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As of June 4, 2023, there are 4877 open recommendations that still need to be addressed. 503 of these are priority recommendations, those that we believe warrant priority attention. Learn more about our priority designation on our Recommendations page.

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1 - 20 of 68 Recommendations, including 5 Priority Recommendations

Women in Special Operations: Improvements to Policy, Data, and Assessments Needed to Better Understand and Address Career Barriers

GAO-23-105168
Brenda S. Farrell
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8 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should revise Army policy for prohibited discrimination—specifically, provisions related to such incidents occurring in joint environments—to ensure that the Army policy aligns with DOD policy. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Commandant of the Marine Corps revises Marine Corps policy for prohibited discrimination and harassment—specifically, provisions related to such incidents occurring in joint environments—to ensure that the Marine Corps policy aligns with DOD policy. (Recommendation 2)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should revise Department of the Air Force policy for prohibited discrimination and harassment—specifically, provisions related to such incidents occurring in joint environments—to ensure that the Department of the Air Force policy aligns with DOD policy. (Recommendation 3)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, in coordination with the Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command; the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness; and the Secretaries of the military departments, establishes a collaborative process for the timely sharing of accurate and complete data on SOCOM personnel, including data on incidents of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. (Recommendation 4)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness clearly documents and communicates which office has responsibility for the required annual assessments regarding the full integration of women into previously closed positions. (Recommendation 5)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness establishes a consistent process for the use of the required annual assessments regarding the full integration of women into previously closed positions. The process should include a plan of action to guide efforts to address any barriers to women's service in U.S. Special Operations Forces identified in the assessments. (Recommendation 6)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, in coordination with the Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, completes a comprehensive analysis of barriers regarding women in U.S. Special Operations Forces. (Recommendation 7)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, in coordination with the Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, upon completion of a comprehensive analysis of barriers regarding women in U.S. Special Operations Forces, develops a plan of action to address any barriers or career impediments to women's service in U.S. Special Operations Forces identified in the analysis, with goals, objectives, metrics, and milestones. (Recommendation 8)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Oversight of the Length of the Charge Intake Process is Needed

GAO-23-106245
Dawn Locke
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The Chair of the EEOC should monitor field office-level data on the length of the intake process. For example, EEOC could monitor these data by including them in the monthly internal management reports it produces. (Recommendation 1)
Open

EEOC concurred with this recommendation. EEOC officials said that the agency is modernizing its charge management system, and as it does so it will evaluate what additional data points need to be captured to track the length of the intake process. We will monitor the progress of these efforts.

K-12 Education: Department of Education Should Provide Information on Equity and Safety in School Dress Codes

GAO-23-105348
Jacqueline M. Nowicki
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should provide resources to help districts and schools design equitable dress codes to promote a supportive and inclusive learning environment. (Recommendation 1)
Open

Education neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. The agency described efforts it plans to take to address this recommendation: we will monitor the agency's progress on these efforts.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should include dress code information in existing resources on safe and supportive schools. This information could include examples of dress codes that safeguard students' privacy and body autonomy. (Recommendation 2)
Open

Education neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. The agency described efforts it plans to take to address this recommendation: we will monitor the agency's progress on these efforts.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should provide resources for states, school districts, and schools on the equitable enforcement of discipline, including dress code discipline. These resources should include information that helps states, school districts, and schools address potential disparities and disproportionality in dress code enforcement, as appropriate. (Recommendation 3)
Open

Education neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. The agency described efforts it plans to take to address this recommendation: we will monitor the agency's progress on these efforts.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should collect information on the prevalence and effects of informal removals and non-exclusionary discipline and disseminate this information to states, school districts, and schools. (Recommendation 4)
Open

Education neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. Education officials said that through a formal comment process, the agency is soliciting specific input from the public on questions related to informal removals, and that the responses will inform OCR's proposed information collection request for the CRDC's 2025-26 school year collection. However, it also said it does not have mechanisms for collecting information on the effects of these practices. Education also said that IES is authorized to evaluate federal education programs but that the department does not have a discrete

Workforce Diversity: Hispanic Workers Are Underrepresented in the Media, and More Data Are Needed for Federal Enforcement Efforts

GAO-22-104669
Dawn Locke
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The Chair of EEOC should work with FCC to develop a new memorandum of understanding that includes a plan for EEOC to routinely share data with FCC regarding discrimination charges filed against broadcasters and cable and satellite television operators. (Recommendation 1)
Open

EEOC neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation, but agreed that federal data sharing can help agencies address employment discrimination. EEOC noted current and planned efforts to address this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's progress and consider closing the recommendation when these efforts are complete.
Federal Communications Commission The Chair of FCC should work with EEOC to develop a new memorandum of understanding that includes a plan for EEOC to routinely share data with FCC regarding discrimination charges filed against broadcasters and cable and satellite television operators. (Recommendation 2)
Open

FCC agreed with this recommendation and described their initial efforts to work collaboratively with EEOC to address it. We will monitor the agency's progress and consider closing the recommendation when these efforts are complete.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The Chair of EEOC should improve EEOC's approach to routinely identify local unions required to file an EEO-3 report to help ensure that they file such reports on the demographics of union members. (Recommendation 3)
Open

EEOC neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation, but agreed that data quality is critical to enforcing the nation's equal employment opportunity laws. EEOC noted current and planned efforts to address this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's progress and consider closing the recommendation when these efforts are complete.

State Department: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Workplace Diversity and Inclusion

GAO-22-105182
Jason L. Bair
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure the Office of Diversity and Inclusion establish performance measures for State's DEIA-related goals and objectives in the workplace and develop a process to evaluate progress. (Recommendation 1)
Open

State concurred with this recommendation. As of February 2023, the State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion was leading an effort to draft quantitative and qualitative performance outcome measures for the department's DEIA Strategic Plan, according to State. State's DEIA Strategic Plan Implementation Team planned to reconvene in early 2023 to reach consensus on the adoption and inclusion of the draft outcome measures, among other things. According to State, when the draft outcome measures are approved by the Implementation Team, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion will update the DEIA
Department of State The Secretary of State should develop and implement additional actions to enhance accountability for workplace DEIA goals, including for managers and supervisors, such as analyzing the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms. (Recommendation 2)
Open

State concurred with this recommendation. In February 2023, State officials noted, among other things, that the department is deploying new DEIA-specific competency requirements for Civil Service employees in the 2023 performance management cycle. State also noted that the department issued new decision criteria for Foreign Service tenure and promotion that includes performance objectives for diversity and inclusion in the current 2022-2023 evaluation cycle. We will continue to monitor State's progress on implementing this recommendation
Department of State The Secretary of State should create a plan to improve State's barrier analysis process that ensures all steps of the process are followed. (Recommendation 3)
Open

State concurred with this recommendation. As of February 2023, State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion and DEIA Data Working Group were developing a Standardized Operating Procedure to guide the department's barrier analyses, according to State. The group was also developing a template for Memorandum of Understandings that will be signed between the group and any other State elements that conduct barrier analyses. State anticipated these documents would be finalized by the end of April 2023. We will continue to monitor State's progress on implementing this recommendation.
Department of State The Secretary of State should improve the department's statistical methodology to ensure it is appropriate for identifying potential barriers to diversity. (Recommendation 4)
Open

State concurred with this recommendation. As of February 2023, State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion and DEIA Data Working Group were continuing to collaborate on methodological approaches and statistical applications to mature and improve its statistical methodology for the quantitative aspect of barrier analyses, according to State. State noted that the DEIA Data Working Group now examines magnitudes of disparity between expected and actual applicant flow outcomes when analyzing quantitative workforce and applicant flow data. We will continue to monitor State's progress on implementing
Note: the list of open recommendations for the last report may continue on the next page.

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