Federal Affirmative Employment: Status of Women and Minority Representation in Federal Law Enforcement Occupations

GAO discussed its analysis of female and minority representation in federal law enforcement occupations, focusing on: (1) nine federal agencies; and (2) persons covered by special federal law enforcement retirement provisions. GAO noted that from the end of fiscal year (FY) 1987 to the end of FY 1991: (1) of its ten race/gender personnel groupings, all except the two American Indian groups showed more increases than decreases and no changes in their numbers; (2) as a percentage of the work force, white women, Hispanic men and women, and Asian men and women showed more increases, while white men, black men and women, and American Indian men and women showed more decreases and no changes in numbers; (3) when representation was compared by group and occupation to the comparable civilian work-force representation, women and minorities were generally underrepresented; (4) in the agencies' largest personnel pool, the criminal investigation occupation, white women were better represented than minority men, who were, in turn, better represented than minority women; (5) the representation of white and minority women declined as grade levels increased; (6) among senior executive corps personnel, there were no white or minority women in the Departments of Justice or Treasury agencies, and there were five women, four of whom were white, at the Postal Inspection Service; and (7) among senior executives, minority men comprised 3 percent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 28 percent at other Department of Justice agencies, 5 percent at Department of the Treasury agencies, and 8 percent at the Postal Inspection Service.