,” “motivating,” “constructive,” “timely,” “necessary,” “a great networking opportunity,” and “well worth 

the two-day commitment.” But, some participants expressed cautious optimism, even skepticism, that change 

will occur as a result. The ultimate outcome will depend on three essentials: acceptance of recommendations 

in this report by leadership; approval and resource support to implement a plan of action based on the 

recommendations; but, most importantly, the will of all employees to commit to transforming the organizational 

culture throughout Treasury to foster greater diversity and inclusion. 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 17

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

TreasuryWomen 3.0 was a collaborative effort of the Treasury Departmental Offces, Offce of Minority and 

Women Inclusion (OMWI), Offce of the Comptroller of the Currency, OMWI (OCC OMWI), Offce of Civil Rights 

and Diversity (OCRD), and Treasury Executive Institute (TEI). Members of the TreasuryWomen 3.0 Steering 

Committee included: Lorraine Cole, Ph.D., Director, OMWI; Stephen Smith, Associate Director, OMWI, 

Maylin Jue, Special Assistant, OMWI; Crystal Ford, former OMWI Detailee; Joyce Cofeld, Executive 

Director, OCC OMWI; Mariam Harvey, Director, OCRD; Gail Demers, Deputy Director, OCRD; Pamela 

Sikowitz, Director, TEI; Michelle Zager, Executive Program Offcer, TEI; and Lillian Wright, Executive 

Program Offcer, TEI. 

A special “Thank You” is extended to the behind the scenes cast who provided special services in support 

of TreasuryWomen 3.0: Kristen Elfers and Carlos Rodriguez, Conference and Events Services; Nicholas 

Lincoln, Printing and Graphics; Gregory Galipeau and Jonathan Webb, Offce of the Chief Information 

Offcer; Jordan Shulman, Sodexo/The Vault; Mobile Video; Penn, Good and Associates L.L.C. and the 

Workgroup Facilitators – Nanci Banks, Mary Douthit, Jamie Hart, Ph.D., Portia Kibble Smith, Sheila 

Martel, Ilona Nickels, Melanie Ogleton, Lisa Prandy, Kathy Skopinsky, and Rosita Thomas. 

There are also several others who willingly stepped into the “Other Duties as Assigned” mode to help ensure 

the success of this program. They include Brian Watson, Berenice Eberhart, Robin Byrd, Pamela Wilson, 

Elizabeth Millbank, LaSebia Brice, Angela Williams, Alicia Whittington, Antonias Hawkings, Mike 

Lewis, John Costello, and Benjamin Mann. 

And – 

Thank you, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, for not only knowing the value of diversity and inclusion, 

but considering them to be an essential part of the business equation needed to fulfll Treasury’s mission. 
18 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

APPENDICES 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 19

APPENDIX A 

TreasuryWomen 3.0 

Task Force Participants 

TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 

Task Force Members 

Priti Agrawal 

Diahn Allen 

Clay (Elizabeth) Berry 

Gail BlackmonHenderson 

Julie Blake 

Laronda Brewer 

Lynne Brzezenski 

Delores Burkhardt 

Jill Cetina 

Tammy Chang 

Estelle Chase 

Janelle Christian 

Kristine Clark 

Joani Clay 

Cherise Coleman 

Gabriella Csepe 

Coral Davis 

Gail Davis 

Raida Douglas 

Carolyn Dunlap 

Cynthia Dunn 

Danielle English 

Jennifer Franklin 

Paola Garcia 

Maureen Gardner 

Marla Gissentanna 

Sustanchia Gladden 

Rochelle Granat 

Michelle Griffn 

Lindy Gustafson 

Nisheka Handy 

Deborah Hayes 

Jessica Hernandez 

Cathy Higginbotham 

Bibi Hildalgo 

Deborah Hill 

Donisha Hines 

Marcey Hoelting 

Lisa Marie Hoye 

Anna Jewell 

Sonya Johnson 

Wanda Denise Jones 

Chanda Jones 

Patricia Kao 

Dana Karaffa 

Nayla Kawerk 

Deborah Kerwin 

Karen Kraushaar 

Carolyn Lee 

Muzhen Li 

Lisa Lynam 

Veronica Marco 

Theresa McCarthy 

Tammy McClain 

Kimberly McLane 

Christine Megee 

Tawanda Mills 

Megan Moore 

Heather Moye 

Nancy Nakamura 

Lisa Nicholson 

Madelynn Orr 

Sarah Paisner 

Kimberly Panicek 

Lisa Peña 

Alise Raigns 

Anahita Reilly 

Roberta Sanders 

Rhonda Sapp 

Janet Scalese 

Cynthia Schell 

Leslie Schwager 

Sonja Scott 

Continia Scruggs 

Caroline Sherman 

Novakhneice Smith 

Jamie Souza 

Patricia Spellacy 

Laura St. Claire 

Sharon Stevenson 

Janet Vail 

Rosettia Walker 

Silva Walker 

Renee Whaley 

Stephanie White 

Maya Wilson 

Angela Wong 

Jessica Wszalek 

Isadora Yoffe 
20 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX B 

Treasury Women 3.0 Agenda 

TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 

Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 

Monday: September 24, 2012 

• Registration

• Welcome

Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, Treasury 

8:00 – 9:00 am 

9:00 – 9:30 am 

Evan Ryan, Special Assistant to President Obama & Assistant to Vice President Biden 

Nani Coloretti, Acting Assistant Secretary for Management, Treasury 

• Opening Presentation: Treasury Women Matter 9:30 – 10:00 am 

Rosie Rios, U.S. Treasurer 

• Voices of Experience 10:00 – 11:00 am 

Karen Penn, Market VP, Diversity & Inclusion, Sodexo; Betty Thompson, Senior VP 

& Chief Personnel Offcer, Booz Allen Hamilton; Lorraine Cole, Moderator 

• Networking Break 11:00 – 11:15 am 

• Unlocking the Full Potential of Women 11:15 – 12:00 pm 

Joanna Barsh, McKinsey & Company 

• Working Lunch & Keynote Presentation 12:00 – 1:30 pm 

Charlotte Beers, Author, I’d Rather Be in Charge 

• Process Instructions & Concurrent Workgroup Deliberations 1:30 – 5:00 pm 

Tuesday: September 25, 2012 

• Strategies for Success 9:00 – 10:00 am 

Presidential Rank Award Panel: Deborah Butler, Associate Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service; 

Patricia (Marty) Greiner, Assistant Commissioner for Management/Chief Financial Offcer, Financial 

Management Service; Lori Santamorena, Executive Director, Government Securities Regulations Staff, 

Bureau of Public Debt; Nani Coloretti, Moderator 

• Workgroup Report Out and Ranking Votes 10:00 – 12:00 pm 

• Working Lunch & Keynote Presentation 12:00 – 1:30 pm 

Latifa Lyles, Acting Director, Women’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor 

• Final Priority Votes 1:30 – 2:45 pm 

• Closing 2:45 – 3:00 pm 

Rosie Rios, U.S. Treasurer 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 21

APPENDIX C 

Speaker Biographies (alphabetical) 

TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 

Speaker Biographies 

Joanna Barsh, Director, McKinsey & Company 

Joanna Barsh is a Director in the New York Offce of McKinsey and a leader in its Retail/ Consumer and 

Organization Practices. Since 1980, she has served a broad range of consumer-facing clients on M&A, 

corporate growth strategy, performance transformation, organization design and capability-building. 

In 2007, Joanna created and continues to lead “The McKinsey Centered Leadership Project,” a distinctive 

approach based on extensive research that includes in-depth video interviews with 150 women and men 

leaders globally. Since then, Joanna’s business best seller, How Remarkable Women Lead, was published 

by Crown Business in 2009 and is now out in paperback. In addition to Centered Leadership, she leads the 

McKinsey and Company research for the WSJ Women in the Economy Task Force (2011, 2012). Joanna is 

a member of the U.S. State Department’s International Council on Women’s Business Leadership (ICWBL) 

Subcommittee on Leadership. She is a NYC Commissioner on Women’s Issues, appointed by Mayor 

Bloomberg in 2002. Joanna has been a trustee of Sesame Workshop since 1994 and leads the Personnel & 

Compensation Committee. 

Joanna has degrees from University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, and an M.B.A. from Harvard 

Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar. 

Charlotte Beers, Author, I’d Rather Be in Charge 

Born in Texas, Charlotte Beers has combined her business insight with an innate Southern charm to become 

highly successful in the competitive world of advertising and marketing, which in turn took her on to the 

position of Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs reporting to Secretary of State Colin Powell. 

Charlotte was named “the most powerful woman in advertising” and was called “the queen of Madison 

Avenue.” Featured on the cover of Fortune Magazine and Business Week Magazine as one of the most 

powerful women in America, her mantra of the difference between products and brands revolutionized major ad 

campaigns, bringing unprecedented success to her clients and the advertising agencies she managed. 

Charlotte began her career in advertising as an account executive at J. Walter Thompson Advertising, becoming 

the frst female Senior Vice President in the frm’s history. From J. Walter Thompson, Charlotte was called to 

bring her skills as a turnaround agent to Tatham-Laird & Kudner as CEO. During her time as Tatham’s CEO, their 

billings tripled and major accounts were brought under the company’s umbrella. Her success led her to her next 

position as Chairman/CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, a $5.4 billion, 8,000-employee, multinational advertising 

agency. In her fve years with the frm, billings increased by $2 billion. Harvard Business School and many other 

universities still teach this best-selling case study on leadership titled “Charlotte Beers at Ogilvy.” 

From 2001 to 2003, she served as Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy & Public Affairs, taking on the 

task of bringing Brand America to the world, with special focus on the Middle East. For her service, Charlotte 

was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the State Department’s highest honor. 
22 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

 

 

 

Deborah A. Butler, Associate Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, 

Department of the Treasury 

Deborah A. Butler is the Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration). In this position, Ms. Butler 

oversees a staff of approximately 200, including executives, attorneys, managers, paralegals, and other 

employees within the Offce, who provide legal services to the IRS, other components of the Chief Counsel’s 

offce, other government agencies, and the public in the areas of federal tax procedure and administration. The 

responsibilities of this offce include matters relating to the reporting and payment of taxes; assessment and 

collection of taxes; the abatement, credit or refund of over-assessments or overpayments of taxes; bankruptcy; 

disclosure; FOIA; privacy law; privileges, penalties, litigation sanctions; judicial doctrines; ethics; and liaison with 

the courts. 

Ms. Butler received a B. A. from Southern Methodist University and a J.D. from the University of Mississippi. She 

served as a law clerk to the Mississippi Supreme Court and as Counsel to the Mississippi State Senate. Ms. Butler 

is a frequent speaker on matters involving tax litigation and judicial practice, ethics, penalties, Circular 230, privileges 

and IRS Collection and examination issues. She is a member of the American Bar Association, Tax Section (Court 

Procedure & Practice and Administrative Practice Committees) and the Inns of Court for the Tax Court. 

Nani A. Coloretti, Acting Assistant Secretary for Management, 

Department of the Treasury 

Nani Coloretti serves as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Management and Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Management and Budget at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where she oversees all operational areas, 

including budget development and execution, performance and strategic planning, procurement, human capital 

and workforce management, information technology, and internal management of Treasury’s headquarters and 

bureaus. After the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2010, she 

helped stand-up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, serving as the Acting Chief Operating Offcer. 

On July 26, 2012, she was appointed as a Member of the Government Accountability and Transparency Board 

by President Obama. 

Prior to joining the Treasury Department under the Obama Administration in 2009, Ms. Coloretti spent four 

years as a policy advisor and budget director in San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s offce, where she led the 

development and implementation of San Francisco’s $6.2 billion dollar annual budget and supported reputable 

program development in several areas including health care. In years prior, she served as a consultant at the 

Law and Economics Consulting Group, a health fnancing and budget analyst in the Clinton Administration’s 

Offce of Management and Budget, and a budget analyst for the State of Hawaii. 

Ms. Coloretti holds a B.A. in Economics and Communications from the University of Pennsylvania and a 

Master’s in Public Policy from UC Berkeley. She grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Patricia (Marty) Greiner, Assistant Commissioner for Management (CFO), Financial Management 

Service, Department of the Treasury 

On October 24, 2011, Marty Greiner was appointed Assistant Commissioner (AC) for Management, and Chief 

Financial Offcer (CFO) for Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS). As CFO and AC for Management, 

Marty is responsible for providing direction and leadership for administrative and fnancial programs. AC 

Management serves as FMS’ primary checkpoint for administrative services - from procurements to personnel 

actions, from building services to budget and internal controls. She also ensures policies developed and 

implemented for resource management conform to federal and departmental regulatory requirements. 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 23

 

Marty has over 20 years of fnancial and managerial experience with the federal government. In 1991, Marty 

began her career with the Internal Revenue Service as an intern with the Chief Financial Offcer and quickly 

progressed to supervisory budget analyst. In 1999, she joined the newly created Treasury Inspector General 

for Tax Administration (TIGTA) as the National Director for Performance and Investment/Chief Financial Offcer. 

In late 2005, Marty joined the United States Mint as a Senior Advisor to the Director responsible for the 

implementation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning system and a shared service arrangement with the 

Bureau of Public Debt’s Administrative Resource Center. Marty became the Chief Financial Offcer at the United 

States Mint in July 2006. She was responsible for assisting the United States Mint to function as an innovative, 

non-appropriated government agency, ensuring that operations refect high ethical standards, and striving to 

maximize the cost-effectiveness of all United States Mint operations. 

Marty received her Masters of Business Administration from George Washington University and Bachelor of 

Science degree in marketing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She has received numerous 

awards including the prestigious Presidential Rank Award in 2010 and participated in a year long development 

program to enhance leadership and managerial potential. 

Latifa Lyles, Acting Director, Women’s Bureau, Department of the Labor 

Latifa Lyles is the Acting Director of the Women’s Bureau at the Department of Labor where she works to 

advance and improve standards, practices and opportunities for women in the labor force. Ms. Lyles previously 

served as Vice President for Membership of the National Organization for Women (NOW), the nation’s largest 

and oldest grassroots feminist advocacy group, where she served as a principal media spokesperson on 

a wide range of women’s issues appearing on local and national radio and television, and she oversaw the 

organization’s Direct Marketing program. Prior to her post at NOW, she managed the membership program 

at Public Justice, the nation’s largest public interest law frm which specializes in a broad range of cases 

from employment discrimination to consumer protection. She has served as Co-chair of the Older Women’s 

Economic Security Task force of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, and on the Women’s Coalition 

for Dignity and Diversity in Media. Ms. Lyles has extensive community and political organizing experience and 

has been working in the social justice movement for over ten years, starting with her work in 1998 as Public 

Policy Associate for the Older Women’s League (OWL) where she focused on economic security issues of midlife and older women. 

Karen R. Penn, J.D., Vice President of Diversity for the Health Care and Government Services 

Division, Sodexo, Inc. 

Karen is the Vice President of Diversity for the Health Care Market and Government Services Division of 

Sodexo, Inc., where she leads diversity and inclusion initiatives and provides strategic direction to senior market 

and division leadership. She also works closely with Sodexo’s Corporate Offce of Diversity and divisional 

human resources to ensure alignment between Corporate Diversity and Affrmative Action strategy and market 

strategy and business plans. Karen came to Sodexo from the government contracting and defense industry, 

where she has led diversity and inclusion, ethics, and EEO/affrmative action efforts for more than 15 years at 

Fortune 500 aerospace & defense companies as well as in the U.S. Department of Defense where she was 

appointed as a highly qualifed expert and served as the Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Recruitment for the 

Defense Contract Management Agency. In this capacity, she established the Agency’s frst-ever diversity and 

inclusion offce and diversity strategic plan. 

She has been a featured speaker and panelist on diversity and inclusion at national conferences in both 

the private and public sectors, and has contributed to several diversity benchmarking and best practices 

publications. 
24 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

 

Karen began her career as a civil rights attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice after completing a one-year 

judicial clerkship with the Honorable José M. López, District of Columbia Superior Court. She earned her bachelor 

of arts in government from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA and her law degree from The George 

Washington University in Washington, DC. 

Rosie Rios, Treasurer of the United States, Department of the Treasury 

Rosie Rios serves as the 43rd Treasurer of the United States. She has direct oversight over the U.S. Mint, 

the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and Fort Knox and is a key liaison with the Federal Reserve. In addition, 

the Treasurer serves as a senior advisor to the Secretary in the areas of community development and public 

engagement. She is especially passionate about supporting Women in Finance and issues of Main Street in the 

economic recovery. 

Prior to her confrmation as Treasurer, Rios worked at MacFarlane Partners, where she was Managing Director of 

Investments. Working with MacFarlane Partners’ development and global capital partners, Rios played a central 

role in facilitating equity transactions for large mixed-use development projects in major urban areas. In November of 

2008, Rios took a leave of absence from MacFarlane Partners to serve on the Treasury/Federal Reserve Transition 

Team. She is a graduate of Harvard University. 

Evan Ryan, Assistant to the Vice President and Special Assistant to the President for 

Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement 

Evan Ryan is Assistant to the Vice President and Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental 

Affairs and Public Engagement. Ms. Ryan was Deputy Campaign Manager for Biden for President in the 

2008 Presidential cycle. Following the campaign, Ms. Ryan was a consultant for the Education Partnership 

for Children of Confict. She served on the White House staff from 1994-2000, working for First Lady Hillary 

Rodham Clinton. Ms. Ryan served on the board of a confict management NGO, PeacePlayers International, 

from 2003-2008. In 2005, Ms. Ryan was Deputy Chair for the Governance track of the Clinton Global Initiative 

in New York. 

Ms. Ryan received a B.A. in political science from Boston College. In May 2006, Ms. Ryan received a Masters 

in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. 

Lori Santamorena, Executive Director, Government Securities Regulations Staff, Bureau of the Public 

Debt, Department of the Treasury 

Lori Santamorena has served as the Executive Director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Government 

Securities Regulations Staff (GSRS) at the Bureau of the Public Debt since 1999. The GSRS’ mission is to 

provide balanced regulation that protects investors while maintaining the integrity, liquidity and effciency of the 

government securities market. In addition to overseeing the government securities market regulations, the GSRS 

is also responsible for administering Treasury’s marketable securities auction rules, and managing the eligibility 

and valuation issues for Treasury’s three Fiscal Service collateral programs. In 2008, she received the Presidential 

Rank Award of Meritorious Executive, and is also a recipient of the Department of the Treasury’s Secretary’s 

Award. 

Prior to joining the Treasury, Lori was Director of Compliance at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, including 

responsibility for its U.S. capital markets trading and derivatives activities headquartered in New York City. During 

that time, she held leadership positions on numerous private sector fnancial industry committees. Previously, 

she was a special investigator for FINRA’s (formerly NASD) New York City District and was involved in several high 

profle investigations in the fnancial services industry. Lori also has held positions at Sun Life Insurance and Annuity 

Company of New York, Dun & Bradstreet, and served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines. 
TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women 25

 

Lori is currently pursuing a graduate degree at Georgetown University, and holds a B.S. in marketing and a B.A. 

in political science from the University of Arizona in Tucson. 

Betty Thompson, Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton 

Betty Thompson, a Senior Vice President with Booz Allen Hamilton based in McLean, Virginia, joined the frm in 2008 

to lead the internal People Services team. With more than 20 years of experience directing human capital strategy 

and executing key human resource functions for large corporations, Betty’s role is critical to ensure a world-class 

employment experience for Booz Allen staff. 

Prior to joining Booz Allen, Betty most recently served as Vice President of Human Resources for Fannie Mae, 

where she was responsible for all aspects of human resources management and operations. She led companywide organization redesign and staffng efforts as well as initiatives to improve productivity and reduce costs. 

Betty was responsible for developing the company’s people strategy to increase the performance, utilization, and 

engagement of Fannie Mae’s workforce. Prior to her long career at Fannie Mae, she also held several human 

resource leadership roles with IBM, after holding key line positions in marketing and customer service operations. 

Betty holds a Master of Science degree in Human Resources and Personnel Management from American 

University in Washington, D.C. 
26 TREASURYWOMEN 3.0 The Secretary’s Initiative on the Status of Women

DECEMBER 2012