Diversity

Embracing authenticity: A call to action for federal employees for Pride Month and Juneteenth

COMMENTARY | “Being authentic isn’t just ‘speaking your truth,’ it also means paying attention to the comfort level of others and respecting our own boundaries,” writes one long-time federal employee.

Republicans look to 'dismantle' DEI efforts at federal agencies

New bill would strike down President Biden's diversity efforts and create strict rules preventing such initiatives.

Agencies’ best tool in closing talent gaps: Diversity, equity and inclusion

COMMENTARY | By keeping DEI at the heart of recruitment and retention strategies, government leaders can address some of the complex challenges our country faces day in and out.

Federal documents don’t provide enough checkboxes for all AAPI ethnicities. That may be about to change

AAPI researchers are celebrating the federal government’s new standards for collecting more detailed race and ethnicity data, in which respondents are able to report their country of origin.

OPM guidance details when agencies can ask about applicants' criminal history

Though the federal government had already implemented a form of “ban the box” administratively, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act necessitated an update of the policy.

How transforming federal workforce culture can enhance safety and productivity

COMMENTARY | It takes more than annual check-the-box training and motivational posters to bring about change.

Top women officials say there’s more work to do on gender balance in government tech

Women seem to be far more common in government’s top tech leadership positions than they used to be, but “we are far from done,” one such leader warns.

Biden administration finalizes first demographics data standards update in nearly 30 years

No longer will “race” and “ethnicity” be bifurcated into separate questions in federal datasets and questionnaires such as the U.S. Census, and people of Middle Eastern or North African ancestry will have their own distinct category.

Biden just signed the largest executive order focused on women’s health

From maternal health to menopause, federal agencies will study the health issues that emerge across a woman’s lifespan.

How diverse candidates can better navigate the security clearance process

COMMENTARY | Simple steps can make the security clearance process less of a barrier to keeping diverse candidates out of government careers.

USDA's equity commission urges 'sweeping and generational change'

The independent commission’s report also included some to-do items for lawmakers.

Agencies need to beef up sexual harassment training for employees, GAO says

Selected federal agencies and components of the Defense Department have only partially implemented an array of training practices aimed at preventing sexual harassment and do not sufficiently evaluate the effectiveness of their existing training programs, the watchdog found.

The new FAFSA was supposed to be easier to use. Technical glitches have made it anything but

Marginalized students may have the most to lose as the Education Department’s rollout of the new college financial aid application has hit several bumps.

OPM’s 2024 equity goals aim to expand data-based approach

The federal government’s HR agency plans to expand the use of data to analyze recruitment barriers for underserved communities as well as outreach at minority-serving educational institutions in the coming year.

OPM offers guidance for agencies implementing salary history ban

Federal agencies will have until October to excise the solicitation and use of job candidates’ past compensation when setting pay for new hires.

Biden administration to extend salary history ban to federal contractors

Officials said that new proposed regulations, released in conjunction with a final rule barring federal agencies from soliciting job applicants’ salary histories, will reduce pay disparities and improve the effectiveness of the federal contract workforce.

OPM: Federal salaries won't be tied to private sector pay histories

Agencies can’t use non-federal salaries to help set pay for new or returning federal employees, under a new rule from the Office of Personnel Management.