IntroductionThe 20th century has been a time of amazing change for women. When the century began, women in the United States did not have even the fundamental human right to vote and were largely absent, save in stereotyped roles, from the American workplace including the Federal workplace. Today, we still face the challenges of fairness and equity, along with the imperative of creating a workforce with the skills and competencies needed to meet our national challenges. Women represent 42.8 percent of the permanent Federal workforce, compared to 46.4 percent in the Civilian Labor Force (CLF). The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is very concerned that the representation of women in the Federal workforce continues to lag behind representation in the CLF. Progress has been made; more and swifter progress is necessary. Federal executives and managers have a responsibility to assure their department and agency workplaces reflect the rich diversity of America. All segments of our society, including women, must have equal opportunities to participate, and must receive fair treatment in all Federal human resources activities. OPM is leading a Governmentwide initiative to improve the representation and the career development of women throughout Government. OPM has compiled a list of human resources management approaches and tools agencies may use in designing recruitment and retention strategies and in resolving staffing problems. This document describes some staffing, compensation, and award flexibilities available to help agencies attract and retain women at all levels. The most important single factor in attracting and retaining women is direct, conscientious involvement by managers. Managers can identify where targeted recruiting efforts will best succeed and stimulate interest in public service careers. And at every phase of careers in public service, managers must mentor and lead their employees to obtain optimal results. Federal managers must compete for the best and brightest employees, who are precisely the people we need to serve the American public. The following pay and benefit options, recruitment tools, and human resources development strategies are important for recruiting success and for sustaining effective, rewarding careers. Managers must know how to use these tools, and how they can best be combined to solve particular staffing problems.  
Page created 4 September 1998 |
