Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

1965 1801 L St. NW, Washington, DC 20507 202-663-4900 $303 million 2,659 The EEOC investigates charges of job discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or age. The commission is responsible for the federal sector employment discrimination program. It also provides funding and support to state and local agencies dealing with fair employment practices, and conducts outreach and technical assistance programs. Chairman (designate) 202-663-4900 Dominguez, 52, has worked to shatter the "glass ceiling" since the late 1980s, when she directed the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Reviewing OFCCP data collected over 25 years, Dominguez noticed that women and minorities were not advancing to the upper echelons of the corporate world, even when they had impressive credentials. In 1989, she launched a two-year study of efforts to ensure that women and minorities got opportunities to advance within Fortune 500 companies. That project led to the Glass Ceiling Commission, a 21-member panel established by the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Dominguez says progress has been made since the commission released its report in 1995, but she thinks that the glass is far from shattered. Originally from Havana, Cuba, Dominguez immigrated to the United States as a child in 1961. Her mother worked nights as a hospital emergency room technician for six years to support the family, until her father could join them here. A graduate of American University, Dominguez began her career in 1974 as a civil servant at OFCCP. She left the department during the Reagan Administration to become a vice president at Bank of America in San Francisco. She was lured back to the Labor Department by then-Secretary Elizabeth Dole, appointed director of OFCCP in 1989, and then assistant secretary for employment standards in 1991. Dominguez left for the private sector again in 1993. Most recently she served as a principal at Dominguez and Associates, a consulting firm based in Gaithersburg, Md., that deals with workforce issues. Chairwoman 202-663-4900 Since being chosen by President Clinton in 1998 to head the EEOC, Castro has helped steer the agency out of troubled waters. For years, the EEOC-the nation's leading enforcer of job discrimination laws-has struggled to process discrimination complaints more efficiently. During Castro's first year, the agency cut the backlog of private-sector charges by 23 percent to a 15-year low. It also launched a nationwide mediation program and obtained millions of dollars on behalf of discrimination victims. This year, Castro will continue those efforts, but not as chairwoman. She can remain at the EEOC as a commissioner. Castro, 49, came to the EEOC from the Labor Department, where she directed the office of workers' compensation programs and was acting director of the Women's Bureau. Before that, she was a labor and employment lawyer. Born in New York City, Castro received a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, and M.A. and J.D. degrees from Rutgers University of New Jersey. Vice Chairman 202-663-4900 During World War II, the civil rights of Igasaki's parents and grandparents were abused, when they were imprisoned in relocation camps because they were of Japanese descent. Today, Paul Igasaki helps enforce civil rights laws as EEOC vice chairman. Appointed in 1995, he has made his mark by streamlining EEOC procedures. Also, Igasaki brought an important sexual harassment case against Mitsubishi Motors on behalf of hundreds of women at an Illinois plant. It ended in a $34 million settlement, the largest in agency history. Before that, he was executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, a San Francisco-based civil rights organization. He also served as a Washington representative of the Japanese-American Citizens League and as the first director of the Chicago Commission on Asian-American Affairs. Born and raised in the Chicago area, Igasaki, 46, received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his J.D. from the University of California (Davis). If Bush names a new vice chairman, Igasaki can serve as a commissioner until 2003.decision makers