WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 2009 - Federally Employed Women's (FEW) National President Sue Webster expressed disappointment with the low compliance level from federal agencies with respect to meeting their reporting requirements under Management Directive 715 (MD-715). This Directive requires agencies to take appropriate steps to ensure that all employment decisions are free from discrimination. "These reporting requirements are an important indication of how well agencies are achieving equal employment for all federal workers," Webster stated. "With only half of the agencies submitting reports, the public, federal workers and potential applicants have no way of knowing which agencies are working the hardest to ensure the employment and advancement of women and minorities," Webster advised.
According to the most recent data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) "Annual Report on the Federal Work Force," only 50% or 84 of the 167 federal agencies and subcomponents submitted timely MD-715 reports in fiscal year 2006, down from 68% that submitted them on time in fiscal year 2005. According to the EEOC publication, "MD-715 reports provide information on an agency's progress in achieving the model Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) program elements and eliminating barriers." (http://eeoc.gov/federal/fsp2007/index.html#IF2)
"We are very concerned about the significant decrease in compliance and this increases our concern about the viability and enforcement of the Federal Women's Program (FWP) in federal agencies," added FEW Vice President for Compliance Michelle Crockett. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulations implementing Public Law 92-261 (EEO Act of 1972) require that each federal agency designate an FWP Manager to advise the EEO Director on matters affecting the employment and advancement of women. The rules also require that federal agencies allocate sufficient resources for FWPs.
FEW is committed to working with agencies to strengthen the Federal Women's Program and pledges to work with the Obama Administration and congressional leaders to ensure that FWP managers in every federal agency are named and receive adequate support to perform their important role of improving the status of women in the federal government through education, counseling agency employees and providing management officials with information on workforce trends. "While we realize there are many other items on the priority list for the new Administration, we want to make sure that laws already on the books are enforced and that women - who still earn only about 76 cents on the dollar compared to that of their male counterparts (the percentage is even lower for minorities) - are able to obtain the counseling needed to move up the career ladder in the federal workforce," asserted Janet Kopenhaver, FEW's Washington Representative.
FEW is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1968 after Executive Order 11375 was issued that added sex discrimination to the list of prohibited discrimination in the federal government. FEW has grown into a proactive organization serving more than one million federally employed women - both in the military and civilian workforce. For more information, visit www.few.org.
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