Workplace sexual harassment is illegal. But how prevalent is it? And how costly are legal fees, lost productivity, and other consequences? We found few reliable nationwide estimates across workplaces. Experts say recurring national surveys would help answer these questions. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission collects data on sexual harassment claims but can't fully analyze the problem. Sp...

We testified about our recent report on sexual harassment at the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA has policies to prevent and address harassment, but some are inconsistent and incomplete. For example, the person who oversees personnel functions (e.g., hiring, promotions) is the same person who oversees the complaint process. This can create a conflict of interest. In addition, VA doesn't central...

The Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex—has thousands of employees and supports or funds thousands of academic appointees such as interns and researchers. We looked at Smithsonian’s process for responding to sexual harassment complaints and found: Supervisors lack written guidance on addressing complaints No process for tracking complaints...

We testified about the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to ensure equal opportunity in employment at DHS. For example, DHS uses things like employee surveys to help identify potential barriers and reported some improvements in representation of minorities and women from FY 2014 through 2017. However, it lacks performance metrics for tracking its progress. Last year, we made 6 recommen...

Federal law prohibits employers from employment discrimination based on race and gender (among other things). The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) are the primary agencies that enforce these laws. We testified about challenges these agencies face in ensuring that employers meet equal employment...

The estimated percentage of minority technology workers increased from 2005 to 2015, but GAO found that no growth occurred for female and Black workers, whereas Asian and Hispanic workers made statistically significant increases (see figure). Further, female, Black, and Hispanic workers remain a smaller proportion of the technology workforce—mathematics, computing, and engineering occupations—...

This is an e-supplement to GAO-16-62. It presents the results from GAO's survey of 57 senior CFPB executives as of January 31, 2015. A total of 36 senior executives responded to our executive survey for a response rate of 63 percent. GAO excluded responses to demographic and open-ended narrative questions...

Nonexecutive employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) who responded to GAO's survey identified strengths and areas for improvement in CFPB's personnel practices and culture. Most respondents agreed that enthusiasm for CFPB's mission is high and that immediate supervisors respect and value differences among individuals. However, GAO's survey found heightened concerns related to...

The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is the primary federal entity charged with enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin (i.e., protected classes). The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review the Division's enforcement efforts and its Interactive Case Management S...

The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is the primary federal entity charged with enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin in such areas as voting, employment, housing, public accommodations, the rights of institutionalized persons, and education. Each year, the Division initiates tho...