Joint Study Group To Examine Why Opportunities For Hispanics Appear Limited

  From the Frontrunner The Washington Post's (5/22, D4, Barr) "Federal Diary" column reports, "The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Social Security Administration are launching a study group to better understand the problems that Hispanics face in getting hired and promoted in the government." Federal employment "reports have consistently described Hispanics as underrepresented in the government compared with the nation's labor force," and the EEOC estimates that of the 2.6 million government workers, "7.74 percent are Hispanic," but "Hispanics make up less than 4 percent of federal executives, and some data reviewed by the EEOC suggest that the careers of many Hispanics get stuck at the General Schedule grade 11, which makes it difficult for them to qualify for programs that groom federal leaders." The Post adds, "The study group hopes to pull together preliminary recommendations by August for presentation at a national EEOC conference."