	Representation of Women and Minorities in the SES and Its Developmental Pool as of Fiscal Year 2007

The data that we are reporting today provide a demographic snapshot of  the career SES as well as the levels that serve as the SES developmental  pool for October 2000 and September 2007. Table 1 shows the number of  career SES as well as those in the developmental pool, including the  percentages of women and minorities. In our 2003 report, we (1) reviewed actual appointment trends from fiscal  years 1995 to 2000 and actual separation experience from fiscal years 1996  to 2000; (2) estimated by race, ethnicity, and gender the number of career  SES who would leave government service from October 2000 through  October 2007; and (3) projected what the profile of the SES would be if  appointment and separation trends did not change. Table 3 shows SES representation as of October 2000, our 2003  projections of what representation would be at the end of fiscal year 2007,  and actual fiscal year 2007 data. Fiscal year 2007 data show that  increases did take place among those groups and that those increases  generally exceed the increases we projected. The only decrease among  minorities occurred in African American men, whose representation  declined from 5.5 percent in 2000 to 5.0 percent at the end of fiscal year  2007. Representation of Women and Minorities in the PCES, EAS, and CSP Program

As we have testified before the House Subcommittee on Federal  Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia, Committee on  Oversight and Government Reform, the Postal Service expects nearly half  of its executives to retire within the next 5 years, which has important  implications and underscores the need for effective succession planning. Table 5 updates  information we provided last year for the PCES and EAS levels 22 and  above, from September 1999 to September 2007, showing increases in the  representation of women and minorities. The Service’s policy encourages selecting employees from the  CSP program when it promotes employees to the PCES. The current CSP  program—which first accepted participants in 2004—is intended to  identify pools of potential successors for PCES positions and develop  these employees so that they can promptly and successfully assume PCES  positions as these positions become available. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, enacted in 2006,  expressed Congress’s interest in diversity in the Postal Service. Processes Used for Selecting SES and PCES Members

Executive branch agencies have processes for selecting members into the  SES and developmental programs that are designed to create pools of  candidates for senior positions. The Postal Service also has processes for  selecting PCES members and participants in its CSP program from which  potential successors to the PCES could come. Each agency head is to appoint one or more Executive  Resources Boards (ERB) to conduct the merit staffing process for initial  SES career appointments. ERBs review the executive and technical  qualifications of each eligible candidate and make written  recommendations to the appointing official concerning the candidates. Instead, the  Postal Service promotes EAS and other employees to the PCES when  these employees are selected to fill PCES vacancies.
Why GAO Did This Study

A diverse Senior Executive Service (SES), which generally represents the most experienced segment of the federal workforce, can be an organizational strength by bringing a wider variety of perspectives and approaches to policy development and decision making. In January 2003, GAO provided data on the diversity of career SES members as of October 2000 (GAO-03-34). In March 2000, GAO reported similar data for the Postal Career Executive Service (PCES) as of September 1999 (GAO/GGD-00-76). In its 2003 report, GAO also projected what the profile of the SES would be in October 2007 if appointment and separation trends did not change. In response to a request for updated information on diversity in the SES and the senior ranks of the U.S. Postal Service, GAO is providing data on race, ethnicity, and gender obtained from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Central Personnel Data File and the Postal Service for (1) career SES positions as of the end of fiscal year 2007 and the SES developmental pool (i.e., GS-15 and GS-14 positions) as well as a comparison of actual fiscal year 2007 data to projections for fiscal year 2007 that GAO made in its 2003 report, and (2) the PCES, the Executive Administrative Schedule (EAS), and EAS participants in the Corporate Succession Planning (CSP) program. GAO also describes the process that executive agencies and the Postal Service use to select members into their senior ranks.

What GAO Found

Data in the Central Personnel Data File and provided by the U.S. Postal Service show that as of the end of fiscal year 2007, the overall percentages of women and minorities have increased in the federal career SES and its developmental pool for potential successors since 2000 as well as in the PCES and EAS levels 22 and above, from which PCES potential successors could come, since 1999. Actual fiscal year 2007 SES data show that representation increased from October 2000 among minorities and women and that those increases generally exceed the increases we projected in our 2003 report. The only decrease among minorities occurred in African American men, whose fiscal year 2007 actual representation (5.0 percent) was less than the October 2000 baseline (5.5 percent). For the developmental pool (GS-15s and GS-14s), fiscal year 2007 data show that increases also occurred generally among minorities and women since October 2000. Both executive branch agencies and the Postal Service have processes for selecting members into their senior ranks. Executive agencies use Executive Resources Boards to review the executive and technical qualifications of eligible candidates for initial SES career appointments and make recommendations on the best qualified. An OPM-administered board reviews candidates' qualifications before appointment to the SES. The Postal Service does not fall under the jurisdiction of OPM's board for promoting employees to the PCES. Instead, it promotes EAS and other employees to the PCES when they are selected to fill PCES vacancies. Most employees promoted to the PCES have been CSP program participants, consistent with Postal Service policy encouraging this practice. The CSP program is intended to identify and develop employees so that they can promptly and successfully assume PCES positions as these positions become available.