United States
Office of Personnel Management

The Federal Government's Human Resources Agency
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Speech by Kay Coles James, Director,
Office of Personnel Management


INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON HISPANIC EMPLOYMENT
IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

October 4 , 2001


WELCOME AND THANK YOUS
I want to welcome you all to the first meeting of the Interagency Task Force on Hispanic Employment in the Federal Government and to thank you for coming on such short notice. I appreciate your responsiveness. The fact that so many of you are here speaks well of how deeply you care about these issues, as we do here at OPM. The experience, talent and array of perspectives present today are unique and very much appreciated.


This Task Force was established pursuant to Executive Order 13171, which was issued last year. I want to be very clear that our work on this Task Force is a very high priority and represents a tremendous opportunity to further advance the President's commitment and leadership on this issue.


As you know, the President has worked hard to fill his administration with men and women of exceptional talent and impeccable character - of all races and from all walks of life. And he has made it a priority for all of us to whom he has delegated responsibility in his Administration to bring the best and the brightest into public service at all levels - wherever and whoever they may be.


There is a growing recognition, made even more evident by events of the last month, that the federal government needs to recruit new talent into its workforce. To do so, we need to cast the net as widely as possible. If we truly want government services to become more citizen-centered, then we need to make sure that the federal government continues to build and maintain a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of our people.

Last week, the President issued a proclamation for Hispanic Heritage Month, noting the integral role of Hispanics in the creation of this Nation and in its ongoing success. About one out of every eight people in the United States today claims Hispanic origin. Yet we are not fully tapping the talented Hispanic community for public service. Hispanics are the only under-represented minority group in the Federal workforce, comprising only 6.6 percent of permanent federal employees.


Concern about the under-representation of Hispanics in the federal workforce dates back many years, including the administration of President George H. Bush. Many of you here today were a part of those efforts. While we have indeed made some progress, the overall representation rate of Hispanic employees in the Federal workforce still is less than 60% of their representation rate in the civilian labor force.

Executive Order 13171 affirms established Federal policies and activities to improve Hispanic representation in the Federal civil service. But it's clear that we need to look at what we're doing and figure out why initiatives agencies have followed in the past have not worked as well as they had stated or hoped, and to figure out what our next steps should be.
As appointees and managers, our mission is clear - this is a problem and it is our responsibility to follow the President's lead and correct it. At OPM, I have already begun to take pro-active steps to reach out to the Hispanic community.

We also will be working closely with the President's senior Hispanic appointees to draw on their tremendous range of contacts as well as with contacts in the private sector to learn best practices outside of government.

In addition, I will be looking to this Task Force to focus very specifically on efforts to position the federal government to take advantage of the full array of talent in the Hispanic community. It is a high-level Task Force - Deputy Directors or their equivalent - for very important reasons.

In addition to creating this Task Force and requiring an annual report from the OPM Director, the Executive Order requires each Federal agency to take steps to establish and maintain a program for the recruitment and career development of Hispanics in federal employment.

Agency plans must reflect a continuing priority for eliminating Hispanic under-representation in the federal workforce and incorporate strategies to achieve workforce diversity in each agency's Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Annual Performance Plan. When they put it in GPRA, you know they are serious.

Federal agencies also must take steps to establish and maintain effective programs for the recruitment and career development of Hispanics in Federal employment. These steps should include further partnerships and cooperation among Federal, public, and private sector employers and appropriate Hispanic organizations to promote Federal employment of qualified individuals.

I want this Task Force to highlight to OPM - give us your wisdom, your advice - effective models for enhancing the recruitment and professional development of Hispanics at the agency level. From your comments, we will consider recommendations for an accountability system and identify best practices in Federal agencies and the private sector.
That is the big picture. Now here's what we need to accomplish today:


I will call us together again within the next few months and, at that time, I would like to be able to adopt an updated plan with recommendations.


The federal government has long led the way in providing equal opportunity in employment, in judging people on the quality of their work, not on their race or religion. As we face the difficult challenges ahead, the need to bring good people into public service has never been greater. You hold the key to making sure we reach out to the Hispanic community and welcome every talented citizen with skills to contribute and a willingness to serve.

-- END -- 


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