[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
BUILDING A DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE WORKFORCE TO MEET THE HOMELAND
SECURITY MISSION
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
OVERSIGHT, MANAGEMENT,
AND ACCOUNTABILITY
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
FEBRUARY 27, 2020
__________
Serial No. 116-63
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
41-931 PDF WASHINGTON : 2020
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, Chairman
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas Mike Rogers, Alabama
James R. Langevin, Rhode Island Peter T. King, New York
Cedric L. Richmond, Louisiana Michael T. McCaul, Texas
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey John Katko, New York
Kathleen M. Rice, New York Mark Walker, North Carolina
J. Luis Correa, California Clay Higgins, Louisiana
Xochitl Torres Small, New Mexico Debbie Lesko, Arizona
Max Rose, New York Mark Green, Tennessee
Lauren Underwood, Illinois John Joyce, Pennsylvania
Elissa Slotkin, Michigan Dan Crenshaw, Texas
Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri Michael Guest, Mississippi
Al Green, Texas Dan Bishop, North Carolina
Yvette D. Clarke, New York Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey
Dina Titus, Nevada
Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey
Nanette Diaz Barragan, California
Val Butler Demings, Florida
Hope Goins, Staff Director
Chris Vieson, Minority Staff Director
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SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, MANAGEMENT, AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Xochitl Torres Small, New Mexico, Chairwoman
Dina Titus, Nevada Dan Crenshaw, Texas, Ranking
Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey Member
Nanette Diaz Barragan, California Clay Higgins, Louisiana
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi (ex Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey
officio) Mike Rogers, Alabama (ex officio)
Lisa Canini, Subcommittee Staff Director
Katy Flynn, Minority Subcommittee Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Statements
The Honorable Xochitl Torres Small, a Representative in Congress
From the State of New Mexico, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on
Oversight, Management, and Accountability:
Oral Statement................................................. 1
Prepared Statement............................................. 2
The Honorable Dan Crenshaw, a Representative in Congress From the
State of Texas, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Oversight,
Management, and Accountability:
Oral Statement................................................. 3
Prepared Statement............................................. 4
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress
From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on
Homeland Security:
Prepared Statement............................................. 5
Witnesses
Ms. Angela Bailey, Chief Human Capital Officer, U.S. Department
of Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 6
Prepared Statement............................................. 7
Ms. Yvonne D. Jones, Director, Strategic Issues, U.S. Government
Accountability Office:
Oral Statement................................................. 10
Prepared Statement............................................. 12
BUILDING A DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE WORKFORCE TO MEET THE HOMELAND
SECURITY MISSION
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Thursday, February 27, 2020
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Oversight, Management,
and Accountability,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3 p.m., in
room 310, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Xochitl Torres
Small [Chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Torres Small, Barragan, and
Crenshaw.
Ms. Torres Small. The Subcommittee on Oversight,
Management, and Accountability will come to order. Thank you so
much for your patience as we had to move this around a bit
because of votes.
Good afternoon. We are here today to discuss the Department
of Homeland Security--DHS's--effort to cultivate a diverse and
inclusive work force. Across the Department's wide and varied
missions, one thing remains constant: The importance of a work
force that is as diverse as the homeland it seeks to protect.
The committee last held a hearing on this topic in 2009
after learning that racial minorities constituted only 20
percent of the DHS work force and 10 percent of leadership
positions. At that time the committee heard from the Department
about some of its efforts to recruit and retain a more diverse
talent.
Ten years later, those numbers have improved, with higher
representation of minorities, women, and people with
disabilities in the DHS work force. But the Department still
has a way to go to achieve equal representation across the
Department and increase the number of minorities and women in
leadership positions.
Vital to ensuring that these goals are met is a commitment
to better understanding the barriers and developing plans to
address those barriers.
In some areas, the Department has taken steps to do this.
In 2014, a DHS review of women in law enforcement found that
the Department employed fewer female law enforcement officers
than the rest of the Federal Government. The review found that
some women felt the working environment forced them to choose
between their career and their families.
Additionally, a 2018 study of why women leave the United
States Coast Guard found that women were leaving the component
at much higher rates than men. The study noted that this was
due in part to gender bias and the belief that women had to
work twice as hard to prove themselves as men and were not
given the same advancement opportunities.
In response, DHS began implementing a mentorship program
for women in law enforcement positions last year and had 36
pairs of mentors and mentees.
Currently, women hold on average 25 percent of the
positions in DHS law enforcement agencies. So I look forward to
seeing if this new mentorship program helps the Department
retain and promote more women in these positions.
The Department also struggles to ensure its most crucial
mission areas incorporate the views of traditionally
underserved populations. In areas like emergency management,
border security, and domestic terrorism prevention, it is vital
that the Department proactively consider and directly
communicate with all communities. Confusion, miscommunication,
and distrust in emergency situations can lead to unnecessary
loss of life.
Unfortunately, we saw this play out in the delayed disaster
assistance in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria due to an
insufficient number of bilingual employees. FEMA's lack of
Spanish-speaking employees caused problems throughout the
disaster response and contributed to delays in getting
assistance to people who needed it most.
This serves as a reminder of the importance of including
people with diverse backgrounds in the formulation of plans,
policies, and procedures. DHS's mission is best served by
ensuring that women, minorities, and people with disabilities
not only have the opportunity to participate but also to lead.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about
how DHS is working to identify the various challenges its
components face in creating a diverse and inclusive working
environment and how the Department is meeting those challenges.
[The statement of Chairwoman Torres Small follows:]
Statement of Chairwoman Xochitl Torres Small
February 27, 2020
We are here today to discuss the Department of Homeland Security's
(DHS) efforts to cultivate a diverse and inclusive workforce. Across
the Department's wide and varied missions one thing remains constant:
The importance of a workforce that is as diverse as the homeland it
seeks to protect.
The committee last held a hearing on this topic in 2009 after
learning that racial minorites constituted only 20 percent of the DHS
workforce and 10 percent of leadership positions. At that time the
committee heard from the Deparment about some of its efforts to recruit
and retain more diverse talent.
Ten years later those numbers have improved, with higher
representation of minorities, women, and people with disabilities in
the DHS workforce. But the Department still has a way to go to achieve
equal representation across the Department and increase the number of
minorities and women in leadership positions.
Vital to ensuring that these goals are met is a commitment to
better understanding the barriers and developing plans to address them.
In some areas, the Department has taken steps to do this. In 2014, a
DHS review of women in law enforcement found that the Department
employed fewer female law enforcement officers than the rest of the
Federal Government. The review found that some women felt the working
environment forced them to choose between their career and having a
family.
Additionally, a 2018 study of why women leave the U.S. Coast Guard
found that women were leaving the component at much higher rates than
men. The study noted that this was due in part to gender bias and a
belief that women had to work twice as hard to prove themselves as men,
and were not given the same advancement opportunities.
In response, DHS began implementing a mentorship program for women
in law enforcement positions last year and had 36 pairs of mentors/
mentees. Currently women hold, on average, 25 percent of positions in
DHS law enforcement agencies so I look forward to seeing if this new
mentorship program helps the Department retain and promote more women
in those positions.
The Department also struggles to ensure that its most crucial
mission areas incorporate the views of traditionally underserved
populations. In areas like emergency management, border security, and
domestic terrorism prevention, it's vital that the Department
proactively consider and directly communicate with all communities.
Confusion, miscommunication, and distrust in emergency situations can
lead to unnecessary loss of life.
Unfortunately we saw this play out in the delayed disaster
assistance in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria due to an insufficient
number of bilingual employees. FEMA's lack of Spanish-speaking
employees caused problems throughout the disaster response, and
contributed to delays in getting assistance to the people who needed it
most. This serves as a reminder of the importance of including people
with diverse backgrounds in the formulation of plans, policies, and
procedures.
DHS's mission is best served by ensuring that women, minorities,
and people with disabilities not only have the opportunity to
participate but to lead.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about how DHS is
working to identify the various challenges its components face in
creating a diverse and inclusive working environment and how the
Department is meeting those challenges.
Ms. Torres Small. The Chair now recognizes the Ranking
Member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Texas, Mr.
Crenshaw, for an opening statement.
Mr. Crenshaw. Thank you, Chairwoman Torres Small, and I
appreciate the opportunity to discuss diversity at the
Department of Homeland Security.
As we all know, the more than 200,000 people that work at
DHS carry out a wide-ranging and increasingly difficult mission
to protect Americans and our way of life. It is their
dedication to protecting the homeland and the American people
that drives the success of DHS as a whole.
It is for that reason that we must continue to ensure that
the DHS work force is prepared for the job at hand.
America is a diverse country, and American citizens have a
wide range of backgrounds and experiences. DHS has stated that
to perform its mission well, it must rely on a work force as
diverse as our country itself. DHS has put in place many
initiatives and programs to accomplish that goal.
Fostering a sense of inclusion within DHS helps the agency
promote collaboration, creativity, innovation, and high
performance. This helps detect blind spots, empowers employees
to lead and trust their teammates, and fosters a devotion to
the mission at DHS.
Since its inception in 2003, DHS has come a long way in
fostering a diverse work force that includes a strong
representative population from all minority groups, as well as
women and veterans.
As of January 2020, the DHS work force is made up of 22
percent Hispanic or Latino, 16 percent Black or African
American, and 8 percent American Indian or Alaska Native and
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Of the nearly 200,000
employees, 35 percent are women and more than 25 percent are
veterans.
Current efforts at DHS, like developing robust internship
programs, recruiting at minority-serving institutions, and
veterans hiring initiatives will all help in continuing this
progress, especially at Senior Executive Services levels.
I look forward to hearing more about the recruitment
efforts and how the Department is working to promote diversity
throughout its policies from the Chief Human Capital Officer.
Policies and procedures at DHS are also part of a holistic
approach to diversity at DHS. The Government Accountability
Office has reviewed how DHS manages equal employment
opportunity policies that include training, leadership
development, and other efforts to create an inclusive
workplace.
The review included 6 recommendations to DHS, and DHS
concurred with all 6. The implementation process for these
recommendations at DHS is currently under way, and I look
forward to discussing the progress today.
Diversity in the workplace can help DHS with its underlying
mission of protecting Americans. Congress has an important role
to play in ensuring that they have the tools they need to meet
this goal.
We also must recognize that painting DHS employees as bad
people, uncaring, or saying the Department should be dissolved
altogether is counter to this goal. Mean-spirited politics and
the demonization of the DHS work force undermines the goal of
hiring a more diverse work force.
I hope that we can work together productively to identify
opportunities for improvement across DHS's efforts at today's
hearing.
I yield back the balance of my time.
[The statement of Ranking Member Crenshaw follows:]
Statement of Ranking Member Dan Crenshaw
Feb. 27, 2020
Thank you, Chairwoman Torres-Small.
I appreciate the opportunity to discuss diversity at the Department
of Homeland Security. As we all know, the more than 200,000 people that
work at DHS carry out a wide-ranging and increasingly difficult mission
to protect Americans and our way of life. It is their dedication to
protecting the homeland and the American people that drives the success
of DHS as a whole. It is for that reason, that we must continue to
ensure the DHS workforce is prepared for the job at hand.
America is a diverse country and American citizens have a wide
range of backgrounds and experiences. DHS has stated that to perform
its mission well, it must rely on a workforce as diverse as our country
itself. DHS has put in place many initiatives and programs to
accomplish that goal.
Fostering a sense of inclusion within DHS helps the agency promote
collaboration, creativity and innovation, high performance. This helps
detect blind spots, empowers employees to lead and trust their
teammates, and foster a devotion to the mission of DHS.
Since its creation in 2003, DHS has come a long way in fostering a
diverse workforce that includes strong representative populations from
all minority groups, as well as women and veterans. As of January 2020,
the DHS workforce was made up of 22 percent Hispanic or Latino, 16
percent Black or African American, and 8 percent American Indian or
Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Of the nearly
200,000 employees, 35 percent are women and more than 25 percent are
veterans.
Current efforts at DHS--like developing robust internship programs,
recruiting at minority-serving institutions, and veterans hiring
initiatives will all help in continuing this progress, especially at
Senior Executive Services level. I look forward to hearing more about
recruitment efforts and how the Department is working to promote
diversity throughout its policies from the chief human capitol officer.
The policies and procedures at DHS are also a part of a holistic
approach to diversity at DHS. The Government Accountability office has
reviewed how DHS manages equal employment opportunity policies that
include training, leadership development, and other efforts to create
an inclusive workplace. Their review included 6 recommendations to DHS,
and DHS concurred with all 6. The implementation process for these
recommendations at DHS is currently under way and I look forward to
discussing the progress today.
Diversity in the workforce can help DHS with its underlying mission
of protecting Americans. Congress has an important role to play in
ensuring DHS has the tools its needs to meet this goal. But we must
also recognize that painting DHS employees as bad people, uncaring, or
saying that the Department should be dissolved altogether, is counter
to this goal. Mean-spirited politics and demonization of the DHS
workforce undermines the goal of hiring a more diverse workforce. I
hope that we can work together, productively, to identify opportunities
for improvement across DHS's efforts at today's hearing. I yield back
my time.
Ms. Torres Small. Thank you, Mr. Crenshaw.
Other Members of the committee are reminded that under the
committee rules opening statements may be submitted for the
record.
[The statement of Chairman Thompson follows:]
Statement of Chairman Bennie G. Thompson
Feburary 27, 2020
The last time the committee held a hearing on diversity and
inclusivity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was over a
decade ago, when Democrats were last in the Majority. While
representation of minorities, women, and people with disabilities has
increased, I remain concerned about the Department's failure to develop
an inclusive workforce. The homeland is best served by a workforce that
is representative of our great country.
Yet, DHS data shows----
Women make up only 35 percent of the Department's workforce;
People with disabilities make up a mere 11 percent and are
leaving the Department at higher than expected rates;
Minorities hold only 22 percent of the Department's most
senior leadership positions.
Moreover, a closer look at the data shows that the diversity that
does exist at DHS is concentrated in just a few of its components.
Building an inclusive workforce is not just about ensuring the numbers
look good. It is about better serving the American people by
considering the wide variety of challenges facing different
communities.
In short, it is about building a Department of Homeland Security
that is focused on protecting all of America. That is why it is crucial
that the Department promote and advance a workforce to meet those
challenges.
It's simply not enough to hire diverse candidates at lower pay
grades. Those populations must have leadership opportunities as well.
Currently, leadership positions at DHS are still predominantly filled
by white men, even in components that have a diverse workforce overall.
The Transportation Security Administration, for example, has a
workforce comprised of 55 percent racial minorities, yet only 21
percent of senior leadership positions are filled by minorities.
A lack of diverse leadership can have a direct, adverse effect on
hiring, retention, and promotion of diverse candidates. A key step
toward resolving this issue is ensuring the entire Department is
committed to identifying barriers to employment equality and
implementing plans to address those barriers.
The Department must work toward better addressing the challenges it
faces in creating a more equitable employment environment and thereby a
stronger DHS. I hope to hear from Chief Human Capital Officer Bailey
about the efforts the Department is undertaking to recruit more diverse
candidates and retain those employees once hired.
Ms. Torres Small. I now welcome our panel of witnesses, and
thank you for joining us today.
First, welcome back to Ms. Angela Bailey, the chief human
capital officer of the Department of Homeland Security. In that
role, she is responsible for the Department's Human Capital
Program, including human resource policy, recruitment and
hiring, and employee development. She has dedicated more than
38 years to a career in public service, with 32 of those years
in human resources. Ms. Bailey was appointed to her current
position in January 2016.
Our second witness, Ms. Yvonne Jones, is the director in
the Government Accountability Office's Strategic Issues Team.
She joined GAO in November 2003. Ms. Jones oversees human
capital management issues, including diversity and inclusion
issues, such as the participation rate of individuals with
disabilities and the employment satisfaction of veterans in
Federal service. She also leads GAO's work on Government-wide
adoption of enhanced program and project management.
Without objection, the witnesses' full statements will be
inserted in the record.
I now ask each witness to summarize her statement for 5
minutes, beginning with Ms. Angela Bailey.
STATEMENT OF ANGELA BAILEY, CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Ms. Bailey. Thank you. Chairwoman Torres Small, Ranking
Member Crenshaw, and distinguished Members of the subcommittee,
thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to
discuss inclusive diversity at the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security.
DHS is one of the most ethnically and racially diverse
agencies across the Federal Government, far surpassing
Government-wide work force diversity percentages. Nearly 1 out
of every 2 employees has identified themselves with a diverse
racial or ethnic group. Almost one-third of DHS employees are
millennials and over 50 percent of them identify as diverse.
DHS has the largest percentage of Hispanics in the Federal
work force by a large margin, 22 percent, higher than 9 percent
working in the rest of the Federal Government or in private-
sector occupations comparable to our positions.
Women comprise 35 percent of the DHS work force overall. In
our non-law enforcement positions, women make up almost 50
percent.
This diversity is also reflected in our executives. Twenty-
two percent of our senior executives identify with a diverse
racial or ethnic group, a number that is on par with the rest
of the Federal work force. At DHS, women comprise nearly 30
percent of our SES.
DHS also strives to be a model employer for individuals
with disabilities. Even regarding employees with the most
severe disabilities, we have made tremendous progress and we
have exceeded Federal hiring goals last quarter.
Finally, I am extremely proud to talk about our veterans
hiring at DHS. We are one of the leaders across the Federal
Government. We have received the Council on Veterans
Employment's highest rating of ``exemplary'' for the last 4
years. Almost one-third of our employees are veterans, and 10
percent of them live with a disability every single day, making
us No. 1 among the agencies of similar sizes.
While we have an exemplary record, we would like to do
more. Our Enhanced Hiring Act proposal is designed to
streamline our ability to hire veterans. We look forward to
working with you to make this proposal a reality.
Getting to these successful results has taken time and
innovative thinking. In 2016, the Department shifted to a new
way of thinking, moving from traditional diversity and
inclusion to the concept of inclusive diversity. Inclusive
diversity, which includes behaviors that promote collaboration
and high performance, creativity and innovation, fairness and
respect, is about deliberately and thoughtfully creating an
environment where employees know they belong and where they
feel their supervisor or someone at work cares about them.
The concepts of caring and compassion are not new, but
recognizing the importance in the effects they play on the
operational readiness is groundbreaking in the Federal
Government.
DHS's commitment to inclusion is reflected in our 5 percent
increase in the past 4 years on the Inclusion Index, a part of
the FEVS. To continue this progress, we are investing and
synchronizing our inclusion, engagement, and leadership
development efforts.
As I testified last month before this subcommittee, DHS has
strengthened its agency-wide leadership development programs by
providing more opportunities for lower-grade employees to begin
their leadership journey.
We know that these approaches help employees feel valued,
and the cornerstone of our engagement, retention, and inclusion
efforts is our Employee and Family Readiness program. DHS
currently has 7 suites of programs in place all designed to
deepen employees' sense of belonging, connection, and being
cared for and within the Department.
In closing, engaging the entire work force and sustaining
the highest levels of integrity, accountability, and
professionalism is paramount to promote and achieve the
strategic vision we have for inclusive diversity. We understand
that while we have made significant progress, we still have
more work to do to achieve a fully inclusive culture.
As we move forward, we will continue to embrace workplace
cultures that are fair and respectful and value the unique
contributions of each employee to enable all employees to
achieve their full potential.
Thank you again for this opportunity to testify today, and
I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Bailey follows:]
Prepared Statement of Angela Bailey
February 27, 2020
introduction
Chairwoman Torres Small, Ranking Member Crenshaw, and distinguished
Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear
before you today to discuss inclusive diversity at the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department).
I am Angela Bailey, the Department's chief human capital officer. I
joined DHS in January 2016 as a career Federal executive and have more
than 38 years of service, 32 of those in human resources.
The Department's compelling mission to make a difference in the
lives of our fellow citizens encourages our workforce and draws
candidates seeking to join the team, even though the threats and
challenges facing DHS and the Nation are complex and constantly
evolving. As a result, DHS is one of the most ethnically and racially
diverse agencies across the Federal Government. Forty-seven percent of
the DHS workforce identifies with a diverse racial or ethnic group,
compared to 37 percent for the broader Federal workforce.
As the chief human capital officer, inclusive diversity is one of
my highest priorities and is taken seriously across DHS. Inclusion
connects employees and diversity reflects the public we serve and helps
build bridges with communities where we work. Our success, and the
protection of the homeland, requires the engagement of all of us:
Senior leaders, managers, and employees. DHS has made notable progress
in its diversity and inclusion efforts, yet opportunities remain for
continued improvement.
Our DHS commitment to inclusion is reflected in our 5 percentage-
point increase in the past 4 years on the Inclusion Index, a part of
the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) that measures the extent
to which employees believe they are recognized, valued, and respected.
And, we will continue to do more.
Diversity within the Department is also notable. Again, the DHS
workforce is ethnically and racially diverse, far surpassing
Government-wide workforce diversity percentages. DHS has the largest
percentage of Hispanics in the Federal workforce by a large margin--22
percent versus just under 9 percent--and higher than the 9 percent of
Hispanics working in private-sector occupations analogous to our
positions. Women comprise 35 percent of the DHS workforce overall, but
in our non-law enforcement workforce, women comprise 46 percent of our
workforce, slightly higher than the Government-wide number of 43
percent.
This diversity is also reflected in our executives. Twenty-two
percent of our Senior Executives (SES) identify with a diverse racial
or ethnic group, a number that is on par with the rest of the Federal
workforce. At DHS, women comprise nearly 29 percent of our SESs, just
slightly below the average for the total Federal workforce.
DHS also strives to be a model employer for individuals with
disabilities. Historically, individuals with disabilities comprised
less than 10 percent of the DHS workforce. However, our determined
focus in this area has been a significant driver for increases among
new hires.
In the first quarter of this fiscal year, just over 12 percent of
new hires across DHS were individuals with disabilities, but several
components have new hire rates well above 20 percent. Even regarding
employment of individuals with targeted disabilities, or those with the
most severe disabilities, we have made tremendous progress and hired
over 2 percent in this quarter, exceeding the Federal goal.
Finally, I am extremely proud to talk about our veterans hiring at
DHS, which is considered one of the leaders across the Federal
Government. We have received the Council on Veterans Employment's
highest rating of ``Exemplary'' for 3 straight years and expect to
achieve a fourth straight Exemplary rating for our efforts in fiscal
year 2019. On-board at DHS, we have 26 percent veterans (a total of
56,209 employees) and 10 percent veterans with disabilities--making us
No. 1 among the agencies of similar size, i.e., Health and Human
Services and the Departments of Justice, Treasury, and Agriculture.
Already this fiscal year, more than 1 in 5 new hires were veterans and
8 percent were veterans with disabilities.
a new paradigm
Getting to these successful results has taken time and innovative
thinking. In 2016, the Department shifted to a new way of thinking,
moving from the traditional Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) paradigm to
the concept of inclusive diversity. While the original D&I paradigm
focused on elements such as race, ethnicity, and gender, inclusive
diversity reaches beyond these characteristics to a broader swath of
diversity such as generational status and neurodiversity. Inclusive
diversity also emphasizes the essential role of the work environment
and the importance of building inclusive workplaces.
Specifically, inclusive diversity is comprised of a set of
behaviors that promote collaboration and high performance, creativity
and innovation, fairness and respect, and an environment where
employees believe they belong. It empowers employees at every level and
builds a culture of trust within teams. Inclusive diversity is
comprised of people's perceptions of fairness and respect, i.e., are
their experiences similar to others' in terms of opportunities, pay,
and evaluation; do they feel value and belonging, which focuses more on
the uniqueness of each person; whether they are part of formal and
informal networks; and whether they have a voice in decision making.
We recognize that inclusive diversity is critical to the way we
attract and retain our workforce. For example, diversity helps guide
many of our recruitment efforts, including our webinars, campus visits,
and hiring events across the Nation at Minority-Serving Institutions
(MSIs), including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs),
Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Asian American and Native American
Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and
Universities.
The Department has participated in the Congressional Black Caucus
Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference and Career Fair, where in
2019, DHS recruiters shared information about our mission and current
job opportunities with 350 potential candidates. In 2019, we also
attended Chairman Thompson's College and Career Fair in Mississippi. At
this event in Greenville, DHS recruiters spoke collectively with 1,170
students. At the most recent Career Expo for Individuals with
Disabilities, recruiters spoke to 250 potential candidates and
conducted on-site interviews. The Department conducts joint hiring
events on military bases to highlight our veterans hiring and we hold
events focused on recruiting more women into law enforcement. Finally,
we use cyber-focused recruiting events to help build a cybersecurity
workforce that is strong because of its diversity.
In total, in fiscal year 2019, DHS hosted over 2,500 people on
recruiting webinars and attended 5,099 recruiting events in order to
attract a workforce that mirrors the public we serve, including
visiting 223 MSIs (716 events) and 46 HBCUs (100 events).
The Department has internship programs that attract hundreds of
diverse students, teaching them about work at DHS, with the goal of
hiring them after graduation. Our Pathways Programs supports hundreds
of these interns as well as recent graduates and Presidential
Management Fellows, and uses partnerships like the Urban Alliance, the
CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service, and the Mayor Marion S. Barry
Summer Youth Employment Program. Last year, we had 600 participants in
these programs, but we want to do even more to attract diverse
applicants to DHS. Our legislative proposal that has been submitted to
Congress, the Enhanced Hiring Act, would build on these efforts and
give DHS broad flexibility to determine how to recruit and provide
public notice for mission-critical positions through more effective
means, such as social media and campus recruitment (e.g., MSIs, HBCUs),
as well as on military installations to reach even more potential
applicants.
While diversity hiring is key to our efforts, focusing only on
hiring can cause a revolving door where we are constantly recruiting
and hiring, and not looking at ensuring employees are included,
engaged, and motivated to stay. Because we value the whole person, we
use a three-pronged approach to retain employees and ensure they feel
respected.
Our exceptional inclusion and engagement efforts are one way to
help with engagement, productivity, and innovation. For example, we
have built a framework to help executive leaders identify measurable
actions and activities to implement and cultivate a continued
commitment to, and accountability for, inclusive diversity. We continue
to build on a successful pilot program launching a Department-wide
rollout of the Inclusive Diversity Dialogues Program, modeled after
successful programs at the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, Department of Justice, and Office of Personnel
Management. We provide unconscious bias awareness training for hiring
managers, inclusive diversity training for executive leaders, and FEVS
Inclusion Index-based train-the-trainer sessions to build a cadre of
qualified trainers across the Department.
As I testified last month before this subcommittee, DHS has also
strengthened its agency-wide leadership development programs by
providing more opportunities for lower-grade employees to begin their
leadership journeys, have additional rotational experiences, and gain
further career path guidance. We know that these approaches help
employees feel valued. Examples include our brand-new leader
development strategy, called the ``Leadership Bridges Program,''
introduced in fiscal year 2019. Instead of waiting to develop
leadership skills at each level, this new program establishes a variety
of products and tools for employees seeking to increase their
capabilities and aspiring to higher leadership levels.
Part of the Bridges program includes innovative, self-paced program
training that meets the needs of our geographically-dispersed workforce
and provides motivated employees--at any grade level--with a set of
curated activities central to the development of essential supervisory
leadership competencies. This training helps our front-line employees
who are not in Washington, DC. The Bridges program is also piloting a
6-month Supervisory Leadership Bridges Cohort program that will guide
participants in specific job series through a rigorous process to
identify traits validated as predictive of leadership success and build
on those traits with classroom, mentoring, and experiential learning.
The third prong of our engagement, retention, and inclusion efforts
is our Employee and Family Readiness (EFR) program. DHS currently has 7
suites of programs in place, all designed to deepen employees' sense of
belonging, inclusion, and value inside the Department. Today we provide
mindfulness courses to strengthen employee resilience and reduce
stress; a financial literacy campaign to build financial wellness;
stronger bonds training to improve relationships and communication;
increased services for child and dependent care; a mental health
initiative and resource center to help reduce stigma and increase
utilization; and affinity groups for employees and spouses to build
social connectedness with others who share the same background,
challenges, or interests.
Because all 7 EFR efforts are based on input received from DHS
employees themselves, we are confident they will be successful both as
specific subjects and as a reflection of the fact that DHS cared enough
to listen. This innovative EFR program, combined with the Department's
leadership development and diversity hiring efforts, as well as our
inclusion activities, makes the DHS inclusive diversity program a
balanced and robust model for the Federal Government.
conclusion
As the Department works to secure our Nation, an inclusive and
diverse workforce is critical to foster innovation, cultivate
creativity, and elevate operational effectiveness. Together, these
characteristics enhance our capabilities in all mission areas.
Moreover, it is important that we have an agile workforce that can work
across organizational and interpersonal boundaries and collaborate to
address the Department's most complex and challenging issues.
We must continue our efforts to build inclusive diversity across
DHS to ensure we create a workplace where employees believe they
belong, that we leverage unique employee talents, that we listen, and
help build networks of shared experience while respecting individual
uniqueness. We will further embed these principles into our broader
strategies and initiatives by raising the bar on inclusive diversity,
mindfulness, accountability, and transparency.
In closing, engaging the entire workforce and sustaining the
highest levels of integrity, accountability, and professionalism is
paramount to promote and achieve the strategic vision we have for
inclusive diversity. We understand that, while we have made significant
progress, we still have more work to do to achieve a fully inclusive
culture. As we move forward, we will continue to embrace workplace
cultures that are fair, respectful, and value the unique contributions
of each employee to enable all employees to reach their full potential.
Rest assured that while each of our components has its own distinct
homeland security mission and history, we are unified and steadfast in
our goal--to safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our
values, including embracing inclusive diversity in all its facets.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today and I look
forward to your questions.
Ms. Torres Small. Thank you for your testimony.
I now recognize Ms. Jones to summarize her statement for 5
minutes.
STATEMENT OF YVONNE D. JONES, DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC ISSUES, U.S.
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
Ms. Jones. Thank you. Chairwoman Torres Small, Ranking
Member Crenshaw, Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the
opportunity to be here today to discuss our work on the
Department of Homeland Security's--DHS--efforts to ensure equal
employment opportunity--EEO--in its work force.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission--EEOC--requires
that annually each Executive agency assess and report its
efforts to promote EEO by completing Management Directive 715--
MD-715--report. DHS analyzes its work force data to help
identify indicators of potential EEO barriers and DHS reports
some improvements in representation of minorities and women and
in employee engagement.
DHS officials told us that minority representation was up 3
percent and female representation was up 2 percent from 2015 to
2019. Further, DHS's employee engagement scores increased from
54 percent in 2014 to 60 percent in 2017.
Recruitment is an important way to ensure an agency's work
force reflects the relevant civilian labor force. Effectively,
agencies need to examine applicant flow data. In July 2017,
EEOC informed DHS that the agency's applicant flow data were
incomplete, which makes it difficult to pinpoint barriers.
Officials of DHS's Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Office--CRCL--told us that DHS is developing a new system to
integrate applicant flow data Department-wide. However, they
could not tell us when they expect the system to be completed.
DHS does not have complete performance metrics for tracking
progress toward eliminating its EEO barriers. CRCL officials
stated they are not required to establish performance metrics
beyond what is included in the Department-wide MD-715 report.
But EEOC guidance states that agencies are not prevented from
establishing additional practices that exceed its requirements.
Implementing performance metrics could help DHS better assess
its progress in eliminating EEO barriers.
DHS and its components lack adequate staffing to address
EEO program deficiencies because they do not have formal
staffing models to assess staffing needs. However, MD-715
guidance states that an agency must provide its EEO program
with sufficient budget and staffing. Developing and utilizing
formal staffing models for their EEO programs could help DHS
and its components to better identify, request, and obtain the
staff they need.
From 2014 through 2017, EEOC found areas of noncompliance
in DHS and its component EEO programs. We found that DHS
components had not responded timely and completely to
noncompliance identified in EEOC feedback letters.
According to CRCL officials, they do not have policies and
procedures to ensure that components have addressed EEOC's
feedback letters completely and timely. However, MD-715
guidance states that an agency's EEO director ultimately is
responsible for ensuring equal opportunity throughout the
agency.
CRCL officials said they lack authority to ensure
components' compliance with the EEOC requirements. But DHS has
not taken steps to analyze options to address EEO program
management weaknesses to ensure DHS components comply with MD-
715 guidance.
While DHS has weaknesses, it has taken steps to address
EEOC and GAO recommendations.
In conclusion, as the third-largest U.S. Government
department, the challenges DHS has faced to fully implement
effective EEO programs may result in wide-spread negative
consequences, such as monetary expenses borne by the agency due
to workplace disputes and decreased morale.
We found areas for improvements in DHS and its components'
EEO programs that could help ensure success in compliance with
MD-715. The commitment of DHS's leadership is essential to
successfully addressing these issues.
Chairwoman Torres Small, Ranking Member Crenshaw, Members
of the subcommittee, this completes my prepared statement. I
would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have at
this time.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Jones follows:]
Prepared Statement of Yvonne D. Jones
February 27, 2020
gao highlights
Highlights of GAO-20-450T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on
Oversight, Management, and Accountability, Committee on Homeland
Security, House of Representatives.
Why GAO Did This Study
EEOC's Management Directive 715 requires that, to attract and
retain top talent, Federal agencies are to identify EEO barriers in
their workforces and deficiencies in their EEO programs, execute plans
to address them, and report annually to EEOC. GAO reported in 2009 on
DHS's opportunities to address barriers to EEO in its workforce and in
2019 on DHS's challenges to ensuring EEO in its workforce.
GAO was asked to testify on the steps DHS has taken to: (1)
Identify and address barriers to EEO in its workforce, (2) identify and
address EEO program deficiencies, (3) address areas of noncompliance in
its EEO program identified by EEOC, and (4) oversee and support
components' EEO programs. To do so, GAO summarized the findings
discussed in its July 2019 report on DHS's EEO efforts and reported on
DHS's actions taken to address recommendations. To obtain updates on
actions taken by DHS, GAO reviewed relevant documentation and
interviewed DHS EEO officials.
What GAO Recommends
In its July 2019 report, GAO recommended that DHS take 6 actions,
including develop performance metrics for the Department's EEO program;
develop DHS and component formal staffing models; and analyze options
for granting additional authorities to the most senior official for EEO
and Diversity. DHS concurred with the 6 recommendations and described
actions the Department plans to take to address them.
equal employment opportunity.--dhs could better address challenges to
ensuring eeo in its workforce
What GAO Found
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) uses multiple information
sources to identify potential barriers to equal employment opportunity
(EEO), but lacks performance metrics for tracking its progress toward
eliminating identified barriers. DHS generally uses the information
sources that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
guidance recommends, such as employee survey results, to help identify
potential barriers. While DHS reports some improvements in employee
engagement and representation of minorities and women from fiscal years
2014 through 2018, it does not have complete performance metrics, such
as the retention rate of women in law enforcement positions. Using
performance metrics could help DHS assess its progress in eliminating
barriers.
DHS and its components have identified various deficiencies in
their EEO programs, but lack policies and procedures for developing
action plans and formal staffing models to address deficiencies. For
example, in each of the fiscal years 2015 through 2018, DHS reported
that senior managers at DHS components did not successfully implement
EEO action plans and incorporate EEO action plan objectives into agency
strategic plans. Further, DHS components lacked action plans to address
nearly half (179 out of 369) of the deficiencies self-reported by all
components from fiscal years 2014 through 2017. For example, in fiscal
year 2017, 4 DHS components did not have action plans to ensure that
their EEO directors report directly to their agency heads, as required
by EEOC guidance. Developing policies and procedures to help ensure
components' EEO programs have action plans for addressing deficiencies
could help DHS components better comply with EEOC requirements.
In addition, developing and using formal staffing models--a tool to
determine the number of staff required--for their EEO programs could
help DHS and its components to identify, request, and obtain the staff
they need. For example, DHS and its components reported that staffing
challenges contributed to some of their program deficiencies, and
acknowledged they did not have formal staffing models for their EEO
programs.
DHS has plans to address 9 areas of noncompliance in its EEO
program identified by EEOC. In its July 2017 review of DHS compliance
with EEOC requirements, EEOC found that DHS did not provide complete
demographic data on new hires and promotions in its fiscal year 2016
report to EEOC. DHS reported to EEOC that it had collected and analyzed
such demographic data beginning in fiscal year 2019.
DHS's EEO and human capital offices assist and support DHS
components in identifying and addressing EEO barriers. However, DHS's
EEO office lacks policies and procedures to ensure components respond
timely and completely to areas of noncompliance identified in EEOC
feedback letters. Additionally, DHS EEO officials said they lack
authority to ensure components' compliance with EEOC requirements.
Without addressing these issues, DHS may not be effectively positioned
to manage its EEO program.
Madam Chairwoman Torres Small, Ranking Member Crenshaw, and Members
of the subcommittee: Thank you for the opportunity to be here today to
discuss our work on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) efforts
to ensure equal employment opportunity (EEO) in its workforce. Since
DHS began operations in 2003, we designated implementing and
transforming the agency as high-risk because it had to transform 22
agencies--several with major management challenges--into one
department. In 2013, we narrowed the scope of this high-risk area and
focused on DHS's continued need to strengthen and integrate its
management functions, including human capital management.
DHS must attract, develop, and retain a high-quality workforce that
can deliver security and results for the American people, and ensure
the continued growth and prosperity of the Nation. Federal agencies,
including DHS, must make full use of our Nation's talent by promoting
workplaces that provide a fair and level playing field and the
opportunity for employees to achieve their fullest potential. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Management Directive 715
(MD-715) requires that, to attract and retain top talent, Federal
agencies are to identify EEO barriers in their workforces and
deficiencies in their EEO programs, execute plans to address them, and
report annually to EEOC.\1\
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\1\ EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity, Management Directive 715
(Oct. 1, 2003). EEOC defines a barrier as an agency policy, procedure,
practice, or condition that limits or tends to limit employment
opportunities for members of a particular gender, race, or ethnic
background, or for individuals based on disability status.
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In 2009, we reported that DHS had opportunities to better identify
and address barriers to EEO in its workforce.\2\ Specifically, we found
that DHS was not regularly including employee input in identifying
potential barriers. We also found that it had not yet met most of its
target completion dates for planned activities to address barriers. We
recommended that DHS: (1) Develop a strategy to regularly include
employee input in identifying potential barriers to EEO, and (2)
establish interim milestones for completing planned activities to
address identified barriers. By 2013, DHS had responded to our
recommendations by including a strategy to regularly use employee input
to identify barriers, and by identifying essential activities and
establishing interim milestones to address barriers identified in its
MD-715 reports.
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\2\ GAO, Equal Employment Opportunity: DHS Has Opportunities to
Better Identify and Address Barriers to EEO in Its Workforce, GAO-09-
639 (Washington, DC: Aug. 31, 2009).
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This testimony is based primarily on our report that we recently
issued entitled, Equal Employment Opportunity: DHS Could Better Address
Challenges to Ensuring EEO in Its Workforce.\3\ It also includes
selective updates we obtained in February 2020. I will discuss steps
DHS has taken to: (1) Identify and address barriers to EEO in its
workforce, (2) identify and address EEO program deficiencies, (3)
address areas of noncompliance in its EEO program identified by EEOC,
and (4) oversee and support components' EEO programs.\4\ For the
report, we reviewed DHS's and its components' policies, procedures,
practices, and reports for their EEO programs for fiscal years 2014
through 2018; interviewed DHS and its component EEO officials; and
assessed DHS employee survey results. We also reviewed EEOC's feedback
on DHS's and its components' EEO programs, and interviewed EEOC
officials. Our report contains a more detailed discussion of our
objectives, scope, and methodology. For the updates, we reviewed
documentation from DHS and interviewed Office for Civil Rights and
Civil Liberties (CRCL) officials on the actions DHS has taken to
implement the recommendations from our July 2019 report.\5\ We also
added information from DHS's fiscal year 2018 MD-715 report to reflect
the most current fiscal year data and status of the Department's EEO
efforts.\6\
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\3\ GAO, Equal Employment Opportunity: DHS Could Better Address
Challenges to Ensuring EEO in Its Workforce, GAO-19-573 (Washington,
DC: July 24, 2019).
\4\ As of fiscal year 2018, the 9 components that are required to
submit their own MD-715 reports to EEOC are U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Law
Enforcement Training Centers, DHS Headquarters EEO Office, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation
Security Administration.
\5\ DHS's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, through the
Deputy Officer for EEO and Diversity, is responsible for, among other
things, establishing and maintaining EEO programs, and preparing and
submitting DHS's annual MD-715 program status report to EEOC.
\6\ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, EEOC Management Directive
715 Equal Employment Opportunity Program Status Report, Fiscal Year
2018 (Washington, DC: July 31, 2019). This is DHS's most recent MD-715
report.
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We conducted the work on which this statement is based in
accordance with generally accepted Government auditing standards. Those
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe the
evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and
conclusions based on our audit objectives.
dhs uses multiple information sources to identify potential eeo
barriers
DHS generally uses the information sources that EEOC guidance
recommends to help identify potential barriers. As directed by EEOC
guidance, DHS analyzes its workforce data to help identify triggers or
indicators of potential EEO barriers by comparing the racial, National
origin, gender, and disability profiles of its total workforce, and for
various occupational categories to relevant civilian labor workforce
data. In addition to analyzing workforce data, in each of the fiscal
years 2014 through 2017, DHS utilized the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management's Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and DHS's employee exit
survey results to help identify and address barriers.\7\
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\7\ The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey is a tool offered by the
U.S. Office of Personnel Management that measures employees'
perceptions of whether, and to what extent, conditions characterizing
successful organizations are present in their agencies. The DHS exit
survey is a tool used to obtain information on the top reasons that
employees separate from the Department.
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To further help identify barriers, EEOC guidance states that
agencies must solicit input from agency employee and advocacy groups,
and union officials. During our small group discussions, DHS employee
groups told us that through the MD-715 report development process, they
helped identify and address triggers and barriers. For example, Special
Emphasis Program Managers we spoke with told us that DHS components
conduct climate surveys to obtain input from employees on workforce
practices every 1 or 2 years.\8\ Further, several DHS components' MD-
715 reports referenced soliciting employee input, such as obtaining
Disability Employment Program Managers' input via quarterly disability
employment advisory council meetings where they share best practices
and discuss issues and topics including barriers.
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\8\ According to DHS, Special Emphasis Program Managers advise and
assist management officials in the identification, analysis, and
resolution of policies, practices, and procedures which serve to create
barriers to the hiring, advancement, and retention of minorities,
women, and persons with disabilities, or other identified groups. EEOC
requires 3 special emphasis programs: Federal Women's Program, Hispanic
Employment Program, and Persons with Disabilities Program.
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dhs reports some improvements in employee engagement and representation
of minorities and women, but lacks performance metrics for tracking
progress
DHS reports some improvements in employee engagement and
representation of minorities and women. DHS's employee engagement
scores in the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey increased from 54
percent in 2014 to 62 percent in 2019.\9\ In addition, our review of
DHS's workforce data from fiscal years 2014 through 2017 showed that
every minority group as well as individuals with disabilities and
individuals with targeted disabilities had been trending in a positive
direction since fiscal year 2014.\10\ Further, DHS officials told us
that minority representation was up 3 percent and female representation
was up 2 percent from 2015 to February 2019.
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\9\ According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, employee
engagement measure factors that lead to an engaged workforce include
supporting employee development and communicating agency goals. As we
reported in January 2020, while DHS has made progress in improving its
scores, in 2019, it remained 6 points below the Government-wide average
for employee engagement. GAO, Department of Homeland Security: Employee
Morale Survey Scores Highlight Progress and Continued Challenges, GAO-
20-349T (Washington, DC: Jan. 14, 2020).
\10\ Individuals with disabilities are employees in the workforce
who have indicated having a disability. EEOC defines targeted
disabilities as deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial
paralysis, complete paralysis, convulsive disorders, mental
retardation, mental illness, and distortion of limb and/or spine.
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According to EEOC, one important tool in examining the fairness and
inclusiveness of an agency's recruitment efforts is applicant flow
data.\11\ EEOC guidance states that having Department-wide applicant
flow data could aid in analyzing differences in selection rates among
different groups for a particular job. In July 2017, EEOC informed DHS
that the agency's applicant flow data were incomplete, which makes it
difficult to pinpoint barriers. DHS has reported challenges in
collecting Department-wide data because the Department does not have a
consolidated applicant flow data system. According to DHS, 4 of its
components use 1 system (USA Staffing), while 5 other components use a
different system (Monster Government Solutions).
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\11\ EEOC defines applicant flow data as information reflecting
characteristics of the pool of individuals applying for an employment
opportunity, including race, national origin, gender, disability
status, and the disposition of all applications.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CRCL officials told us that DHS is developing a new system to
integrate applicant flow data Department-wide. However, the officials
could not give us a time frame for when the system is expected to be
completed. In its fiscal year 2018 MD-715 report, DHS reported that it
continues to work toward developing a central repository for all
applicant flow data. As a work-around, DHS officials said that it
obtains these data directly from each component that uses Monster
Government Solutions.\12\ In its fiscal year 2018 MD-715 report, DHS
reported that it used applicant flow data to complete analyses, but it
also reported a number of limitations, including that data were not
available. In February 2020, CRCL officials told us that they plan to
report complete applicant flow data in DHS's fiscal year 2019 MD-715
report.\13\
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\12\ In its fiscal year 2018 MD-715 report, DHS reported that it
extracted applicant flow data from USA Staffing to present them in the
report.
\13\ In January 2020, EEOC extended the deadline for submitting
fiscal year 2019 MD-715 reports to April 3, 2020.
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DHS does not have complete performance metrics or mechanisms for
tracking progress toward eliminating its identified EEO barriers, such
as workplace satisfaction of white females or the retention rate of
women in law enforcement positions. According to CRCL officials, they
are not required to establish performance metrics or mechanisms for
tracking progress toward eliminating barriers beyond what is included
in the Department-wide MD-715 report. However, Standards for Internal
Control in the Federal Government states that management should
establish specific and measureable objectives, and ways to assess
progress including performance metrics and milestones.\14\ Further,
EEOC guidance states that agencies are not prevented from establishing
additional practices that exceed its requirements. Implementing
performance metrics could help DHS assess its progress in eliminating
EEO barriers.
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\14\ GAO, Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government,
GAO-14-704G (Washington, DC: Sept. 10, 2014).
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Accordingly, our July 2019 report included a recommendation that
the Secretary of Homeland Security should develop performance metrics
for the Department's EEO program including a mechanism for tracking
progress toward eliminating barriers. DHS concurred with the
recommendation and stated that it would implement it by April 30, 2020.
In February 2020, CRCL officials told us they are working with DHS's
Management Directorate to develop a potential overarching performance
metric that, if approved, would be implemented beginning in fiscal year
2021.
dhs and its components have identified various deficiencies in their
eeo programs, but in some cases lack action plans to address them
Our analysis of DHS's MD-715 reports found that the Department-wide
EEO program did not meet about a quarter of the compliance measures for
a model EEO program for each fiscal year from 2014 through 2017.\15\
For example, in each of the fiscal years 2015 through 2018, DHS
reported that senior managers at DHS components did not successfully
implement EEO action plans and incorporate EEO action plan objectives
into agency strategic plans. In addition, our analysis of components'
MD-715 reports showed that component EEO programs did not meet 9
percent of the compliance measures for a model EEO program from fiscal
years 2014 through 2017.
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\15\ The MD-715 report's self-assessment checklist is organized to
track the essential elements of a model EEO program. According to DHS,
although deficiencies are generally rolled up from component reports
into the Department report, some measures specifically apply to
components while other measures specifically apply to the Department.
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DHS components did not have action plans to address nearly half
(179 out of 369) of the deficiencies self-reported by all components
from fiscal years 2014 through 2017. For example, in fiscal year 2017,
4 DHS components did not have action plans to ensure that their EEO
directors report directly to their agency heads. EEOC guidance requires
that for each deficient measure, agencies are to develop an action plan
for correcting the deficiency.
CRCL officials told us that DHS and its components' MD-715 reports
met EEOC requirements for action plans for fiscal years 2014 through
2017 by providing explanations for, or briefly stating plans to
address, the majority of their deficiencies rather than developing
action plans identifying how each deficiency would be addressed.
Developing policies and procedures to help ensure components' EEO
programs have action plans for addressing deficiencies could help DHS
components better comply with EEOC requirements.
DHS and its components lack adequate staffing to address EEO
program deficiencies, in part, because CRCL and component EEO officials
told us that they do not have formal staffing models to assess
appropriate staffing of their EEO program sections.\16\ CRCL officials
said that each component EEO program section is unique with its own
assessments and measures by the leaders in charge of their funding and
staffing resources. However, EEOC MD-715 guidance states that an agency
must provide its EEO program with sufficient budget and staffing to be
able to successfully implement various activities.\17\ Developing and
utilizing formal staffing models--a tool to determine the number of
staff required--for their EEO programs could help DHS and its
components to identify, request, and obtain the staff they need.
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\16\ In DHS's fiscal year 2018 MD-715 report, 3 DHS components
self-identified insufficient budget and staffing to support the success
of aspects of their EEO programs.
\17\ EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity, Management Directive 715
(Oct. 1, 2003).
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Thus, in our recently-issued report, we recommended that: (1) DHS
component EEO Directors, in consultation with the Deputy Officer for
EEO and Diversity, should develop policies and procedures to help
ensure that their component EEO programs have action plans for
addressing deficiencies in their MD-715 reports, and (2) the Deputy
Officer for EEO and Diversity should develop a formal staffing model
for its EEO program.\18\ DHS concurred with the recommendations and
stated that it would implement them by April 30, 2020. In February
2020, CRCL officials told us that they are developing policies and
procedures for components to consider. They also told us that they are
collaborating with the DHS Management Directorate to develop a formal
staffing model for DHS's Department-wide EEO program.
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\18\ CRCL's deputy officer for EEO and diversity is the DHS
official responsible for DHS's EEO activities. The deputy officer for
EEO and diversity, along with the Secretary of Homeland Security (or
its designee), is to certify DHS's MD-715 report before CRCL sends the
report to EEOC.
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In addition, we recommended that DHS component EEO directors, in
collaboration with the deputy officer for EEO and diversity, develop
component formal staffing models. DHS concurred with the recommendation
and stated that it would implement it by July 31, 2020. In February
2020, CRCL officials told us that the DHS Management Directorate plans
to work with components to develop formal staffing models for their
individual EEO programs after the agency develops a formal staffing
model for the Department-wide EEO program.
dhs has plans to address the 9 areas of eeoc-identified noncompliance
DHS has plans to address the 9 areas of noncompliance in its EEO
program identified by EEOC. For example, in its July 2017 review of DHS
compliance with EEOC requirements, EEOC identified that DHS did not
provide complete demographic data on new hires and promotions in its
fiscal year 2016 report to EEOC. In April 2019, DHS officials told us
that the Department plans to report the data by collecting complete
data from DHS components in fiscal year 2019. In its fiscal year 2018
MD-715 report, which DHS sent to EEOC in July 2019, DHS stated that it
had collected and analyzed demographic data on new hires and
promotions.
dhs's eeo and human capital offices use a variety of means to oversee
and support components in identifying and addressing eeo barriers, but
need to strengthen oversight efforts
DHS's EEO and human capital offices assist and support DHS
components in identifying and addressing EEO barriers. For example,
CRCL meets with each component to obtain updates on their EEO efforts
and provide verbal feedback as they develop their MD-715 reports. DHS
components told us that they are generally satisfied with CRCL's
collaboration practices to identify and address EEO barriers. For
example, all 9 components required to submit MD-715 reports told us
that CRCL regularly meets with them and provides guidance on
identifying and addressing barriers.
From fiscal years 2014 through 2017, EEOC found areas of
noncompliance in DHS and its component EEO programs. We found that DHS
components had not responded timely and completely to areas of
noncompliance identified in EEOC feedback letters.\19\ According to
CRCL officials, CRCL does not have policies and procedures to ensure
that components have addressed EEOC's feedback letters in a complete
and timely manner. However, EEOC MD-715 guidance states that an
agency's EEO director ultimately is responsible for ensuring equal
opportunity throughout the entire agency. In addition, Standards for
Internal Control in the Federal Government states that management
should implement control activities through policies.\20\ Developing
policies and procedures for responding completely and timely to EEOC's
feedback letters may help the Department comply with EEOC guidance.
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\19\ EEOC sends these letters as part of its oversight
responsibility for Federal agencies' equal employment opportunity
programs to assess their compliance with Federal EEO laws, regulations,
and management directives.
\20\ GAO-14-704G.
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CRCL officials said they lack authority to ensure components'
compliance with EEOC requirements. Standards for Internal Control in
the Federal Government states that an effective management practice
includes periodically evaluating the agency's organizational structure
to ensure that it meets its objectives.\21\ DHS has not taken steps--in
consultation with EEOC and other agencies as relevant--to analyze
options to address EEO program management weaknesses. Specifically, it
has not analyzed alternatives for granting additional authorities to
the deputy officer for EEO and diversity to ensure DHS components
comply with MD-715 guidance, or assessed benefits and trade-offs of
each alternative. Without addressing these issues, DHS may not be
effectively positioned to manage its EEO program.
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\21\ Id.
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In our report, we recommended that the: (1) Deputy officer for EEO
and diversity develop policies and procedures for responding in a
complete and timely manner to EEOC's feedback letters, and (2) the
Secretary of Homeland Security--in consultation with CRCL and EEOC, and
other agencies and components, as relevant--analyze options for
granting additional authorities to the deputy officer for EEO and
diversity to ensure DHS components comply with MD-715 guidance,
including the authority of the deputy officer for EEO and diversity to
certify components' MD-715 reports.
DHS concurred with the recommendations and stated that it plans to
implement them by April 30, 2020. In February 2020, CRCL officials told
us they are developing policies and procedures for responding in a
complete and timely manner to EEOC's feedback letters. They also told
us that a cross-component working group, with input from EEOC subject-
matter experts, is developing a report benchmarking best practices at
similar Federal agencies that it expects to complete by the end of
March 2020.
In conclusion, as the third-largest U.S. Government department, the
challenges DHS has faced to fully implement effective EEO programs may
result in wide-spread negative consequences such as: (1) Monetary
expenses borne by the agency in connection with workplace disputes and
(2) decreased morale and productivity resulting from ineffective and
inefficient use of human capital resources. We found areas for
improvement in DHS and its components' EEO programs that could help
ensure success and compliance with MD-715. The commitment of DHS's
leadership is essential to successfully addressing these issues. By
focusing leadership attention on developing performance metrics,
policies and procedures, and staffing models, DHS and its components
can help improve their EEO programs by making progress toward
eliminating barriers, obtaining sufficient staffing, and addressing
areas of noncompliance.
Madam Chairwoman Torres Small, Ranking Member Crenshaw, and Members
of the subcommittee, this completes my prepared statement. I would be
pleased to respond to any questions you may have at this time.
Ms. Torres Small. I thank both witnesses for their
testimony.
I will remind each Member that he or she will have 5
minutes to question the panel.
I will now recognize myself for questions.
We heard today about the steps DHS has taken to improve the
diversity of its work force. I deeply want to acknowledge the
work that has been done since 2009. I appreciate the efforts
that you have put in place.
As Ms. Bailey noted, DHS's work force as a whole is
reasonably diverse, and thanks in large part to the diversity
in the work forces at CBP and TSA. But I do disagree slightly
with the comments about the diversity of leadership at the
senior leadership level. The Department still struggles to
promote women and racial minorities to leadership positions.
For example, at TSA, which is generally quite diverse, 55
percent of employees identify as minorities there. However,
only 21 percent are in leadership positions.
At DHS headquarters, 30 percent of employees are African
American, but only make up 8 percent of leadership. Women make
up less than a quarter of senior leaders at components like
Secret Service and CBP, and across the entire Department women
only hold 30 percent of leadership positions overall.
Ms. Bailey, has DHS performed any analysis specifically to
components like TSA and CBP which have a high work force
participation for racial minorities that is not reflected among
leadership?
Ms. Bailey. Yes, actually, we have. So thank you for the
question.
One of the things that we do within our program is we meet
with them on if not a monthly, but I think it is a quarterly
basis with each of the components to really identify what are
some of the opportunities that they might have to increase the
pipeline, because one of the things that we found is that with
our diversity within our SES, we firmly believe that building
the diversity of the pipeline at the 14 and 15 level is
significantly important for us.
So we have deployed a few strategies to make sure that we
get the word out and that they understand how they get, for
example, into the SES CDP program, just to give you an example.
So as a result of some of these specific tactical and
strategic efforts that we have had, we have actually increased
our pipeline, and we have been very pleased about that. So in
our pipeline, while we have 30 percent women in SES, our
pipeline is at 36 percent. While we are 22 percent diverse in
our SES, 34 percent diverse in our pipeline, just to give you
an example.
So what we have found is by building up the pipeline, by
giving them the opportunities, especially for our lower-graded
employees, creating career paths for them, giving them
rotational opportunities, et cetera, we are able to build a
more diverse SES.
Ms. Torres Small. Ms. Bailey, what specific analyses have
you done to create those findings or to establish those
findings?
Ms. Bailey. Oh, yes. So with regard to the specific
analysis, we have actually gone in and we dissect every single
ounce of the data that we have available to us. So we can pull
all of the demographic data, we can pull it by region, we can
pull it locally or by not just the specific component, but
within the organization.
Ms. Torres Small. Have you talked to employees about what
is keeping them from entering that pipeline at the 13 and 14
level?
Ms. Bailey. Yes. In our conversations with our employees,
some of the things go to--actually, it was some of the things
you mentioned in your opening statement.
Ms. Torres Small. I am sorry, was there a comprehensive
analysis? Did you produce any reports about it?
Ms. Bailey. No, we did not produce a report. Instead, what
we did is we just kind-of gathered the information, it is
within my office, but it wasn't done as a report.
Ms. Torres Small. Was it a questionnaire for the entire--
for TSA-wide or CBP-wide or just anecdotal conversation?
Ms. Bailey. Right. It was more focus groups. Like sitting
down with them and listening. Also working with the Diversity
and Inclusion Steering Committee that we have with all of the
components so that we can dig in a little bit deeper and
understand what are the barriers that are keeping some of them
from actually progressing within their career.
Ms. Torres Small. Thank you. I appreciate the anecdotal
work you have there. I think formalizing it could help capture
people who aren't always listened to or included in those
conversations and maybe some of the folks you are missing when
it comes to pipelines.
Switching now to the mentorship program for women in law
enforcement. Ms. Jones, GAO's report noted that DHS did not
have performance metrics to track the retention rate of women
in law enforcement positions. How has the Department responded
and addressed this issue, if at all?
Ms. Jones. We did include a recommendation in our report
saying that we thought that the Secretary should work with the
different units in the Department to develop performance
metrics. So DHS did agree with that recommendation.
We spoke to appropriate officials at DHS earlier this
month. They informed us that they are developing a proposal for
performance metrics, that it will be examined by the
appropriate units in DHS, and they do hope that they will have
developed a proposal by the end of this fiscal year.
Ms. Torres Small. The end of this fiscal year is the
deadline?
Ms. Jones. Pardon?
Ms. Torres Small. The end of this fiscal year is the
deadline?
Ms. Jones. Yes, that is the deadline that they indicated.
Ms. Torres Small. Thank you.
My time has expired. I now recognize for 5 minutes the
gentleman from Texas, Mr. Crenshaw.
Mr. Crenshaw. Thank you, Chairwoman.
Ms. Jones, in your testimony I saw a lot of mentions of
barriers and the importance of identifying and addressing those
barriers. So I want to get a better understanding of how you
define what constitutes a barrier and how you differentiate
between intentional barriers to promotion or hiring and
unintentional barriers and what you have identified at DHS.
Ms. Jones. OK. Well, a barrier--EEOC defines barrier as a
policy, a program, procedures, actions that may prevent
individuals in some groups from having the same kind of
opportunities, whether that is for hiring or promotion. Not
having the same opportunities as other groups in an
organization.
Mr. Crenshaw. What did you identify? Let's first start with
intentional barriers. Were there any intentional barriers
identified?
Ms. Jones. We did not.
Mr. Crenshaw. Then what about unintentional barriers? So
what exactly should we be looking at?
Ms. Jones. OK. So as I said, we didn't really identify
intentional barriers. DHS itself identified barriers, and they
define them as problems with supervision and management or lack
of advancement opportunities for some groups of staff, lack of
alternative work schedules. They also indicated that jobs in
some certain geographic locations, certain ethnic groups were
not applying in the same number or being hired in those
locations.
Mr. Crenshaw. OK.
Ms. Jones. They did identify barriers for people with
disabilities or targeted disabilities for certain positions in
law enforcement, that there are medical and physical
requirements that would be difficult for them to----
Mr. Crenshaw. Like they won't hire somebody with one eye or
something like that? It is a joke. You can laugh.
Ms. Jones. OK.
Mr. Crenshaw. So I will let Ms. Bailey then finish.
If DHS is the one that actually answered those questions,
then maybe you could expand on that list as well, Ms. Bailey.
Ms. Bailey. Yes, certainly.
So with regard to intentional, I want to just be really
clear that we do not have intentional barriers.
Mr. Crenshaw. Yes, that is good. We should clear that up.
That is why I asked.
Ms. Bailey. We do not have intentional barriers.
There are always going to be these unintended consequences
of some of the positions, some of the locations, some of the
things that we know that are going to be a barrier for women,
as an example.
So one of the things that we have done is really started to
dissect. This is where--I testified about this before--but this
is where our Employee and Family Readiness Council really kind-
of comes into play here. This is where going out and actually
talking to people and finding out what it is that is creating a
barrier for them and then addressing that.
So if it is things such as the remote locations, for
example, down on the border locations, then implementing
vocational programs that allow them after a couple of years the
opportunity to go to a more urban area so that they can make
sure that their spouses have employment, or they can make sure
that they have access to quality health care and things like
that. So that is one area that we have recognized.
Mr. Crenshaw. But does something like that affect
diversity? I mean, would a factor like that affect one
demographic group over another? It seems like that would affect
everybody.
Ms. Bailey. Yes, it would. You are absolutely right. It
would affect--it can affect everyone, right? It really depends
on the individual and things.
So I am not really trying to just call it out to be women,
and that probably was a mistake on my part, is to say that we
tried to actually implement those kinds of programs so that we
could allow people the opportunity to actually advance, if you
will.
So we also, though, have identified with regard to
supervisors in leadership, then we need to synchronize all of
our efforts between our leadership development programs, our
employee and family readiness programs, our inclusive diversity
programs, our engagement programs, because there cannot be all
these one-off programs that are all trying to attack and do the
same thing.
So by synchronizing these efforts and being very clear and
deliberate on what are the things that we want to deploy and
make sure that are available for all of our employees, then
what we found is that we are able then to raise up their
opportunities across the board.
Mr. Crenshaw. I am running out of time, so I will actually
stop there and maybe--well, maybe my last question would be,
what are the goals with respect to diversity? Is it simply
removing the barriers? Or are there proportional quotas that we
are actually looking for as well? Have those ever been
identified?
Ms. Bailey. No, we cannot have quotas.
So there are a couple of things here, and I would like to
say it this way. With diversity, we are not after filling
Noah's Ark. It cannot be that if you have 2 of everything,
therefore we are diverse.
To be honest, the most important thing for us is, is once
we get people on board, regardless--and, again, 1 out of every
2 DHS employee has identified themselves as being in some type
of diverse category. That doesn't even cover things like
generational diversity, right, or neurodisability, such as
autism and things like that.
So the definitions that we have are old-school. We need to
actually get new-school definitions of what diversity is really
all about.
But for us within DHS, once we have folks on board, then it
becomes in a way a colorblind kind of situation for us. What we
are really looking for instead is ensuring that they feel
included, that they feel like they are cared for, that they
understand that we have a compassionate need for what they are
doing.
Then, therefore, that helps them, we believe, not only do
we then have operational readiness, but it helps them provide
caring and compassionate service to the American public that
they serve.
Mr. Crenshaw. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Ms. Torres Small. Want to go for another quick round? OK. I
will recognize myself for another 5 minutes.
Just quickly, I appreciate the discussion my colleague was
having about the barrier analysis that was done by DHS. TSA
successfully did a barrier analysis.
However, there were other components, like FLETC and Secret
Service, that did not. In 2017, EEOC provided notice of
noncompliance to 6 of 8 DHS components and required 5 of those
to establish plans to correct those EEO deficiencies.
So 3 of those components, CBP, FEMA, and USCIS, never
provided a timely response to EEOC.
So, Ms. Bailey, what actions has the DHS headquarters taken
to coordinate with the components to ensure that they comply
with the EEOC requirements?
Ms. Bailey. So to speak within my program area, I can tell
you that one of the things that we are doing is, and I had
mentioned this a little bit earlier, but we sit down with each
component now and go over what are the barriers, not only to
recruiting----
Ms. Torres Small. Are you saying that complying with EEO
requirements is not within your area?
Ms. Bailey. Yes, correct. So as the CHCO, the Civil Rights
and Civil Liberties, our executive director, that would fall
under their purview. But I want to be clear that we work in
partnership together to address these things.
But I just want to make sure that I am speaking just for
the areas that I am responsible for. So with regard to that----
Ms. Torres Small. That is fine. That answers the question,
that you don't take on that responsibility. For that, you have
allowed Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to enforce those
requirements.
Ms. Bailey. That is correct.
Ms. Torres Small. OK. Moving on just quickly, also I
appreciate your comment about not wanting to work in silos and
finding ways to address the challenges.
I do appreciate you noting the challenges in hiring in
remote or hardship areas and finding some ways to prioritize
that. So that is something you have heard from CBP officers and
agents, for example?
Ms. Bailey. Yes, absolutely. We have done a tremendous
amount of listening tours where we have gone out and sat down.
So I do appreciate your comment about making sure that this is,
like, captured somewhere and in a report.
But I will tell you there is nothing more powerful than
sitting down with someone eyeball-to-eyeball and having a
conversation with them and really understanding what the issues
are, or what are the underlying issues, versus just sending out
a survey and they can check ``yes'' or ``no'' or 1 through 5,
how happy are they kind of thing. We don't really get to then
understand what their issues are.
By doing so, we were able to discover things like----
Ms. Torres Small. So, Ms. Bailey, I appreciate that. Just
to follow up on that, because I do agree that eyeball-to-
eyeball conversations can help you truly understand the
challenges folks are facing. Then the question is, what do you
do with that information?
Have you made a recommendation to CBP that they allow, for
example, after serving in hardship areas, to have
prioritization in being located in another place within the
sector.
Ms. Bailey. Yes, absolutely, and it is something that they
are actually adopting. One of the other things that they are
doing, as an example, is take child care. Rather than just a
subsidy, they are looking at things like how do we provide
child care that goes beyond the typical 9 to 5, just as an
example.
So they--CBP is very good about taking the information that
we are gathering because they are there with us when we do
these listening tours. We don't go out by ourselves. So they
kind-of have a list and they are going through the list. They
have one of probably the topnotch programs when it comes to
resiliency and trying to do the best that they can for their
employees.
Ms. Torres Small. It is something I am deeply focused on as
well, representing one of the most rural places along the
border. I represent about 179 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border,
and finding those solutions in recruitment and retention is
deeply important to the success of the security of our borders.
With that, I will yield the remainder of my time and
recognize for any additional questions my colleague from Texas,
the gentleman, Mr. Crenshaw.
Mr. Crenshaw. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
I just have one more I want to bring up, which was the
Inclusion Quotient or index in the Federal Employee Viewpoint
Survey. Ms. Bailey said 54 percent of employees responded
positively to the work force environment questions. How does
that compare to the rest of the Federal Government? How are we
doing?
Ms. Bailey. With regard to the rest of the Federal
Government, I think that we are slightly below, but we have
made tremendous progress. So we have gone up 5 percentage
points in the last 4 years.
But it is absolutely an area of room for improvement for
us. We don't, like, kind-of gloss over that and say that it is
not. So, again, one of the things that we are doing is making
sure that we are getting our efforts as synchronized as
possible so that we can go after what is the most important
things for our employees to make sure that they felt that they
are cared for in a very compassionate way.
Mr. Crenshaw. OK. Well, you know what? Actually I will go
back to our previous conversation about barriers. So we have
identified a couple, but it was such a short conversation. I
want to get maybe a couple more examples from you on barriers
identified that maybe prevent promotion or hiring and some
concrete examples or ideas of how we plan to fix that.
Ms. Bailey. OK. So with regard to--I will give you an
example of one of the barriers.
One of the things that we are trying to do with regard to
students--this is probably one of the best examples of why
things are kind-of broken, and we really appreciate your
support on our Enhanced Hiring Act. One of those has to do with
at the Coast Guard, at our shipyard in Baltimore, we actually
have these wonderful mentoring, coaching, internship programs
with some of the schools within Baltimore in the public
schools.
We have the diversity to see young African American women
who are being trained to be welders and painters and
electricians, and young Hispanics being able to get just a
wonderful career opportunity.
Then whenever we go to, like, convert them or be able to
give them the opportunity to actually work for us full-time in
the Coast Guard, we have to then turn around and say to them:
Hey, by the way, why don't you go apply on USAJobs with a
thousand other people? Then they don't even make the certs for
the very jobs that we provided them an opportunity for,
interned them, and also provided them, you know, wonderful
coaching and mentoring.
So it is shameful that we have rules on the books that
don't even allow us the opportunity to give kids an
opportunity, come in, and then tell them that they have to
throw that career away because they did not make the cert.
Mr. Crenshaw. So we are actually training them in those
skill sets as contractors? Is that----
Ms. Bailey. No, as Federal employees.
Mr. Crenshaw. As Federal employees, but they can't then
apply to the Coast Guard?
Ms. Bailey. They can apply, but they are applying with a
thousand other people, right?
Mr. Crenshaw. Right. Right. USAJobs. Yes, we know.
Ms. Bailey. So what happens then is that they are not going
to--typically they are not going to then make the list. They
are not going to be able to--you know, maybe they don't know
how to write their resume correctly or whatever the answer
might be.
So what are we doing about that? We are saying, OK, these
are the rules. So now we sit down with them and we help them.
Here is how you write a Federal resume. Here are the things
that you need to do.
The other thing that we are doing is rather than just
having the H.R. office now say whether they are qualified or
not, no, give it to the actual welder who is at the Coast Guard
and let them decide who is qualified to be a welder and stuff.
So in other words, engaging the subject-matter expert.
So while it irritates me that we cannot have a simplified
way of getting students on board into DHS, we are not going to
let it be an excuse for why we are not going to do everything
in our power to get these kids into these really exceptional
careers.
Mr. Crenshaw. Great to know. Thank you.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. Torres Small. Thank you.
The Chairwoman now recognizes for 5 minutes the gentlewoman
from California, Ms. Barragan.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you.
Ms. Jones, in July 2019--rather, the July 2019 report on
DHS's Equal Employment Opportunity Program, GAO found that DHS
was not fully tracking data on the demographics of its job
applicants, such as their race and sex, which is important for
identifying and addressing potential recruitment and outreach
barriers. According to the same report, DHS reported challenges
in collecting Department-wide data that could help identify
potential barriers.
Can you tell us more about the importance of this data,
especially in the context of an EEO program, and what are the
challenges that DHS faces in collecting and using this data?
Ms. Jones. Yes, I can.
So, first of all, the demographic data is really important.
I mean, the technical term is applicant flow data. But having
comprehensive data, and an agency having the capability of
analyzing it, means that they get some sense of whether their
recruitment efforts are working or not because they can see who
is applying to what positions and they can get a sense of the
efficiency and inclusivity of their efforts.
One of the challenges at DHS is that they don't have
Department-wide applicant flow data. They have two different
applicant systems with different data. So what they have to do
is more--I would call it more manually take data from the two
systems and then compare it and analyze it.
So one of our recommendations in our July report was that
they develop a Department-wide system. As a matter of fact,
they have agreed with that and they are going to try to develop
that kind of system. But it will require the support of DHS
leadership to develop that system.
Ms. Barragan. Do we know if it is a matter of resources or
time or what the barrier is to get it moving?
Ms. Jones. We were told partly that it is a matter of
resources, which would be both budget and staff.
Ms. Barragan. OK. According to an internal study conducted
in 2018, DHS found that several minority groups, women, and
people with disabilities were leaving the Department in higher
than expected rates. The top 3 reasons for departures among
these groups were: No. 1, problems with supervision or
management; No. 2, lack of advancement and opportunities; and
No. 3 was personal or family-related reasons.
Ms. Jones, do you believe DHS is doing enough to address
these issues?
Ms. Jones. I think DHS is certainly aware of them and that
they are taking steps to address them.
We cannot be sure, and I think DHS cannot be sure if it is
doing enough, because it doesn't have performance metrics which
would allow it to assess what it is doing against its ultimate
objectives.
So that is why we recommended that the Department develop
performance metrics which would allow it to assess progress
against all of the goals that it sets for itself and against
the issues that it identifies when it does its MD-715 analysis
for the Department and for each component.
Ms. Barragan. How long have you been in your position as
the Director?
Ms. Jones. Pardon?
Ms. Barragan. How long have you been in your current
position?
Ms. Jones. Sixteen years.
Ms. Barragan. In your 16 years, have you seen more women at
the top at the decision-making table? Have you seen
improvements?
Ms. Jones. You mean at DHS?
Ms. Barragan. Yes.
Ms. Jones. Or across the Federal Government?
Ms. Barragan. Well, let's stick with DHS.
Ms. Jones. Well, I actually--I have to say that we did not
look at that particular issue at DHS. We do know that there are
more women at the top. But our report was focused on the
processes and procedures for completing their MD-715 reports. I
would have to defer to Ms. Bailey in terms of actual numbers of
increases of women.
Ms. Barragan. OK.
Ms. Bailey, you may have heard about the 2018 internal
study where I listed the 3 reasons people were leaving at
higher rates. What steps is the Department taking to address
each of these areas, the 3 areas that I mentioned?
Ms. Bailey. Thank you for your question.
So with regard to the 3 areas--and I had mentioned this a
little bit earlier--but we are synchronizing our efforts with
regard to this.
So with regard to supervision, we had, I think it was 2
years ago, the Year of the Leader, where we put a concerted
effort into all of our leadership development programs. It is
not just for our SES, but we also created a Bridges program and
a few other programs and a joint fellows program so that we
could get down at the 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 level and not just the
SES.
So our goal is to build a cadre of leaders at a level that
is lower than just at the SES level so that we can create these
career advancement opportunities, and also to focus in on the
leadership development for our current leaders, and not just
about the nuts and bolts of how to be a supervisor, but
actually how to care for the employees, how to make sure that
we address what their concerns are, so that we can actually
make sure that they can carry out their missions.
I think the third one was the family issues, I think was
the third one. With regard to that, we put a concerted efforts
into our Employee and Family Readiness program to ensure that
we are addressing their needs.
Ms. Torres Small. Thank you, Ms. Bailey.
The gentlewoman's time has expired.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you. I yield back.
Ms. Torres Small. I thank all the witnesses for their
valuable testimony and the Members for their questions.
The Members of the subcommittee may have additional
questions for the witnesses, and we ask that you respond
expeditiously in writing to those questions. Without objection,
the committee record shall be kept open for 10 days.
Hearing no further business, the subcommittee stands
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:43 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]