Data collected under Management Directive 715 "shows that the federal government has increased the diversity of its workforce, particularly at the senior pay level." We Are / Getty Images
EEOC touts more than two decades of data-based agency anti-discrimination policy
Management Directive 715, which debuted in 2003, has improved EEO data collection in the federal workforce, providing better insights.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is celebrating more than 20 years of a “working, living” management directive that has promoted efforts to eliminate and prevent discrimination at federal agencies.
EEOC issued Management Directive 715 on Oct. 1, 2003, and it superseded previous affirmative action management directives — mandating more extensive data collection. For example, it required agencies to collect information on their permanent and temporary workforces by race, national origin and sex.
The directive also requires agencies to annually update their EEO policy statements and perform self-assessments to prevent discrimination.
Agency officials touted the directive in an article published by EEOC as an important tool providing insights in how the federal government can be more effective in uncovering and preventing potential discrimination in its agencies.
“Two decades of data from MD-715 shows that the federal government has increased the diversity of its workforce, particularly at the senior pay level. MD-715 has also made it easier to collect data and identify barriers affecting specific EEO groups in the federal workforce.”
MD-715 was the first new EEOC management directive since 1987. In 2013, EEOC launched an online system that enabled it to collect anti-discrimination data from agencies electronically, making analysis easier.
Between fiscal years 2003 to 2021, the number of women at the federal senior pay level has increased from 25.5% to 39.3%. There also have been increases in participation rates at such level for Black, Hispanic and Asian employees.
However EEOC acknowledged that some groups were still underrepresented at the senior pay level compared to the government’s permanent workforce. In fiscal 2021, Hispanic workers made up 5.1% of individuals in the senior pay grade despite being 10.1% of the overall federal workforce. For Black employees, the relative comparison is 12.6% and 20.5% respectively.
Relatedly, the Office of Personnel Management in July encouraged agencies to conduct analyses to discover pay disparities along gender or racial and ethnic lines among their workforces.
Government Accountability Office in 2023 found that Hispanic representation in the federal workforce was lagging behind the overall U.S. civilian labor force.
“Ensuring equal opportunity for all federal workers requires constant effort and vigilance,” said Dexter Brooks, associate director of the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations, in a statement. “Looking toward the future, the EEOC will continue to monitor MD-715 data to ensure equal employment opportunity for all in the federal sector.”