We analyzed the data, by race/ethnicity and gender, to identify trends in the percentages of women and minorities employed in the career SES governmentwide and in each of 24 CFO agencies over the 10-year period. To look at representation in the career SES compared with other labor forces, we calculated the proportions of women and minorities in the career SES, as of September 30, 1999, and compared the result with similarly calculated proportions of women and minorities in the six labor forces. By the end of fiscal year 1999, the difference had increased to about 15 percentage points. For fiscal years 1990 through 1999, annual appointments to the career SES included more women and minorities as the decade went on. Trends in SES Appointments Compared With the GS-15 Pipeline

As part of our analysis of diversity in appointments to the SES, we compared the composition of actual SES appointments to the composition of the pipeline—the feeder group from which new SES members were appointed. The minority percentage of appointments ranged from about 13 percent in 1990 to 22 percent in 1999. As we pointed out in this report, our objective, among others, was to describe how the representation of women and minority employees in the career SES compared with other labor forces.
Why GAO Did This Study

This report analyzes the gender and racial/ethnic diversity in the career Senior Executive Service (SES) governmentwide. GAO examines (1) whether the composition of the career SES changed during the 10-year period ending in fiscal year 1999 to include more minorities and women, (2) what proportion of women and minorities were appointed to the career SES annually during this 10-year period and whether the appointments reflected the SES "pipeline"--the group from which new SES members were generally appointed, and (3) how the representation of women and minority employees in the career SES as of fiscal year 1999 compared with other labor forces.

What GAO Found

GAO found that the representation of women and minorities in the career SES steadily increased during the 1990's, with the proportion of women going from 10 percent in 1990 to 22 percent in 1999. Similarly, the percentage of minority members went from seven percent to about 13 percent. The vast majority of these appointments came from within the ranks of GS-15 employees. Women and minorities had a somewhat lower representation in the SES when compared to other labor forces.