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The Affirmative Action Office's functional area received an overall outstanding rating in the performance measure area currently agreed upon between SLAC and DOE/OAK in the FY 2003 Annual Appraisal. We had no 'marginal' areas in our last Assessment.
The FY 2004 Self Assessment Review on EEO, therefore, should be based upon the FY 2004 Strategic Plan and the performance rating gradient outlined in this report.
The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) is dedicated to experimental and theoretical research in elementary particle physics and in those fields that make use of its synchrotron radiation facilities, including biology, chemistry, geology, material science and electrical engineering. This includes the development of new techniques in particle acceleration and detection, and of synchrotron radiation sources and associated instrumentation. The center is operated as a national user facility for the Department of Energy by Stanford University.
The activities of the Affirmative Action Office include, but are not limited to the administration of the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action (AA) programs within the Laboratory. Specifically, the Affirmative Action Office is responsible for monitoring the consistency between the Laboratory and the University's EEO and AA programs, investigating all allegations of discrimination based on race, gender, disability, religion, national origin, veteran status, and age, monitoring all employment actions affecting protected class members, designing audit and reporting system in areas for which the Office is responsible, and meeting the extensive technical standards outlined by the Department of Labor/OFCCP for an audit.
This report represents the results of the Affirmative Action Office's functional area self-assessment, which was conducted from October 1, 2003 through September 30, 2004, with a three-month period just prior to end of self assessment period for analyzing data, implementing projects, and report writing.
The Affirmative Action Office's functional area self-assessment is based on and measured against performance measures agreed upon between SLAC and DOE/OAK on October 1, 2003 and contained in the FY 2004 Affirmative Action Plan in order to address progress and contract compliance. The specific performance objective to be measured is the effective maintenance of internal controls used to insure that SLAC's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Program is in accordance with all federal civil rights statutes and regulations and the successful implementation of the FY 2004 Strategic Plan, as outlined in the annual Affirmative Action Plan.
Names, titles, affiliations of participants:
SueVon Gee, Affirmative Action Officer, SLAC; Lily Wong, Assistant EEO Manager; Connie Courtney, Administrative Associate
Performance Objective: Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
Maintain effective internal program controls to ensure SLAC meets its obligations under the Equal Opportunity clause which includes maintaining nondiscriminatory hiring and employment practices and taking affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and employees are treated fairly and in accordance with applicable regulations dealing with race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status and disability.
Performance Measure:
The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center develops and maintains an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Program which is outlined in the annual Affirmative Action Plan that meets all requirements outlined in the Equal Opportunity clause.
Process used to meet objective/measure:
An Affirmative Action Plan is developed annually describing the EEO and AAO program, its internal controls and systems, and the long term goals for achieving full utilization of minorities and women in the work force. An assessment of SLAC’s progress in meeting these long-term goals is provided in the annual Affirmative Action Plan.
Additionally, a Strategic Plan is developed annually with DOE’s approval that outlines anticipated and specific affirmative action opportunities for minorities and women, which could reasonably be attained over the course of a twelve-month period. The Strategic Plan is consistent with SLAC’s general diversity efforts and would contribute to SLAC’s efforts to meet its long range goals in occupational areas where minorities and women are not traditionally found. The Strategic Plan contributes to SLAC’s ability to demonstrate its good faith in taking affirmative action and in achieving diversity in the work force given the opportunities and resources available.
The maintenance of internal controls as described in the Affirmative Action Plan and results from the annual Strategic Plan form the basis for our annual Self Assessment review.
The Self Assessment review will address topics such as:
The current status of the internal controls to evaluate the EEO and AA Programs.
The selection, termination and promotion of minorities and women generally and in underutilized occupational areas specifically.
The evaluation of the work force data and the progress made against the long term goals set in occupational areas of underutilization.
Results of the previous Strategic Plan in increasing representation of minorities and women in occupational areas where they are nottraditionally found.
Documentation: Annual Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) and Strategic Plan (within AAP).
Scope of Review:
1. Maintain effective internal program controls
Internal program controls for the EEO and AA are excellent with hiring, promotion, separation, and compensation actions being monitored on an ongoing basis (i.e., daily, monthly, and quarterly). For example, the Affirmative Action Office signs off on all job requisitions and reviews and concurs on all job hires prior to an official offer being made. Additionally, the Affirmative Action Officer is a member of the Salary Review Committee where annual salaries are set for exempt and non-exempt staff and where policy and procedures about SLAC's salary program are initiated, reviewed, and implemented. The Affirmative Action Officer reports directly to the Director of the Laboratory and is responsible for the day-to-day activities associated with affirmative action and equal opportunity and has the authority to initiate whatever activities/actions are necessary to resolve issues under the Officer's charge. The level of authority provided to the Affirmative Action Office creates a strong and active control system, which enhances and furthers EEO and AA objectives (See SLAC's AA Plan FY 2004 Plan).
2. Program Development and Maintenance
SLAC has developed and is maintaining an Equal Employment and Affirmative Action Program, which is in compliance with the Department of Labor's criteria and meets the Department of Energy's EEO contractual requirements. The annual Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) reflects a continual review of the EEO and AA program for relevancy, current applicability, and assessment of goal attainment.
A Strategic Plan was developed, approved by DOE and incorporated within the annual AAP at the beginning of FY 2004.
3. Compliance Standing and Operational Awareness
SLAC has developed a series of control systems which enable SLAC to assess quickly and efficiently its EEO/AA standing at all times and especially during a full scale Department of Labor compliance review. The Department of Labor last reviewed SLAC's EEO/AA program in its entirety during the period August-September 2003 and everything appeared to be in order. Unless notified otherwise by Department of Labor, it can be concluded that SLAC is in full compliance with federal statutes and regulations. The internal program controls which have successfully passed all Department of Labor audits to date remain in place and is a vital part of the on-going EEO/AA program. No new federal regulations have been introduced since 1996, which would necessitate a change in the control system currently established.
4. Program and Plan
The EEO/AA Program is current and formalized through its annual Affirmative Action Plan, which identifies areas of underutilization and assesses its progress in reaching full utilization of minorities and women in accordance with regulatory guidelines. Contained within this annual plan, with the concurrence of DOE/OAK, is an annual Strategic Plan which identifies opportunities beneficial to increasing the representation of minorities and women in occupational areas, where they are not traditionally found in the work force (e.g., high priority areas). The Strategic Plan for FY 2004 and the results obtained subsequent to the implementation of this plan are outlined below.
5. Goals and Results for FY 2004 Strategic Plan
The 2004 Strategic Plan was designed to achieve results over a 12-month period in the area of diversity within existing resources and opportunities. Specific and detailed goals were identified during the fiscal year which will enhance diversity or help us to make progress towards full utilization. While the Strategic Plan targets areas where we estimate we may have specific opportunities, SLAC’s efforts should be reviewed in conjunction with the long-term and general efforts and goals made by SLAC to achieve full utilization throughout the laboratory (see annual Affirmative Action Plan and all of the goals set by Job Categories and Job Groups). Based on the performance rating gradient and our overall effort within the context of the strategic plan, available resources and opportunities an “excellent” rating is justified.
a. Overall Efforts
- During the Fiscal Year 2004, SLAC’s Strategic Plan and Affirmative Action Plan results were excellent.
- Overall percentages for minorities laboratory-wide were essentially unchanged, but there were significant improvements in the Professional and Technician categories which was our primary focus.
- Part of the challenge this past year was the separation rate among minorities and women. Of the 67 separations, 23 (34.3% of the total) were minorities, which was higher than their representation in the work force (31.5% of the total work force). Women accounted for 19 (28.4% of the total) of the separations, which was also higher than their representation in the work force (at 22.8% o the total). None of the separations were EEO/AA-related and in most instances were voluntary.
- There were a total of 130 hiring opportunities of which 38 (29.2% of total) went to minorities and 27 (20.8% of total) went to women.
- Trying to replace minorities and women as fast as their departure while still making progress in their overall representation remains an ongoing challenge. Particularly considering affirmative efforts must be done in conjunction with and while maintaining equal employment opportunity for all applicants.
- Our excellent efforts is based on the fact that even with a high separation rate among minorities and women, the laboratory was still able to maintain the diversity gains made over the last few years and to increase diversity in the Professional and Technician categories. Minority representation increased from 12.8% to 13.4% in the Professional category (a gain of 17 minorities) and from 7.1% to 7.2% in the Technician category (a gain of 5 minorities). Women representation increased from 11.6% to 11.7% in the Professional category (a gain of 9 women).
- Our excellent rating is also based on the specific efforts made to enhance diversity within the laboratory’s work force and the impact we are having on the broader community (e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in diversifying the sciences.
b. Specific Efforts as Outlined in Strategic Plan
The following highlights some of the results for each of the specific strategic goals set for FY 2004.
(1) GEM Program as Pipeline for Mechanical or Electronic Engineers
- We continue to support and utilize the National Consortium in the Graduate Engineering for Minorities (GEM) program (see Section VII.C. for description) as a primary pipeline for minorities in the mechanical and electronic engineering fields. Mechanical and electronic engineering graduates that interned at SLAC will be automatically considered for positions in engineering at SLAC. This summer we had 5 GEM students over the summer with 3 returning and 2 new GEM students.
- While we were unable to bring in an engineering intern this year from among the GEM summer students, we are in the process of bringing in an African American Hazard Materials Specialist intern into the Environmental, Safety and Health Division on a one year, fixed term, technical appointment. This is with the hope that this intern will be placed in a regular, permanent position following his internship at SLAC.
(2) Female Manager
- Throughout the year, we continued to look for opportunities to place females in managerial position. While we were unable to place a female in a managerial position this past year, we did promote 3 females from Office and Clerical and Technician categories into the Professional categories where they have a higher probability for managerial advancement. Women fared particularly well in promotions this year. They account for 23.1% of the total work force, but accounted for 29.2% of the total inter-promotions (within occupational categories); well above their representation in the work force.
(3) Faculty Exchange Program
- As planned, we brought two physics professors from two of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) under our faculty exchange program during the summer of 2004. We were successful in including an additional physics professor to the summer group as well. Together we hosted two professors from Fisk University, Dr. Michael Watson, an astrophysicist who worked with the Kavli Institution and Dr. Stephen Egarievwe, a nuclear physicists and computer scientist working with Enriched Xenon Observatory and one professor from Paine College, Dr. Bryan Mitchell, who worked at SPEAR3 on the beam line. These professors worked directly on SLAC’s research projects and their hands-on experience and training will benefit their respective colleges and students. This summer experience has also helped the professors to establish an ongoing collaborative relationship between SLAC and their colleges’ physics program for years to come.
- The faculty exchange program, which was initiated in 2002, has already exceeded our expectations. Like the previous visiting professors, these three physics professors were well received by our SLAC staff and they will benefit greatly from the linkages established at SLAC even after they return to their respective institutions.
(4) Quantitative Study in FY 2004
- A new availability analysis and study was done this year to take into consideration the new census data (from Year 2000) which is conducted every ten years. This analysis also took into consideration major changes implemented by the Department of Labor in the methodology used for calculating availability percentages for minorities and women.
- Instead of 8 factors, the Department of Labor has reduced the analysis to 3 factors which are directly relevant to the availability of people in the labor force. Two major factors eliminated from the analysis were population and unemployment figures; both of which have historically skewed the availability figures for the labor force. The factors currently applicable are: workers with requisite skills in the respective occupational categories and job groups; promotable workers within employer’s site; and availability figures from training institutions. Our new availability percentage figures are reflected in this detailed study and are applied in the FY 2005 Affirmative Action Plan.
Performance Rating: We consider our overall performance rating this year to be “Excellent”, based on:
This excellent rating is consistent with the mutually agreed upon definitions and standards established between SLAC and DOE.
Finding: The Affirmative Action Office's internal controls were found to be exceedingly effective in monitoring the activities which made possible the achievement of the goals of the SLAC Equal Employment and Affirmative Action Program. These controls meet all of the federal requirements outlined by the Department of Energy and the Department of Labor relevant to EEO and AA.
Discussions: Activities in the Affirmative Action Office's functional area are controlled on a formal basis rather than on an informal basis. There continues to be a tremendous amount of documentation that comes through the Affirmative Action Office's operation including the management of central data for the Laboratory on AA and EEO reporting requirements (e.g., historical workers file, archive information on EEO-related complaints, etc.). Over the last two decades there have been a number of reviews, including one by an independent consultant, to evaluate the process and to make it more streamlined and efficient. The current process is about as compact as we can make it without jeopardizing essential elements necessary to our review.
Under leadership of the Affirmative Action Officer, a great deal of reliance is placed on the Administrative Service Manager and Administrative Associate to maintain and manage the data within the Affirmative Action Office and to do all the statistical analysis associated with its efforts. The statistical analysis is at the core of determining whether we are making progress towards our availability percentages and if not, what systems in the laboratory are contributing to our failure to achieve success. There is no substitute for the development and management of data, nor for the basic social science research, which is necessary to support conclusions and subsequent recommendations.
As has been the historical case, the degree to which we can make significant progress with regard to the diversity picture depends in large part on the turnover within the laboratory (currently low at 7% of the total work force), the opportunities available (which are driven by budgetary considerations), and the educational and labor market trends. The combined efforts of all three of the Affirmative Action staff members are necessary in order to achieve all of the multiple tasks and responsibilities and to meet the demands of the Laboratory population for service and guidance on EEO and AA matters. We have opted for a model that addresses the long term goals via our Affirmative Action Plan and our short term goals via our Strategic Plan.
As already mentioned, the responsibility for diversity recruitment remains in the Human Resources Department with consultation from the Affirmative Action Office.
Proposed action: The Affirmative Action Office's functional area should continue to monitor the performances of the internal controls and systems and establish strategies for continued improvement with respect to diversity and achieving full utilization.
In order to make significant progress in the area of affirmative action, there must be a sufficient pool of minorities and women in the labor market from which to hire. It is also essential to note the correlation between the demographics among science major graduates coming out of the educational institutions at all degree levels (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, doctorate and post-doctorate), the relevant labor market figures and unemployment rates to determine the actual availability of minorities and women.
Also, SLAC must have the operational resources (e.g., funding) to implement diversity recruitment and programs and to support internship positions in difficult-to-recruit scientific fields (e.g., physics, engineering, etc.) and to have annual performance reviews reflect the challenges confronting diversity issues and be conducted within the “context” of those competing and limited resources.
Our salaries and fringe benefits are not as competitive as private industry when it comes to keeping or attracting minority and female scientists and engineers. Both minority and female scientists are premium assets to any employer and we are at a distinct disadvantage in the competitive market, especially here in the Silicon Valley where technical personnel are at a premium. Surveys conducted by educational institutions have reported that science-oriented graduates and workers are overwhelmingly choosing private industry over educational institutions and public entities; making recruitment that much more difficult.
In recent years, the economy in the United States has made workers less mobile and likely to make job changes and this has an effect on our ability to make significant changes within our own demographics in the work force.
There is a continuing decline in minority and female college enrollment generally, and in the sciences specifically, over the last decade; especially in the physical sciences. There has been a distinct “decline” in the number of students pursuing physics generally and at the doctorate level specifically. In a scientific laboratory specializing in high energy physics, this is not good news and will affect our recruitment efforts in the years ahead.
There is no indication, given the cutbacks in minority and female support services and funds, that this trend will be reversed any time soon. As student loans and scholarships decrease, so will the number of minorities and women enrolling in colleges. This will further erode the minority and female college pool and in particular the scientific labor pool. In the field of physics generally, and high energy physics specifically, the picture is even more bleak. A reversal of this trend may be possible if more governmental programs could be initiated at the college enrollment level to encourage minorities and women to pursue advance degrees (e.g., student loans, tax credits, etc.).
While the labor market conditions are bleak, SLAC continues to actively pursue alternative ways in which to make the working environment more attractive to our staff and prospective employees by exploring things like: remote commuting, flexible work schedules, increased educational benefits (e.g., pay for Master's degree), bonus programs, etc.; all of which could make a difference to those we are trying to recruit.
The Affirmative Action Office's activities have been carried out very formally with tangible performance measurement tools developed by the Department of Energy, Department of Labor, and SLAC's Affirmative Action Office. At a time of diminishing resources, implementing a strategic plan that focuses on specific achievements in specific positions has produced some impressive results (this year included).
This strategic plan has proven to be more effective than a “broad brush” approach using general recruitment strategies aimed at occupational areas based solely on underutilization percentages. While the long term goal of full utilization in areas of highest utilization is the context in which the strategic plan operates, the targeting of limited resources for specific recruitment and placement seems to generate more accountability and better results.
Our objectives and goals in the coming fiscal year will be to:
a. Computer Science Internship
We will set a goal for another intern position within SLAC’s Computer Services (SCS) Department as we have had some success in using this model. This internship could accommodate a minority undergraduate in the field of computer science. This intern position would be jointly supported by the Affirmative Action Office and the SLAC Computer Services (SCS) department. It is expected that a minority undergraduate will be recruited through our minority recruitment program (e.g., GEM or specialized recruitment) and be matched up with a hosting department at SCS. Optimally, a minority undergraduate or graduate level candidate would start as an intern and ultimately secure a permanent placement within SCS.
b. Mechanical or Electronic Engineering
We will continue to utilize the National Consortium in the Graduate Engineering for Minorities (GEM) program (see Section VII.C. for description) as a primary pipeline for minorities in the mechanical and electronic engineering fields. Mechanical and electronic engineering graduates that interned at SLAC will be automatically considered for positions in mechanical and electronic engineering at SLAC.
In addition to trying to match vacant positions with successfully graduated GEM students, we will establish a SLAC-sponsored electronic engineering intern position within one of our technical areas (e.g., SSRL). This fixed-term intern position is to be jointly funded by the Affirmative Action Office and a Technical Department and will run for one year with a possible one-year extension.
c. Management
SLAC will continue to attempt to diversify its middle and senior management staff level by recruiting, hiring or promoting at least one woman or minority at the managerial level during this next fiscal year.
In FY2003, we were successful in placing one woman in an executive management position in the Environmental, Safety and Health Division as an Administrative Services Manager and we have set another goal for placing another woman or minority into a leadership position.
d. Faculty Exchange Program
We have set a goal of bringing another two physics professors from two of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) under our faculty exchange program during the summer of 2005. These professors will be working directly with some of SLAC’s faculty to familiarize themselves with some of the collaborative research projects done in the international and national scientific community in physics.
It is the goal of this exchange program to provide our visiting professors with some insight into contemporary research projects at one of the nation’s laboratories so they might impart this knowledge to their students upon their return and to help mentor students, particularly in the physics field.
It is also the goal of this exchange program to provide these visiting professors an opportunity to establish linkages with Stanford professors, who might be willing to take promising doctorate students from some of the HBCU’s in the future and mentor them as well.
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