Human Capital: Workforce Diversity Governmentwide and at the	 
Department of Homeland Security (21-MAY-08, GAO-08-815T).	 
                                                                 
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created from a	 
disparate group of agencies with multiple missions, values, and  
cultures into a cabinet department whose goals are to, among	 
other things, protect U.S. borders and infrastructure, improve	 
intelligence and information sharing, and prevent and respond to 
potential terrorist attacks. GAO designated the implementation	 
and transformation of DHS as a high-risk area in 2003, and it	 
remains so. While DHS has made progress, it continues to face	 
challenges in transforming into an effective, integrated	 
organization. In response to a request to provide information on 
diversity in DHS and steps DHS is taking to create and manage a  
diverse workforce, GAO is providing demographic data related to  
the federal government as a whole and DHS's workforce. GAO	 
obtained these data from the Office of Personnel Management's	 
(OPM) Central Personnel Data File (CPDF). GAO used its past work 
on leading diversity management practices (GAO-05-90) and	 
reviewed data from DHS on its diversity management practices.	 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-08-815T					        
    ACCNO:   A82160						        
  TITLE:     Human Capital: Workforce Diversity Governmentwide and at 
the Department of Homeland Security				 
     DATE:   05/21/2008 
  SUBJECT:   Career planning					 
	     Demography 					 
	     Diversity management				 
	     Employee incentives				 
	     Employee promotions				 
	     Employee retention 				 
	     Employment assistance programs			 
	     Employment of minorities				 
	     Fair employment programs				 
	     Federal agencies					 
	     Federal agency reorganization			 
	     Human capital					 
	     Human capital management				 
	     Human capital planning				 
	     Labor force					 
	     Minorities 					 
	     Pay bands						 
	     Personnel management				 
	     Personnel recruiting				 
	     Risk management					 
	     Staff utilization					 
	     Strategic planning 				 
	     Women						 
	     program goals or objectives			 
	     Program implementation				 
	     GAO High Risk Series				 

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GAO-08-815T

This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-08-815T 
entitled 'Human Capital: Workforce Diversity Governmentwide and at the 
Department of Homeland Security' which was released on May 21, 2008. 

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Testimony: 

Before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 

GAO: 

For Release on Delivery Expected at 10:00 a.m. EDT: 

Wednesday, May 21, 2008: 

Human Capital: 

Workforce Diversity Governmentwide and at the Department of Homeland 
Security: 

Statement of George H. Stalcup Director Strategic Issues: 

GAO-08-815T: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-08-815T, a testimony before the Committee on Homeland 
Security, House of Representatives. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created from a disparate 
group of agencies with multiple missions, values, and cultures into a 
cabinet department whose goals are to, among other things, protect U.S. 
borders and infrastructure, improve intelligence and information 
sharing, and prevent and respond to potential terrorist attacks. GAO 
designated the implementation and transformation of DHS as a high-risk 
area in 2003, and it remains so. While DHS has made progress, it 
continues to face challenges in transforming into an effective, 
integrated organization. 

In response to a request to provide information on diversity in DHS and 
steps DHS is taking to create and manage a diverse workforce, GAO is 
providing demographic data related to the federal government as a whole 
and DHSï¿½s workforce. GAO obtained these data from the Office of 
Personnel Managementï¿½s (OPM) Central Personnel Data File (CPDF). GAO 
used its past work on leading diversity management practices (GAO-05-
90) and reviewed data from DHS on its diversity management practices. 

What GAO Found: 

Data in OPMï¿½s CPDF show that as of September 2007, the overall 
percentages of women and minorities have increased in the career SES 
governmentwide, the highest nonpolitically appointed leaders in the 
federal workforce, and the SES developmental pool for potential 
successors since September 2003. 

Table: 

Governmentwide: SES; 
September 2003: Number: 6,221; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 26.4; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 15.2; 
September 2007: Number: 6,555; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 29.1; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 15.8. 

Governmentwide: SES potential developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s); 
 2003: Number: 152,123; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 30.4; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 18.8; 
September 2007: Number: 149,149; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 34.3; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 22.5. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

[End of table] 

As part of GAOï¿½s recent analysis of the diversity of the SES and the 
SES developmental pool, GAO reviewed career, or permanent, SES 
appointments at DHS and DHSï¿½s SES developmental pool. 

Table: 

DHS: SES; 
September 2003: Number: 208; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 21.2; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 15.9; 
September 2007: Number: 325; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 26.2; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 13.2. 

DHS: SES potential developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s); 
September 2003: Number: 6,525; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 30.2; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 19.5; 
September 2007: Number: 10,107; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 32.5; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 24.1.  

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

[End of table] 

During this 4-year period, the total number of career SES and those in 
the SES developmental pool for potential successors increased at DHS. 
The percentage of women in the SES increased, while the percentage of 
minorities decreased. For the SES developmental pool, the percentage of 
women and minorities increased. While GAO did not analyze the factors 
that contributed to changes in DHSï¿½s workforce for this period, OPM and 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in their oversight roles 
require federal agencies, including DHS, to analyze their workforces. 

As part of a strategic human capital planning approach, agencies need 
to develop long-term strategies for acquiring, developing, motivating, 
and retaining a diverse workforce. An agencyï¿½s human capital planning 
should address the demographic trends that the agency faces with its 
workforce, especially retirements, which provide opportunities for 
agencies to affect the diversity of their workforces. DHS reported 
taking steps to affect the diversity of its workforce. These steps are 
consistent with several leading diversity management practices: (1) a 
diversity strategy as part of its strategic plan, (2) recruitment, (3) 
employee involvement, and (4) succession planning. For example, DHS 
cited its use of intern programs for recruiting and its implementation 
of two leadership development programs for managing succession. GAO has 
not conducted a review of DHSï¿½s diversity management efforts; 
therefore, it cannot comment on the effectiveness of DHSï¿½s 
implementation of these practices. 

To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-815T]. For more 
information, contact George Stalcup at (202) 512-6806 or 
[email protected] 

[End of section] 

Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member King, and Members of the Committee: 

I am pleased to be here today to provide the Committee with information 
on diversity of the federal workforce and at the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS), which was created from a disparate group of 22 agencies 
with multiple missions, values, and cultures into a cabinet department 
whose goals are to, among other things, protect U.S. borders and 
infrastructure, improve intelligence and information sharing, and 
prevent and respond to potential terrorist attacks. Since its inception 
in March 2003, DHS has faced enormous challenges related to protecting 
the nation from terrorism while organizing its predecessor agencies-- 
several with existing program and management challenges--into a 
coherent and integrated department. 

Because these challenges could have serious consequences for the 
security of our country, we designated the department's implementation 
and transformation a high-risk area in 2003 and reiterated our concerns 
in January 2005 and again in January 2007.[Footnote 1] One key 
challenge DHS has faced is effectively and strategically managing its 
sizable workforce of nearly 167,000 employees in order to respond to 
current and emerging 21st century challenges.[Footnote 2] Strategic 
human capital management must be the centerpiece of any serious change 
management strategy. Also, given the changing demographics of our 
society, diversity management is a key aspect of strategic human 
capital management. Developing a workforce that reflects all segments 
of society and our nation's diversity is a significant part of an 
agency's transformation of its organization to meet the challenges of 
the 21st century. 

Today, as requested, my remarks will focus on demographic data related 
to career positions in the federal government as a whole and DHS's 
workforce as well as actions the department has reported taking to 
create and manage a diverse workforce. For our analyses of 
governmentwide career and DHS career demographic data, we extracted 
data from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Central Personnel 
Data File (CPDF) and analyzed these data to identify the extent of 
changes in the representation of women and minorities in DHS's 
workforce between September 2003 and September 2007. However, we did 
not analyze the factors that contributed to changes identified in DHS's 
workforce over this 4-year period. We believe the CPDF is sufficiently 
reliable for the informational purpose of this testimony. We previously 
reported that governmentwide data from the CPDF for the key variables 
reported in this testimony--agency, gender, race or national origin, 
and pay plan or grade--were 96 percent or more accurate.[Footnote 3] We 
also obtained information from DHS on recruitment and other strategies 
used to develop and sustain a diverse workforce. We conducted this 
performance audit in May 2008 in accordance with generally accepted 
government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and 
perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide 
a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit 
objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable 
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

In summary, when comparing DHS-wide data to governmentwide 
representation data, the greatest differences were among Hispanic men 
and White women--in both 2003 and 2007 the representation of Hispanic 
men was more than 10 percentage points higher than the representation 
governmentwide, and for White women, the representation was nearly 10 
percentage points lower. When reviewing representation by pay plan/ 
grades, among the higher grades--general schedule (GS) GS-13 to GS-15, 
Senior Executive Service (SES), and Senior Level/Senior Technical (SL/ 
ST)--minority employees generally represented less than 10 percent of 
these career employees in 2003 and 2007. The total number of career SES 
at DHS increased by more than 50 percent between 2003 and 2007--going 
from 208 to 325. Overall minorities decreased from 15.9 percent of the 
total SES in 2003 to 13.2 percent in 2007. For the DHS developmental 
pool of potential SES successors (generally GS-15s and GS-14s), the 
total number increased by more than 50 percent--going from 6,525 to 
10,107. White men decreased by 4.2 percentage points, and minorities 
increased by 4.6 percentage points. DHS reported taking steps to affect 
the diversity of its workforce that include establishing an objective 
in its strategic plan concerning the recruitment and development, among 
other things, of a diverse workforce; partnering with minority-serving 
institutions and professional service organizations; and implementing 
an SES candidate development program. These steps are consistent with 
several leading diversity management practices. 

Representation of Women and Minorities Governmentwide and at DHS in 
2003 and 2007: 

DHS, one of the 24 Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Act agencies,[Footnote 
4] was formed from 22 agencies, including the following agencies or 
parts of agencies: the U.S. Customs Service, which was formerly located 
in the Department of the Treasury; the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency; the Coast Guard; and most of the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, which was formerly located in the Department of Justice. 

Representation of Career Employees DHS-wide and Governmentwide: 

Tables 1 and 2 show the representation of career employees at DHS and 
governmentwide as of September 2003 and September 2007, respectively. 

Table 1: Representation of Career Employees at DHS and Governmentwide 
as of September 2003: 

Percent: DHS-wide; 
September 2003: African American: M: 6.8; 
September 2003: African American: W: 7.1; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.5; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.7; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.5; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 14.2; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 4.8; 
September 2003: White: M: 44.4; 
September 2003: White: W: 17.7; 
September 2003: Unspecified/other: M: 0.1; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Percent: Governmentwide; 
September 2003: African American: M: 6.6; 
September 2003: African American: W: 10.7; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.9; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 1.0; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: M: 2.6; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 2.1; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 4.1; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 3.0; 
September 2003: White: M: 41.3; 
September 2003: White: W: 27.5; 
September 2003: Unspecified/other: M: 0.1; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.1. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

Notes: M = Men and W = Women. Governmentwide data include civilian 
employees of all cabinet-level departments, independent agencies, 
commissions, councils, and boards in the executive branch except the 
intelligence agencies, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Foreign Service 
(as of 2007). 

[End of table] 

Table 2: Representation of Career Employees at DHS and Governmentwide 
as of September 2007: 

Percent: DHS-wide; 
September 2007: African American: M: 7.1; 
September 2007: African American: W: 7.8; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.5; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.3; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.1; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 14.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 4.9; 
September 2007: White: M: 42.5; 
September 2007: White: W: 17.6; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.1; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: W: 0.0. 

Percent: Governmentwide; 
September 2007: African American: M: 6.9; 
September 2007: African American: W: 11.1; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.9; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 1.1; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.9; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 2.4; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 3.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 3.1; 
September 2007: White: M: 40.4; 
September 2007: White: W: 27.4; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.2; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: W: 0.1. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

Notes: M = Men and W = Women. Governmentwide data include civilian 
employees of all cabinet-level departments, independent agencies, 
commissions, councils, and boards in the executive branch except the 
intelligence agencies, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Foreign Service 
(as of 2007). 

[End of table] 

There were slight increases in percentage points among nearly all 
minority groups DHS-wide between 2003 and 2007. The greatest change DHS-
wide was a decrease in White men. The greatest differences between the 
governmentwide data and DHS-wide data were among Hispanic men--in both 
2003 and 2007 the representation of Hispanic men was more than 10 
percentage points higher than the representation governmentwide, and 
for White women, the representation was nearly 10 percentage points 
lower. For both 2003 and 2007, the representation of women at DHS, with 
the exception of Hispanic women, was below the governmentwide level, 
the biggest difference being among White and African American women. 
See appendix I for a breakdown of the DHS-wide representation data by 
DHS components. 

Representation at DHS by Pay Plan/Grade: 

Taking a closer look at the DHS-wide data, table 3 shows the 
representation of career employees at DHS by pay plan/grade as of 
September 2003. Minority employees generally represented less than 10 
percent of career employees among all the pay plans and grades. 
Examples of the exceptions included the representation of Hispanic men 
in the blue collar pay plan, grades 5 to 8, and grades 9 to 12, where 
they ranged from 15 to over 21 percent. In grades 1 to 4, African 
American women represented over 17 percent, and Hispanic women 
represented nearly 13 percent of employees. Among the higher grades and 
pay plans--grades GS-13 to GS-15, SES, and SL/ST--the percentage of 
White women ranged from over 17 to more than 22 percent, and no 
minority group exceeded 9 percent of career employees. 

Table 3: Representation at DHS by Pay Plan/Grade for 2003 for Career 
Employees: 

Pay Plan/Grade: Blue collar; 
September 2003: African American: M: 11.1; 
September 2003: African American: W: 0.4; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.8; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.3; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 0.1; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 15.0; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 0.1; 
September 2003: White: M: 67.3; 
September 2003: White: W: 1.6; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: M: 0.2; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grades 1 to 4; 
September 2003: African American: M: 6.7; 
September 2003: African American: W: 17.2; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1.7; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 4.3; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 9.4; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 12.8; 
September 2003: White: M: 18.9; 
September 2003: White: W: 28.7; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grades 5 to 8; 
September 2003: African American: M: 4.8; 
September 2003: African American: W: 10.3; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.4; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.6; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 2.6; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 18.0; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 9.3; 
September 2003: White: M: 28.8; 
September 2003: White: W: 21.7; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: M: 0.1; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grades 9 to 12; 
September 2003: African American: M: 4.4; 
September 2003: African American: W: 5.8; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.8; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.5; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 21.4; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 5.3; 
September 2003: White: M: 42.7; 
September 2003: White: W: 15.4; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: M: 0.1; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grade 13; 
September 2003: African American: M: 5.1; 
September 2003: African American: W: 5.8; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.6; 
September 2003: American Indian/ Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.4; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.3; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 8.9; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 3.2; 
September 2003: White: M: 54.6; 
September 2003: White: W: 17.7; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: M: 0.2; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grade 14; 
September 2003: African American: M: 3.9; 
September 2003: African American: W: 5.4; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.5; 
September 2003: American Indian/ Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1.5; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 0.9; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 6.2; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 2.2; 
September 2003: White: M: 57.2; 
September 2003: White: W: 22.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: M: 0.1; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grade 15; 
September 2003: African American: M: 3.4; 
September 2003: African American: W: 3.9; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.6; 
September 2003: American Indian/ Alaska Native: W: 0.1; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1.0; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 0.8; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 4.5; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 1.6; 
September 2003: White: M: 61.8; 
September 2003: White: W: 22.2; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: M: 0.2; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.1. 

Pay Plan/Grade: SES[A]; 
September 2003: African American: M: 6.3; 
September 2003: African American: W: 2.9; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: American Indian/ Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1.0; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 0.5; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 4.8; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 0.5; 
September 2003: White: M: 66.8; 
September 2003: White: W: 17.3; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: SL/ST[B]; 
September 2003: African American: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: African American: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: American Indian/ Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: White: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: White: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Other/unspecified[C]; 
September 2003: African American: M: 11.1; 
September 2003: African American: W: 7.7; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.6; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.3; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.5; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 0.9; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 7.9; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 3.0; 
September 2003: White: M: 48.0; 
September 2003: White: W: 17.9; 
September 2003: Unspecified / other: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: DHS-wide; 
September 2003: African American: M: 6.8; 
September 2003: African American: W: 7.1; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.5; 
September 2003: American Indian/ Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.7; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.5; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 14.2; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 4.8; 
September 2003: White: M: 44.4; 
September 2003: White: W: 17.7; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: M: 0.1; 
September 2003: Unspecified /other: W: 0.0. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

Notes: M = Men and W = Women. 

[A] The SES consists of permanent or career appointments, paid 
according to the SES pay schedule and those in the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) who have equivalent positions. These are the 
highest nonpolitically appointed leaders in the federal workforce. 

[B] SL/ST includes those in the Senior Level and Senior Technical pay 
plans and those in FAA who have equivalent positions. These are 
primarily engineers, scientists, and other top-level professionals. 
They do not have the leadership role of the SES. 

[C] Other/unspecified includes those who could not be placed in one of 
the above pay plans or grades. 

[End of table] 

By 2007, the representation of career employees at DHS by pay plan/ 
grade showed only slight increases and decreases. Exceptions, as shown 
in table 4, were in the percentage of White men in the SL/ST pay plan, 
which increased from 0 percent in 2003 to more than 65 percent in 2007, 
and White women, which during this period in the same pay plan 
increased from 0 percent to almost 28 percent. The representation of 
minorities was still less than 10 percent in grades GS-13 and above. 

Table 4: Representation at DHS by Pay Plan/Grade for 2007 for Career 
Employees: 

Pay Plan/Grade: Blue collar; 
September 2007: African American: M: 10.6; 
September 2007: African American: W: 0.3; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.6; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: M: 2.6; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 0.1; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 14.9; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 0.2; 
September 2007: White: M: 67.6; 
September 2007: White: W: 2.8; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.4; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grades 1 to 4; 
September 2007: African American: M: 6.4; 
September 2007: African American: W: 15.3; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.8; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.4; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 2.1; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 7.2; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 6.4; 
September 2007: White: M: 30.9; 
September 2007: White: W: 28.5; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grades 5 to 8; 
September 2007: African American: M: 3.5; 
September 2007: African American: W: 8.8; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.3; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.8; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 2.4; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 21.0; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 7.8; 
September 2007: White: M: 32.1; 
September 2007: White: W: 20.8; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.2; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.1. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grades 9 to 12; 
September 2007: African American: M: 4.2; 
September 2007: African American: W: 5.3; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.3; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 23.2; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 5.5; 
September 2007: White: M: 41.5; 
September 2007: White: W: 14.8; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.1; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grade 13; 
September 2007: African American: M: 5.0; 
September 2007: African American: W: 5.6; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.5; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: M: 2.3; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.4; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 9.9; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 3.4; 
September 2007: White: M: 54.5; 
September 2007: White: W: 17.2; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.2; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grade 14; 
September 2007: African American: M: 4.6; 
September 2007: African American: W: 7.6; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.3; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: M: 2.2; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 7.2; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 2.6; 
September 2007: White: M: 52.9; 
September 2007: White: W: 20.7; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.1; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Grade 15; 
September 2007: African American: M: 4.6; 
September 2007: African American: W: 4.8; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.1; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: M: 1.5; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 0.9; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 4.4; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 2.0; 
September 2007: White: M: 57.0; 
September 2007: White: W: 24.2; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: SES[A]; 
September 2007: African American: M: 4.0; 
September 2007: African American: W: 2.2; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.3; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 0.3; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 0.3; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 5.5; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 0.6; 
September 2007: White: M: 63.7; 
September 2007: White: W: 23.1; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: SL/ST[B]; 
September 2007: African American: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: African American: W: 0.0; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: M: 3.5; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 3.5; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 0.0; 
September 2007: White: M: 65.5; 
September 2007: White: W: 27.6; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: Other/unspecified[C]; 
September 2007: African American: M: 11.4; 
September 2007: African American: W: 10.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.7; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.5; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.5; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.5; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 8.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 4.6; 
September 2007: White: M: 40.3; 
September 2007: White: W: 18.7; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: W: 0.0. 

Pay Plan/Grade: DHS-wide; 
September 2007: African American: M: 7.1; 
September 2007: African American: W: 7.8; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.5; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.3; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: M: 3.1; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 14.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 4.9; 
September 2007: White: M: 42.5; 
September 2007: White: W: 17.6; 
September 2007: Unspecified/other: M: 0.1; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

Notes: M = Men and W = Women. 

[A] The SES consists of permanent or career appointments, paid 
according to the SES pay schedule and those in the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) who have equivalent positions. These are the 
highest nonpolitically appointed leaders in the federal workforce. 

[B] SL/ST includes those in the Senior Level and Senior Technical pay 
plans and those in FAA who have equivalent positions. These are 
primarily engineers, scientists, and other top-level professionals. 
They do not have the leadership role of the SES. 

[C] Other/unspecified includes those who could not be placed in one of 
the above pay plans or grades. 

[End of table] 

Representation in Career SES Governmentwide and at DHS: 

As we have reported, leadership in agencies across the federal 
government, especially at senior executive levels, is essential to 
providing accountable, committed, consistent, and sustained attention 
to human capital and related organizational transformation issues. 
Having a diverse SES corps, which generally represents the most 
experienced segment of the federal workforce, can be an organizational 
strength that can bring a wider variety of perspectives and approaches 
to bear on policy development and implementation, strategic planning, 
problem solving, and decision making. 

The members of the career SES are the highest nonpolitically appointed 
leaders in the federal workforce, and we recently looked more closely 
at their representation governmentwide.[Footnote 5] Table 5 shows the 
total number of career SES and the percentage of women and minority SES 
in DHS and at the 23 other CFO Act agencies in 2003 and 2007. Overall 
at DHS, the total number of SES increased by more than 50 percent 
between 2003 and 2007 going from 208 to 325. Within that total, the 
percentage of women increased from 21.2 percent to 26.2 percent. In 
2003, the representation of women within individual CFO Act agencies 
ranged from 15.9 to 40.7 percent, with more than two-thirds of the 
agencies having at least 25 percent women--DHS had 21.2 percent. The 
representation of minorities within the CFO Act agencies in 2003 ranged 
from 7.2 to 42.0 percent with more than two-thirds having at least 15 
percent minorities--DHS had 15.9 percent. In 2007, the representation 
of women at these agencies ranged from 19.9 to 45.5 percent, with more 
than half of the agencies having 30 percent or more women--DHS had 26.2 
percent. For minority representation, CFO Act agency rates ranged from 
6.1 to 43.8 percent, with two-thirds having at least 15 percent or more 
minorities--DHS had 13.2 percent. 

Table 5: Career SES Members by CFO Act Agency for 2003 and 2007: 

CFO Act agency: Agriculture; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 299; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 25.1; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 18.7; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 318; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 28.3; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 18.9. 

CFO Act agency: AID; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 24; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 25.0; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 25.0; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 22; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 45.5; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 36.4. 

CFO Act agency: Commerce; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 317; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 28.1; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 16.1; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 317; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 28.4; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 14.5. 

CFO Act agency: Defense; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 1,066; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 20.1; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 7.2; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 1,123; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 22.6; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 8.3. 

CFO Act agency: Education; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 61; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 36.1; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 27.9; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 66; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 36.4; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 15.2. 

CFO Act agency: Energy; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 405; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 21.0; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 11.4; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 421; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 22.8; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 14.3. 

CFO Act agency: EPA; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 257; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 37.0; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 16.7; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 261; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 37.5; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 17.2. 

CFO Act agency: GSA; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 80; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 28.8; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 10.0; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 80; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 28.8; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 15.0. 

CFO Act agency: HHS; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 329; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 40.7; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 23.4; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 356; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 44.1; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 20.5. 

CFO Act agency: DHS; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 208; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 21.2; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 15.9; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 325; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 26.2; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 13.2. 

CFO Act agency: HUD; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 81; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 32.1; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 42.0; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 89; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 38.2; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 43.8. 

CFO Act agency: Interior; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 199; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 31.2; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 22.6; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 221; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 31.7; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 25.8. 

CFO Act agency: Justice; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 550; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 20.5; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 16.7; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 645; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 22.2; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 17.8. 

CFO Act agency: Labor; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 137; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 29.2; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 21.9; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 133; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 33.1; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 21.1. 

CFO Act agency: NASA; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 398; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 22.9; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 15.6; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 431; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 23.4; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 14.6. 

CFO Act agency: NRC; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 145; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 15.9; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 11.0; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 146; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 19.9; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 13.7. 

CFO Act agency: NSF; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 81; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 39.5; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 13.6; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 79; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 44.3; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 16.5. 

CFO Act agency: OPM; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 43; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 37.2; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 21.0; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 42; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 38.1; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 16.7. 

CFO Act agency: SBA; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 37; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 32.4; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 37.8; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 36; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 27.8; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 38.9. 

CFO Act agency: SSA; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 121; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 36.4; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 28.9; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 134; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 41.8; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 27.6. 

CFO Act agency: State; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 120; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 30.0; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 7.5; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 114; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 32.5; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 6.1. 

CFO Act agency: Transportation; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 194; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 32.0; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 17.5; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 188; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 36.2; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 16.0. 

CFO Act agency: Treasury; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 403; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 30.8; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 16.1; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 386; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 36.8; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 18.4. 

CFO Act agency: VA; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 262; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 18.7; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 9.5; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 236; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 30.9; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 14.8. 

CFO Act agency: Governmentwide[A]; 
September 2003: Number of SES: 6,221; 
September 2003: Percent: Women: 26.4; 
September 2003: Percent: Minorities: 15.3; 
September 2007: Number of SES: 6,555; 
September 2007: Percent: Women: 29.1; 
September 2007: Percent: Minorities: 15.8. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

Notes: AID is the Agency for International Development; EPA is the 
Environmental Protection Agency; GSA is the General Services 
Administration; HHS is the Department of Health and Human Services; DHS 
is the Department of Homeland Security; HUD is the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development; NASA is the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration; NRC is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; NSF is 
the National Science Foundation; SSA is the Social Security 
Administration; and VA is the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

[A] Governmentwide data include civilian employees of all cabinet-level 
departments, independent agencies, commissions, councils, and boards in 
the executive branch except the intelligence agencies, the U.S. Postal 
Service, and the Foreign Service (as of 2007). 

[End of table] 

Minority representation in the career SES governmentwide generally 
increased by less than 1 percentage point from September 2003 through 
September 2007 as shown in table 6. During this period, the 
representation of men in the SES decreased by 2.6 percentage points, 
and White men by 2.7 percentage points; whereas, the percentage of 
women increased by 2.7 percentage points. 

Table 6: Changes in the Career SES Governmentwide for 2003 and 2007: 

Career SES profile: African American men; 
September 2003: Number: 347; 
September 2003: Percent: 5.6; 
September 2007: Number: 328; 
September 2007: Percent: 5.0; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: -19; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: -0.6. 

Career SES profile: African American women; 
September 2003: Number: 211; 
September 2003: Percent: 3.4; 
September 2007: Number: 232; 
September 2007: Percent: 3.5; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 21; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.1. 

Career SES profile: American Indian/Alaska Native men; 
September 2003: Number: 55; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.9; 
September 2007: Number: 60; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.9; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 5; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.0. 

Career SES profile: American Indian/Alaska Native women; 
September 2003: Number: 21; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.3; 
September 2007: Number: 28; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.4; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 7; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.1. 

Career SES profile: Asian/ Pacific Islander men; 
September 2003: Number: 83; 
September 2003: Percent: 1.3; 
September 2007: Number: 96; 
September 2007: Percent: 1.5; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 13; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.2. 

Career SES profile: Asian/ Pacific Islander women; 
September 2003: Number: 44; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.7; 
September 2007: Number: 57; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.9; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 13; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.2. 

Career SES profile: Hispanic men; 
September 2003: Number: 139; 
September 2003: Percent: 2.2; 
September 2007: Number: 176; 
September 2007: Percent: 2.7; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 37; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.5. 

Career SES profile: Hispanic women; 
September 2003: Number: 48; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.8; 
September 2007: Number: 60; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.9; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 12; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.1. 

Career SES profile: White men; 
September 2003: Number: 3,942; 
September 2003: Percent: 63.4; 
September 2007: Number: 3,976; 
September 2007: Percent: 60.7; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 34; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: -2.7. 

Career SES profile: White women; 
September 2003: Number: 1,319; 
September 2003: Percent: 21.2; 
September 2007: Number: 1,526; 
September 2007: Percent: 23.3; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 207; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 2.1. 

Career SES profile: Unspecified/other; 
September 2003: Number: 12; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.2; 
September 2007: Number: 16; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.2; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 4; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.0. 

Career SES profile: Total[A]; 
September 2003: Number: 6,221; 
September 2003: Percent: 100.0; 
September 2007: Number: 6,555; 
September 2007: Percent: 100.0; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 334; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.0. 

Career SES profile: Minorities; 
September 2003: Number: 948; 
September 2003: Percent: 15.2; 
September 2007: Number: 1,037; 
September 2007: Percent: 15.8; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 89; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.6. 

Career SES profile: Men; 
September 2003: Number: 4,575; 
September 2003: Percent: 73.5; 
September 2007: Number: 4,646; 
September 2007: Percent: 70.9; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 71; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: -2.6. 

Career SES profile: Minority men; 
September 2003: Number: 624; 
September 2003: Percent: 10.0; 
September 2007: Number: 660; 
September 2007: Percent: 10.1; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 36; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.1. 

Career SES profile: Women; 
September 2003: Number: 1,644; 
September 2003: Percent: 26.4; 
September 2007: Number: 1,909; 
September 2007: Percent: 29.1; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 265; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 2.7. 

Career SES profile: Minority women; 
September 2003: Number: 324; 
September 2003: Percent: 5.2; 
September 2007: Number: 377; 
September 2007: Percent: 5.8; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Number: 53; 
Change in career SES governmentwide: Percent: 0.6. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

Note: Governmentwide data include civilian employees of all cabinet- 
level departments, independent agencies, commissions, councils, and 
boards in the executive branch except the intelligence agencies, the 
U.S. Postal Service, and the Foreign Service (as of 2007). 

[A] Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding. The number of 
men and women might not sum to the total SES because some employees may 
have been missing data for race/ethnicity but may have had valid data 
for gender or some employees may have been missing data for gender but 
may have had valid data for race/ethnicity. 

[End of table] 

At DHS, the extent of change in the representation of career SES 
employees was generally greater than the change that occurred in the 
governmentwide SES from September 2003 through September 2007. For 
example, as shown in table 7, the percentage of White women in DHS's 
career SES was 23.1 percent in 2007, 5.8 percentage points above the 
2003 rate of 17.3 percent. White men and African American men 
experienced the largest decrease in their representation in the career 
SES by 2007, dropping 3.1 and 2.3 percentage points, respectively. 
Overall, minorities decreased from 15.9 to 13.2 percent. 

Table 7: Changes in Career SES at DHS for 2003 and 2007: 

DHS Career SES profile: African American men; 
September 2003: Number: 13; 
September 2003: Percent: 6.3; September 2007: Number: 13; September 
2007: Percent: 4.0; Change in DHS career SES: Number: 0; Change in DHS 
career SES: Percent: -2.3. 

DHS Career SES profile: African American women; 
September 2003: Number: 6; 
September 2003: Percent: 2.9; 
September 2007: Number: 7; 
September 2007: Percent: 2.2; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 1; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -0.7. 

DHS Career SES profile: American Indian/ Alaska Native men; 
September 2003: Number: 0; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.0; 
September 2007: Number: 1; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.3; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 1; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.3. 

DHS Career SES profile: American Indian/ Alaska Native women; 
September 2003: Number: 0; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.0; 
September 2007: Number: 0; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.0; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 0; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.0. 

DHS Career SES profile: Asian/ Pacific Islander men; 
September 2003: Number: 2; 
September 2003: Percent: 1.0; 
September 2007: Number: 1; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.3; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: -1; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -0.7. 

DHS Career SES profile: Asian/ Pacific Islander women; 
September 2003: Number: 1; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.5; 
September 2007: Number: 1; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.3; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 0; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -0.2. 

DHS Career SES profile: Hispanic men; 
September 2003: Number: 10; 
September 2003: Percent: 4.8; 
September 2007: Number: 18; 
September 2007: Percent: 5.5; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 8; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.7. 

DHS Career SES profile: Hispanic women; 
September 2003: Number: 1; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.5; 
September 2007: Number: 2; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.6; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 1; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.1. 

DHS Career SES profile: White men; 
September 2003: Number: 139; 
September 2003: Percent: 66.8; 
September 2007: Number: 207; 
September 2007: Percent: 63.7; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 68; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -3.1. 

DHS Career SES profile: White women; 
September 2003: Number: 36; 
September 2003: Percent: 17.3; 
September 2007: Number: 75; 
September 2007: Percent: 23.1; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 39; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 5.8. 

DHS Career SES profile: Unspecified/other; 
September 2003: Number: 0; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.0; 
September 2007: Number: 0; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.0; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 0; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.0. 

DHS Career SES profile: Total[A]; 
September 2003: Number: 208; 
September 2003: Percent: 100.0; 
September 2007: Number: 325; 
September 2007: Percent: 100.0; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 117; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.0. 

DHS Career SES profile: Minorities; 
September 2003: Number: 33; 
September 2003: Percent: 15.9; 
September 2007: Number: 43; 
September 2007: Percent: 13.2; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 10; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -2.7. 

DHS Career SES profile: Men; 
September 2003: Number: 164; 
September 2003: Percent: 78.9; 
September 2007: Number: 240; 
September 2007: Percent: 73.8; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 76; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -5.1. 

DHS Career SES profile: Minority men; 
September 2003: Number: 25; 
September 2003: Percent: 12.0; 
September 2007: Number: 33; 
September 2007: Percent: 10.2; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 8; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -1.8. 

DHS Career SES profile: Women; 
September 2003: Number: 44; 
September 2003: Percent: 21.2; 
September 2007: Number: 85; 
September 2007: Percent: 26.2; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 41; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 5.0. 

DHS Career SES profile: Minority women; 
September 2003: Number: 8; 
September 2003: Percent: 3.8; 
September 2007: Number: 10; 
September 2007: Percent: 3.1; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 2; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -0.7. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

[A] Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding. 

[End of table] 

Representation in the Career SES Developmental Pool Governmentwide and 
at DHS: 

The vast majority of potential successors for career SES positions will 
come from the GS pay plan for grades GS-15 and GS-14, the levels that 
serve as the SES developmental pool.[Footnote 6] Table 8 shows the 
changes in the representation of the SES developmental pool 
governmentwide from September 2003 to September 2007. Governmentwide, 
the total number of employees in the SES developmental pool decreased 
slightly from September 2003 to September 2007. The greatest change in 
representation was a decrease of 5.3 percentage points in the number of 
White men from 2003 to 2007. The percentage of women in the 
governmentwide SES developmental pool increased by 3.9 percentage 
points between 2003 and 2007, but the percentage of men in this 
developmental pool decreased by this same amount. By 2007, the 
representation of each of the minority groups in the governmentwide SES 
developmental pool increased by 1.3 percentage points or fewer, 
resulting in an overall increase of 3.7 percentage points for 
minorities. 

Table 8: Changes in the SES Developmental Pool Governmentwide for 2003 
and 2007: 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): African American 
men; 
September 2003: Number: 6,035; 
September 2003: Percent: 4.0; 
September 2007: Number: 6,439; 
September 2007: Percent: 4.3; Change in SES developmental pool 
governmentwide: Number: 404; Change in SES developmental pool 
governmentwide: Percent: 0.3. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): African American 
women; 
September 2003: Number: 7,276; 
September 2003: Percent: 4.8; 
September 2007: Number: 9,108; 
September 2007: Percent: 6.1; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 1,832; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 1.3. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): American Indian/ 
Alaska Native men; 
September 2003: Number: 978; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.6; 
September 2007: Number: 938; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.6; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: -40; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 0.0. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): American Indian/ 
Alaska Native women; 
September 2003: Number: 489; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.3; 
September 2007: Number: 590; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.4; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 101; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 0.1. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Asian/ Pacific 
Islander men; 
September 2003: Number: 5,452; 
September 2003: Percent: 3.6; 
September 2007: Number: 6,305; 
September 2007: Percent: 4.2; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 853; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 0.6. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Asian/ Pacific 
Islander women; 
September 2003: Number: 2,546; 
September 2003: Percent: 1.7; 
September 2007: Number: 3,503; 
September 2007: Percent: 2.3; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 957; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 0.6. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Hispanic men; 
September 2003: Number: 4,051; 
September 2003: Percent: 2.7; 
September 2007: Number: 4,418; 
September 2007: Percent: 3.0; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 367; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 0.3. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Hispanic women; 
September 2003: Number: 1,740; 
September 2003: Percent: 1.1; 
September 2007: Number: 2,193; 
September 2007: Percent: 1.5; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 453; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 0.4. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): White men; 
September 2003: Number: 89,333; 
September 2003: Percent: 58.7; 
September 2007: Number: 79,718; 
September 2007: Percent: 53.4; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: -9,615; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: -5.3. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): White women; 
September 2003: Number: 34,081; 
September 2003: Percent: 22.4; 
September 2007: Number: 35,650; 
September 2007: Percent: 23.9; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 1,569; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 1.5. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Unspecified/ 
other; 
September 2003: Number: 142; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.1; 
September 2007: Number: 287; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.2; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 145; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 0.1. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Total[A]; 
September 2003: Number: 152,123; 
September 2003: Percent: 100.0; 
September 2007: Number: 149,149; 
September 2007: Percent: 100.0; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: -2,974; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 0.0. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Minorities; 
September 2003: Number: 28,567; 
September 2003: Percent: 18.8; 
September 2007: Number: 33,494; 
September 2007: Percent: 22.5; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 4,927; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 3.7. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Men; 
September 2003: Number: 105,945; 
September 2003: Percent: 69.6; 
September 2007: Number: 98,003; 
September 2007: Percent: 65.7; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: -7,942; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: -3.9. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Minority men; 
September 2003: Number: 16,516; 
September 2003: Percent: 10.9; 
September 2007: Number: 18,100; 
September 2007: Percent: 12.1; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 1,584; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 1.2. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Women; 
September 2003: Number: 46,178; 
September 2003: Percent: 30.4; 
September 2007: Number: 51,146; 
September 2007: Percent: 34.3; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 4,968; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 3.9. 

Profile of SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Minority women; 
September 2003: Number: 12,051; 
September 2003: Percent: 7.9; 
September 2007: Number: 15,394; 
September 2007: Percent: 10.3; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Number: 3,343; 
Change in SES developmental pool governmentwide: Percent: 2.4. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

Note: Governmentwide includes civilian employees of all cabinet-level 
departments, independent agencies, commissions, councils, and boards in 
the executive branch except the intelligence agencies, the U.S. Postal 
Service, and the Foreign Service (as of 2007). We included GS-15, GS- 
14, and equivalent employees. GS-equivalent employees are those in 
equivalent grades under other pay plans that follow the GS grade 
structure and job evaluation methodology or are equivalent by statute. 

[A] Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding. 

[End of table] 

Unlike the total number of employees in the governmentwide SES 
developmental pool, those in DHS's SES developmental pool increased by 
more than half. The two greatest changes in representation within DHS's 
career SES developmental pool from September 2003 through September 
2007 were for White men, which decreased by 4.2 percentage points, and 
minorities, which increased by 4.6 percentage points, of which African 
American women increased by 1.8 percentage points, as shown in table 9. 

Table 9: Changes in the Career SES Developmental Pool at DHS for 2003 
and 2007: 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): African 
American men; 
September 2003: Number: 245; 
September 2003: Percent: 3.8; 
September 2007: Number: 467; 
September 2007: Percent: 4.6; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 222; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.8. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): African 
American women; 
September 2003: Number: 328; 
September 2003: Percent: 5.0; 
September 2007: Number: 683; 
September 2007: Percent: 6.8; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 355; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 1.8. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): American 
Indian/Alaska Native men; 
September 2003: Number: 34; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.5; 
September 2007: Number: 36; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.4; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 2; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -0.1. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): American 
Indian/Alaska Native women; 
September 2003: Number: 12; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.2; 
September 2007: Number: 19; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.2; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 7; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.0. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Asian/ 
Pacific Islander men; 
September 2003: Number: 87; 
September 2003: Percent: 1.3; 
September 2007: Number: 204; 
September 2007: Percent: 2.0; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 117; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.7. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Asian/ 
Pacific Islander women; 
September 2003: Number: 56; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.9; 
September 2007: Number: 138; 
September 2007: Percent: 1.4; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 82; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.5. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Hispanic 
men; 
September 2003: Number: 375; 
September 2003: Percent: 5.8; 
September 2007: Number: 641; 
September 2007: Percent: 6.3; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 266; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.5. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Hispanic 
women; 
September 2003: Number: 133; 
September 2003: Percent: 2.0; 
September 2007: Number: 245; 
September 2007: Percent: 2.4; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 112; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.4. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): White men; 
September 2003: Number: 3,806; 
September 2003: Percent: 58.3; 
September 2007: Number: 5,469; 
September 2007: Percent: 54.1; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 1,663; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -4.2. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): White women; 
September 2003: Number: 1,439; 
September 2003: Percent: 22.1; 
September 2007: Number: 2,195; 
September 2007: Percent: 21.7; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 756; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -0.4. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Unspecified/ 
other; 
September 2003: Number: 10; 
September 2003: Percent: 0.2; 
September 2007: Number: 10; 
September 2007: Percent: 0.1; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 0; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -0.1. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Total[A]; 
September 2003: Number: 6,525; 
September 2003: Percent: 100.0; 
September 2007: Number: 10,107; 
September 2007: Percent: 100.0; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 3,582; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 0.0. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Minorities; 
September 2003: Number: 1,270; 
September 2003: Percent: 19.5; 
September 2007: Number: 2,433; 
September 2007: Percent: 24.1; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 1,163; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 4.6. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Men; 
September 2003: Number: 4,556; 
September 2003: Percent: 69.8; 
September 2007: Number: 6,824; 
September 2007: Percent: 67.5; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 2,268; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: -2.3. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Minority 
men; 
September 2003: Number: 741; 
September 2003: Percent: 11.4; 
September 2007: Number: 1,348; 
September 2007: Percent: 13.3; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 607; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 1.9. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Women; 
September 2003: Number: 1,969; 
September 2003: Percent: 30.2; 
September 2007: Number: 3,283; 
September 2007: Percent: 32.5; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 1,314; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 2.3. 

Profile of DHS SES developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s): Minority 
women; 
September 2003: Number: 529; 
September 2003: Percent: 8.1; 
September 2007: Number: 1,085; 
September 2007: Percent: 10.7; 
Change in DHS career SES: Number: 556; 
Change in DHS career SES: Percent: 2.6. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

[A] Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding. 

[End of table] 

While we did not analyze factors that contributed to changes in DHS 
workforce from September 2003 through September 2007, OPM and the Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in their oversight roles 
require federal agencies, including DHS, to analyze their workforces. 
Both OPM and EEOC also report on governmentwide representation levels. 
Under OPM's regulations implementing the Federal Equal Opportunity 
Recruitment Program (FEORP),[Footnote 7] agencies are required to 
determine where representation levels for covered groups are lower than 
the civilian labor force (CLF) and take steps to address those 
differences. EEOC's Management Directive 715 (MD-715) provides guidance 
and standards to federal agencies for establishing and maintaining 
effective equal employment opportunity (EEO) programs, including a 
framework for executive branch agencies to help ensure effective 
management, accountability, and self-analysis to determine whether 
barriers to EEO exist and to identify and develop strategies to 
mitigate or eliminate the barriers to participation.[Footnote 8] 
Specifically EEOC's MD-715 states that agency personnel programs and 
policies should be evaluated regularly to ascertain whether such 
programs have any barriers that tend to limit or restrict equitable 
opportunities for open competition in the workplace. The initial step 
is for agencies to analyze their workforce data with designated 
benchmarks, including the CLF. If analysis of their workforce profiles 
identifies potential barriers, agencies are to examine all related 
policies, procedures, and practices to determine whether an actual 
barrier exists. EEOC requires agencies to report the results of their 
analyses annually. 

DHS Has Reported Taking Steps to Affect the Diversity of Its Workforce 
That Are Consistent with Leading Diversity Management Practices: 

A high-performance organization relies on a dynamic workforce with the 
requisite talents and up-to-date skills to ensure that it is equipped 
to accomplish its mission and achieve its goals. Such organizations 
typically foster a work environment in which people are enabled and 
motivated to contribute to continuous learning and improvement as well 
as mission accomplishment and which provides both accountability and 
fairness for all employees. In addition, the approach that a high- 
performance organization takes toward its workforce is inclusive and 
draws on the strengths of employees at all levels and of all 
backgrounds. This approach is consistent with that of diversity 
management. We have defined diversity management as a process intended 
to create and maintain a positive work environment where the 
similarities and differences of individuals are valued, so that all can 
reach their potential and maximize their contributions to an 
organization's strategic goals and objectives. In our past work, we 
identified nine leading practices in diversity management that experts 
agreed should be present in some combination for creating and managing 
diversity.[Footnote 9] The leading diversity management practices 
identified by a majority of experts were as follows: 

* Top leadership commitment--a vision of diversity demonstrated and 
communicated throughout an organization by top-level management. 

* Diversity as part of an organization's strategic plan--a diversity 
strategy and plan that are developed and aligned with the 
organization's strategic plan. 

* Diversity linked to performance--the understanding that a more 
diverse and inclusive work environment can yield greater productivity 
and help improve individual and organizational performance. 

* Measurement--a set of quantitative and qualitative measures of the 
effect of various aspects of an overall diversity program. 

* Accountability--the means to ensure that leaders are responsible for 
diversity by linking their performance assessment and compensation to 
the progress of diversity initiatives. 

* Succession planning--an ongoing, strategic process for identifying 
and developing a diverse pool of talent for an organization's potential 
future leaders. 

* Recruitment--the process of attracting a supply of qualified, diverse 
applicants for employment. 

* Employee involvement--the contribution of employees in driving 
diversity throughout an organization. 

* Diversity training--organizational efforts to inform and educate 
management and staff about diversity. 

DHS's Acting Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) testified in April 2008 
on actions the Department is taking to create and manage its 
workforce.[Footnote 10] These actions are consistent with leading 
diversity management practices in four areas: (1) a diversity strategy 
as part of its strategic plan, (2) recruitment, (3) employee 
involvement, and (4) succession planning. We have not conducted a 
review of DHS's diversity management efforts; therefore, we cannot 
comment on the effectiveness of DHS's implementation of these 
practices. In addition, because we do not highlight a particular 
practice, it is not meant to imply success or lack of success by DHS in 
implementing other diversity management practices. 

Diversity strategy as part of the strategic plan. DHS established an 
objective in its 2004 Strategic Plan to "ensure effective recruitment, 
development, compensation, succession management and leadership of a 
diverse workforce to provide optimal service at a responsible cost." In 
an August 2007 progress report on implementation of mission and 
management functions,[Footnote 11] we indicated that DHS had taken 
action to satisfy most of the elements related to developing a results- 
oriented strategic human capital plan. We noted that in addition to the 
strategic human capital plan that DHS issued in October 2004, which 
covers 2004 to 2008, the department developed a fiscal year 2007 and 
2008 Human Capital Operational Plan, which provides measurable goals 
that the department is using to gauge the effectiveness of its human 
capital efforts. DHS officials provided us with a copy of DHS's 
Corporate Diversity Strategy, issued in March 2008, and stated that the 
department has developed a Diversity Action Plan, which it plans to 
submit to the DHS Diversity Council for approval in May 2008.[Footnote 
12] The Diversity Strategy outlines DHS's policy of encouraging a 
diverse workforce and the value of a diverse workforce in accomplishing 
DHS's mission. Among the guiding principles is integrating diversity 
into the organization culture rather than as a stand alone program and 
recognizing that diversity is a matter of equity and fairness. To help 
ensure accountability, among other things, the strategy calls for 
establishing a senior-level Diversity Council, which DHS officials 
reported has been done, integrating diversity strategies into DHS's 
comprehensive human resource operation, and ensuring that all DHS 
leaders have access to training, tools, and support needed to serve as 
de facto diversity champions. 

Recruitment. To achieve its strategic plan objective of a diverse 
workforce, in his April 2008 testimony, DHS's Acting CHCO stated that 
recruitment strategies have been implemented at the department and 
component levels to improve diversity of the DHS talent pool. DHS 
officials told us that the department partners with several minority- 
serving institutions and participates in several intern, scholarship, 
and fellowship programs; officials provided a recruitment brochure. 
These officials also indicated that in October 2007, the DHS began a 
Veterans' Outreach Program as a means of recruiting a diverse 
workforce. This outreach strategy consists of (1) a Web site for one- 
stop employment and other information, (2) an advisory forum of 
external veterans as stakeholders, and (3) training in veterans' 
preference and reemployment rights for EEO and human capital 
specialists. DHS has also created an SES-level Director of Recruiting 
and Diversity within the Chief Human Capital Office. 

Employee Involvement. Employees can make valuable contributions in 
driving diversity throughout an organization. Our work on leading 
diversity management practices identified several forms these 
contributions can take, including mentoring and community outreach with 
private employers, public schools, and universities. DHS officials 
described actions the department is taking to provide opportunities for 
employees at various levels throughout the department to receive 
mentoring. In addition, DHS officials stated that they have developed 
formal partnerships with minority professional service organizations, 
including the Urban League's Black Executive Exchange Program, where 
DHS provides speakers that participate in outreach programs at 
historically black colleges and universities. DHS officials indicated 
they are pursuing similar partnerships with the National Association of 
Hispanic Federal Executives, the African American Federal Executive 
Association, and the Asian American Executive Network. 

Succession Planning. Succession planning is a comprehensive, ongoing 
strategic process that provides for forecasting an organization's 
senior leadership and other needs; identifying and developing 
candidates who have the potential to be future leaders; and selecting 
individuals from among a diverse pool of qualified candidates to meet 
executive resource needs. Succession planning and management can help 
an organization become what it needs to be, rather than simply recreate 
the existing organization. Leading organizations go beyond a 
"replacement" approach that focuses on identifying particular 
individuals as possible successors for specific top-ranking positions 
and engage in broad, integrated succession planning and management 
efforts that focus on strengthening both current and future capacity. 
They anticipate the need for leaders and other key employees with the 
necessary competencies to successfully meet the complex challenges of 
the 21st century. 

For DHS, in addition to the changes that will occur as a result of the 
upcoming new administration, several factors including recent turnover 
and expected retirements provide opportunities for DHS to affect the 
diversity of its workforce and highlight the importance of succession 
planning. Recently, we reported that the overall attrition rates for 
permanent DHS employees (excluding SES and presidential appointees) at 
8 percent and 7 percent in 2005 and 2006, respectively, exceeded the 4 
percent average rate for all cabinet-level agencies.[Footnote 13] These 
higher attrition rates, about 14 to 17 percent, were among 
transportation security officers in DHS's Transportation Security 
Administration. The attrition rate for SES and presidential appointees 
was also higher than the average senior-level attrition rate for all 
cabinet-level departments. As for retirements, about 20 percent of 
career employees at DHS as of fiscal year 2007 are projected to be 
eligible to retire by 2012, and certain key occupations within the 
department are expected to have high retirement eligibility rates, such 
as customs and border protection agents--about 51 percent.[Footnote 14] 

In 2006, OPM reported that approximately 60 percent of the executive 
branch's 1.6 million white-collar employees and 90 percent of about 
6,000 federal executives will be eligible for retirement over the next 
10 years. Considering retirement eligibility and actual retirement 
rates of the SES is important because individuals normally do not enter 
the SES until well into their careers; thus SES retirement eligibility 
is much higher than for the workforce in general. If a significant 
number of SES members were to retire, it could result in a loss of 
leadership continuity, institutional knowledge, and expertise among the 
SES corps, with the degree of loss varying among agencies and 
occupations. 

Succession planning also is tied to the federal government's 
opportunity to affect the diversity of the executive corps through new 
appointments. Racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the SES is an 
important component for the effective operation of the government. In 
September 2003, we reported that agencies in other countries use 
succession planning and management to achieve a more diverse workforce, 
maintain their leadership capacity, and increase the retention of high- 
potential staff.[Footnote 15] 

According to the Acting CHCO's April 3, 2008, testimony and discussion 
with senior level human capital officials, the department is taking 
steps to develop a qualified and diverse pool of applicants for SES 
positions by preparing its mid-career employees through a variety of 
leadership development programs. These programs include the DHS SES 
Candidate Development Program (primarily for GS-15s) and the DHS 
Fellows Program (for GS-13s, GS-14s, and GS-15s). See appendix II for 
representation data for both programs since their inception. According 
to DHS officials, the DHS Fellows Program, initiated in 2006, is a 
competitive developmental program where participants are placed in high-
visibility rotational assignments, receive training in such areas as 
leadership, and form small groups to work on specific projects. After 
completion of this 11-month program, participants remain in their 
current assignments but, according to DHS officials, are prepared for 
advancement when the opportunities arise. Participants in both of the 
DHS leadership programs receive mentoring and coaching and rotational 
assignments. However, according to DHS officials, employees at other 
levels of the organization can also participate in ad hoc mentoring and 
rotational assignments. Effective training and development programs can 
enhance the federal government's ability to prepare its workforce and 
thereby achieve results. The efforts that DHS officials described are 
consistent with these practices. 

Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member King, and Members of the Committee, 
this concludes my prepared statement. I would be pleased to respond to 
any questions that you may have. 

Contacts and Acknowledgments: 

For further information regarding this statement, please contact George 
Stalcup, Director, Strategic Issues, on (202) 512-6806 or at 
[email protected]. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional 
Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this 
statement. Individuals making key contributions to this statement 
included Belva Martin and Kiki Theodoropoulos, Assistant Directors; 
Karin Fangman; Mary Y. Martin; and Greg Wilmoth. 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Department of Homeland Security Representation Data by 
Component: 

Tables 10 and 11 below provide demographic data by race and gender on 
the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) career employees by DHS 
component for September 2003 and September 2007.[Footnote 16] In 2003 
and 2007, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) and the U.S. 
Immigration Customs Enforcement (USICE) had the highest percentage of 
Hispanic men, while the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) 
had the highest percentage of African American men. 

Table 10: Percentage Representation at DHS by Component for Career 
Employees as of September 2003: 

Component: DNDO; 
September 2003: African American: M: 7.8; 
September 2003: African American: W: 17.3; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.6; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.8; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.7; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 0.6; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 1.7; 
September 2003: White: M: 48.0; 
September 2003: White: W: 19.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.6; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: FEMA; 
September 2003: African American: M: 5.1; 
September 2003: African American: W: 11.6; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.3; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1.1; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 0.7; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 1.4; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 1.4; 
September 2003: White: M: 52.2; 
September 2003: White: W: 25.9; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: FLETC; 
September 2003: African American: M: 4.1; 
September 2003: African American: W: 4.7; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 1.2; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.3; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 0.7; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 0.7; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 1.0; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 1.2; 
September 2003: White: M: 57.0; 
September 2003: White: W: 29.2; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: HQ[A]; 
September 2003: African American: M: 4.4; 
September 2003: African American: W: 16.6; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.3; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1.7; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.4; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 2.8; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 1.1; 
September 2003: White: M: 42.3; 
September 2003: White: W: 29.6; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: IG; 
September 2003: African American: M: 8.2; 
September 2003: African American: W: 15.5; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 1.0; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.1; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.8; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 5.9; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 4.9; 
September 2003: White: M: 41.2; 
September 2003: White: W: 18.3; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: TSA; 
September 2003: African American: M: 11.1; 
September 2003: African American: W: 7.8; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.6; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.3; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.5; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.0; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 8.0; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 3.1; 
September 2003: White: M: 47.5; 
September 2003: White: W: 18.2; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.1; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: USCBP; 
September 2003: African American: M: 4.5; 
September 2003: African American: W: 6.3; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.5; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.3; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.8; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 14.9; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 6.3; 
September 2003: White: M: 43.0; 
September 2003: White: W: 19.2; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.2; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: USCG; 
September 2003: African American: M: 6.3; 
September 2003: African American: W: 10.1; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.5; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.6; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 2.6; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 1.7; 
September 2003: White: M: 50.2; 
September 2003: White: W: 24.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.2; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.1. 

Component: USCIS; 
September 2003: African American: M: b; 
September 2003: African American: W: b; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: b; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: b; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: b; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: b; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: b; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: b; 
September 2003: White: M: b; 
September 2003: White: W: b; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: b; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: b. 

Component: USICE; 
September 2003: African American: M: 4.3; 
September 2003: African American: W: 5.8; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.8; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.8; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 24.1; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 6.7; 
September 2003: White: M: 39.1; 
September 2003: White: W: 14.6; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.1; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: USSS; 
September 2003: African American: M: 9.0; 
September 2003: African American: W: 9.0; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.6; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1.5; 
September 2003: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 0.9; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 4.0; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 2.2; 
September 2003: White: M: 56.7; 
September 2003: White: W: 16.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: Other/ unspecified; 
September 2003: African American: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: African American: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: White: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: White: W: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: DHS-wide; 
September 2003: African American: M: 6.8; 
September 2003: African American: W: 7.1; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.5; 
September 2003: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.7; 
September 2003: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.5; 
September 2003: Hispanic: M: 14.2; 
September 2003: Hispanic: W: 4.8; 
September 2003: White: M: 44.4; 
September 2003: White: W: 17.7; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.1; 
September 2003: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Source: GAO analysis of the Office of Personnel Management's Central 
Personnel Data File. 

Notes: M = Men and W = Women. DNDO is the Domestic Nuclear Detection 
Office; FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency; FLETC is the 
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; HQ is DHS Headquarters; IG is 
the Inspector General's Office; TSA is the Transportation Security 
Administration; USCBP is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection; USCG 
is the U.S. Coast Guard; USCIS is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services; USICE is the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, and USSS 
is the U.S. Secret Service. Other/unspecified includes those who could 
not be placed in one of the above DHS components. 

[A] DHS HQ includes several program offices, such as the National 
Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), and staff offices, such as 
the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, under the Directorate for 
Management. 

[B] USCIS did not report data to the Office of Personnel Management's 
(OPM) Central Personnel Data File (CPDF) for 2003. 

[End of table] 

Table 11: Percentage Representation at DHS by Component for Career 
Employees as of September 2007: 

Component: DNDO; 
September 2007: African American: M: 4.1; 
September 2007: African American: W: 9.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.2; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.4; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.4; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 0.9; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 2.4; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 1.2; 
September 2007: White: M: 50.8; 
September 2007: White: W: 28.3; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: FEMA; 
September 2007: African American: M: 7.3; 
September 2007: African American: W: 14.1; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.4; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1.5; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 0.9; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 1.4; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 1.2; 
September 2007: White: M: 49.3; 
September 2007: White: W: 23.6; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: FLETC; 
September 2007: African American: M: 3.9; 
September 2007: African American: W: 5.1; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 1.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.5; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 0.6; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 0.5; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 2.7; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 1.9; 
September 2007: White: M: 57.9; 
September 2007: White: W: 25.7; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: HQ[A]; 
September 2007: African American: M: 6.6; 
September 2007: African American: W: 14.8; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.2; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1.7; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.7; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 1.2; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 1.0; 
September 2007: White: M: 46.8; 
September 2007: White: W: 25.8; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: IG; 
September 2007: African American: M: 5.8; 
September 2007: African American: W: 12.8; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.6; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.5; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 2.7; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 8.3; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 5.4; 
September 2007: White: M: 41.2; 
September 2007: White: W: 19.6; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.3; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.4. 

Component: TSA; 
September 2007: African American: M: 11.3; 
September 2007: African American: W: 10.5; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.7; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.5; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.5; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.5; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 8.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 4.6; 
September 2007: White: M: 39.8; 
September 2007: White: W: 18.9; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: USCBP; 
September 2007: African American: M: 3.1; 
September 2007: African American: W: 3.3; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.1; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.1; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.2; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 27.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 5.4; 
September 2007: White: M: 42.8; 
September 2007: White: W: 12.9; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.1; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: USCG; 
September 2007: African American: M: 6.2; 
September 2007: African American: W: 9.3; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.3; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.8; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 2.8; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 1.4; 
September 2007: White: M: 53.4; 
September 2007: White: W: 21.9; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.2; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.1. 

Component: USCIS; 
September 2007: African American: M: 4.3; 
September 2007: African American: W: 13.1; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.2; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.4; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 4.0; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 5.3; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 5.0; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 9.2; 
September 2007: White: M: 26.3; 
September 2007: White: W: 32.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: USICE; 
September 2007: African American: M: 5.5; 
September 2007: African American: W: 5.8; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.5; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.2; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.8; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.3; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 16.1; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 5.8; 
September 2007: White: M: 46.3; 
September 2007: White: W: 15.5; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.1; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: USSS; 
September 2007: African American: M: 9.3; 
September 2007: African American: W: 8.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.4; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.1; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2.0; 
September 2007: Asian/ Pacific Islander: W: 1.2; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 4.0; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 2.1; 
September 2007: White: M: 57.7; 
September 2007: White: W: 14.6; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.2; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.1. 

Component: Other/ unspecified; 
September 2007: African American: M: 1.8; 
September 2007: African American: W: 5.3; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.0; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.5; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 7.0; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 1.8; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 0.0; 
September 2007: White: M: 61.4; 
September 2007: White: W: 19.3; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.0; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Component: DHS-wide; 
September 2007: African American: M: 7.1; 
September 2007: African American: W: 7.8; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0.5; 
September 2007: American Indian/Alaska Native: W: 0.3; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 3.1; 
September 2007: Asian/Pacific Islander: W: 1.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: M: 14.6; 
September 2007: Hispanic: W: 4.9; 
September 2007: White: M: 42.5; 
September 2007: White: W: 17.6; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: M: 0.1; 
September 2007: Unspecified/ other: W: 0.0. 

Source: GAO analysis of OPM's CPDF. 

Notes: M = Men and W = Women. DNDO is the Domestic Nuclear Detection 
Office; FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency; FLETC is the 
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; HQ is DHS Headquarters; IG is 
the Inspector General's Office; TSA is the Transportation Security 
Administration; USCBP is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection; USCG 
is the U.S. Coast Guard; USCIS is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services; USICE is the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, and USSS 
is the U.S. Secret Service. Other/unspecified includes those who could 
not be placed in one of the above DHS components. 

[A] DHS HQ includes several program offices, such as the National 
Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), and staff offices, such as 
the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, under the Directorate for 
Management. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix II: Representation Data for DHS Leadership Development 
Programs: 

DHS officials stated that they have two formal leadership development 
programs to prepare future DHS leaders: the DHS Fellows Program for GS- 
13, GS-14, and GS-15 staff (an 11-month program) and the DHS Senior 
Executive Service (SES) Candidate Development Program, generally for GS-
15s (an 18-month program). Tables 12 and 13 below provide a breakdown 
of the representation of women and minorities in each of these 
programs. 

Table 12: Representation in DHS Fellows Program for GS-13, GS-14, and 
GS-15 Staff: 

DHS Fellows Program: 2007 class; 
African American: M: 1; 
African American: F: 1; 
American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0; 
American Indian/ Alaska Native: F: 1; 
Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 0; 
Asian/Pacific Islander: F: 0; 
Hispanic: M: 4; 
Hispanic: F: 0; 
White: M: 15; 
White: F: 8; 
Unspecified/ other: M: 0; 
Unspecified/ other: F: 0; 
Total: 30. 

DHS Fellows Program: 2008 class; 
African American: M: 2; 
African American: F: 2; 
American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0; 
American Indian/ Alaska Native: F: 0; 
Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 2; 
Asian/Pacific Islander: F: 1; 
Hispanic: M: 0; 
Hispanic: F: 1; 
White: M: 29; 
White: F: 11; 
Unspecified/ other: M: 2; 
Unspecified/ other: F: 0; 
Total: 50. 

Source: DHS. 

Note: M = Men and W = Women. 

[End of table] 

Table 13: Representation in DHS SES Candidate Development Program: 

DHS SES Candidate Development Program: 2007 to 2008 class; 
African American: M: 1; 
African American: F: 0; 
American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0; 
American Indian/Alaska Native: F: 0; 
Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1; 
Asian/Pacific Islander: F: 1; 
Hispanic: M: 0; 
Hispanic: F: 0; 
White: M: 9; 
White: F: 2; 
Unspecified/ other: M: 0; 
Unspecified/ other: F: 0; 
Total: 14. 

DHS SES Candidate Development Program: 2008 to 2009 class; 
African American: M: 2; 
African American: F: 3; 
American Indian/Alaska Native: M: 0; 
American Indian/Alaska Native: F: 0; 
Asian/Pacific Islander: M: 1; 
Asian/Pacific Islander: F: 0; 
Hispanic: M: 3; 
Hispanic: F: 0; 
White: M: 10; 
White: F: 4; 
Unspecified/ other: M: 0; 
Unspecified/ other: F: 0; 
Total: 23. 

Source: DHS. 

Note: M = Men and W = Women. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] GAO, High Risk Series: An Update, GAO-07-310 (Washington, D.C.: 
Jan. 31, 2007). 

[2] The 167,000 employees include those that are permanent, or career, 
and nonpermanent, or noncareer, as of September 2007. In this 
testimony, we only provide information on career employees. 

[3] GAO, OPM's Central Personnel Data File: Data Appear Sufficiently 
Reliable to Meet Most Customer Needs, GAO/GGD-98-199 (Washington, D.C.: 
Sept. 30, 1998). Also, in a document dated February 28, 2008, an OPM 
official confirmed that OPM continues to follow the CPDF data quality 
standards and procedures contained in our 1998 report. 

[4] Pub. L. No. 101-576 (1990), as amended. The CFO Act agencies are 24 
major executive agencies that are subject to the CFO Act. In 2007, the 
CFO Act agencies employed 98 percent of federal employees. 

[5] Career SES members are individuals with civil service status 
(permanent) who are appointed competitively to SES positions and serve 
in positions below the top political appointees in the executive branch 
of government. 

[6] We included GS-15, GS-14, and equivalent employees. GS-equivalent 
employees are those in equivalent grades under other pay plans that 
follow the GS grade structure and job evaluation methodology or are 
equivalent by statute. 

[7] 5 U.S.C. ï¿½ 7201 and 5 C.F.R. Part 720, Subpart B. 

[8] EEOC defines barriers as agency policies, principles, or practices 
that limit or tend to limit employment opportunities for those of a 
particular gender, race, or ethnic background or based on an 
individual's disability status. 

[9] See GAO, Diversity Management: Expert-Identified Leading Practices 
and Agency Examples, GAO-05-90 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 14, 2005). 

[10] Statement by Bray Barnes, Acting Chief Human Capital Officer, 
Department of Homeland Security, before the House Subcommittee on the 
Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia and 
Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal 
Workforce, and the District of Columbia (Apr. 3, 2008). 

[11] GAO, Department of Homeland Security: Progress Report on 
Implementation of Mission and Management Functions, GAO-07-454 
(Washington, D.C.: Aug. 17, 2007). 

[12] DHS officials stated that the DHS Diversity Council is made up of 
the second-and third-highest ranking officials from each DHS component. 

[13] GAO, Homeland Security: DHS's Action to Recruit and Retain Staff 
and Comply with the Vacancies Reform Act, GAO-07-758 (Washington, D.C.: 
July 16, 2007). 

[14] GAO, Older Workers: Federal Agencies Face Challenges but Have 
Opportunities to Hire and Retain Experienced Employees, GAO-08-630T, 
(Washington, D.C.: Apr. 30, 2008). 

[15] GAO, Human Capital: Insights for U.S. Agencies from Other 
Countries' Succession Planning and Management Initiatives, GAO-03-914 
(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 15, 2003). 

[16] We did not analyze whether diversity differences between DHS 
components corresponded to differences in occupational make-up, 
educational job requirements, geographic location of jobs, or other 
relevant factors.

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