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Contractor |
DOE Office |
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Contract No.:
DE-AC03-76SF00515 |
LCMD: Name: Page Erikson |
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Point of Contact: SueVon Gee |
Telephone No.:
(510)637-1831 |
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Telephone No.:
(650)926-2968 |
CO Name: Tyndal
Lindler |
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FAX No.: (650) 926-5178 |
Telephone No.: (650) 926-4963(SLAC) |
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E-mail: sgee@slac.stanford.edu |
(510) 637-1885 (OAK) |
Date of last assessment: October 1999
The Affirmative Action Office's functional area received an overall good rating in the performance measure area currently agreed upon between SLAC and DOE/OAK in the FY 1999 Annual Appraisal. We had no 'marginal' areas in our last Assessment.
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.
Organizational Missions
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 1999 through October 2000, with a one-month 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 in order to address progress and contract
compliance. The specific
performance measure is the effective internal controls used to insure SLAC's
Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Program is in accordance with all
federal civil rights statutes and regulations.
Names, titles, affiliations of participants
SueVon Gee, Affirmative Action Officer, SLAC
Performance Measures: Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
Maintain effective internal program to ensure SLAC’s Equal Opportunity Program is in accordance with all Federal Civil Rights Statutes and the Affirmative Action Program is in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations 41-CFR 60-2
Performance Measure: Compliance Standing and Operational Awareness. Development, maintenance, and existence of control systems which would enable the standing of the EEO/AA program to be assessed quickly and efficiently. Assess and evaluate the strategic plan contained in the Annual Affirmative Action Plan.
Process used to meet objective/measure: The annual Affirmative Action Plan is the formal document to measure progress. The quarterly employment report is utilized to evaluate interim progress. The periodic compliance audits by the Department of Labor also serve to highlight our successes and failures and formally measure our "good faith efforts".
Assumptions made pertaining to performance measure: For the purpose of this self-assessment, the Affirmative Action Office's functional area elements include demonstrating the ability of the laboratory to successfully pass a Department of Labor audit regarding its performance in the area of equal employment and affirmative action as mandated by federal regulations.<
Documentation: Annual Affirmative Action Plan and Quarter Reports between the Period October 1999-October 2000 (upon request).
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
2000 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 reflects a continual review of the EEO
and AA program for relevancy, current applicability, and assessment of goal
attainment.
3. Compliance Standing and Operational Awareness
We have
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 April-August 1996 for compliance with federal statutes and
regulations and determined on December 12, 1996 that SLAC is in compliance.
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 a
strategic plan, which will identify occupational areas of high priority.
The strategic plan for FY 2000 and results subsequent to the
implementation of this plan are as follows:
Review of Strategic
Plan for FY 2000 and Strategic Plan for FY 2001
1. Focus
Two occupational areas were targeted with respect to minorities and women. These two areas were selected based upon the degree of underutilization, realistic projections for achievement in their specific occupational areas, and the number of opportunities projected in the upcoming year. For minorities, we focused on the mechanical engineering positions, and for women, we focused on the electronic technician area. Based on degree of underutilization, these areas will continue to be occupational areas of focus, but we will also add the occupational areas of environmental, health physics and computer science to the strategic plan. It should be noted, however, that although this effort will contribute to the overall representation of minorities and women at the Laboratory, these occupational areas are not currently underutilized with respect to minorities and women.
2. Strategic Plan by Occupation
a. Mechanical Engineers
We will continue to utilize the National Consortium Program (see Section VII.C. for description) as a primary pipeline for minorities into mechanical engineering positions at SLAC. Mechanical engineering graduates that interned at SLAC will be automatically considered for positions in mechanical engineering at SLAC.
He was in his second year graduate program and just finished his studies in the summer of 2000.
SLAC budgetary situation remains a challenge and this has impacted on our ability to recruit and hire recently graduated, mechanical engineers. What opportunities are available are still being filled first and foremost by highly experienced and technically specialized applicants. The trend to fill engineering positions with "extensive" experience as opposed to recent graduates with limited experience will not subside until our financial situation becomes more predictable and reliable.
We continue to maintain our relationship with the national women engineering program, Women in Engineering Program Advocates Network (WEPAN), a non-profit educational organization whose primary objective is to effect positive change in the engineering infrastructure for purpose of recruiting in the engineering field.
We will also maintain our relationship with the National Association of Minority Engineering Program Administrators (NAMEPA), which represents a network of educators and representatives from industry, government and non-profit organizations who are committed to the recruitment and retention of African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians earning degrees in engineering, and hope to join their efforts to help retain and increase the enrollment of minorities in the field of engineering which will ultimately increase the applicant pool for engineering positions.
We are hopeful that our funding situation will improve and enable us to more actively recruit and to do outreach in order to improve diversity among mechanical engineers.
b. Electronic Technicians
We have set goals for women in the electronic technician area this past year, but had fewer applicants than in years past as more women opt for other technical fields like computer science and environmental science. Competition for women technicians is fierce in the “Silicon Valley”, and the benefits associated with work in the corporate environment is often beyond our ability to compete. Opportunities permitting, we will continue to try to diversify the applicant pool in this occupational area in order to increase the probability of having more female electronic technicians.
Recruiting women technicians is further complicated by the fact that educational institutions are reporting a sharp decline of student enrollment in the sciences and in technical fields generally. This is particularly true of female students pursuing scientific and technical fields.
c. Environmental Engineers
Although we are not underutilized in this area, we will set goals for women in the environmental engineering field and utilize the National Consortium Program as a primary pipeline for women into these engineering positions at SLAC. We have excellent women scientists already in this field and they would be outstanding role models and mentors for up and coming female scientists in this field.
d. Health Physicists
We will set goals for both minorities and women in the field of Health Physics, as there are more minority and female students pursuing this area of physics than other areas of physics. There appears to be more opportunities for contributing to the national labor pool in this area through the National Consortium Program and a better opportunity to select interns in this field, who ultimately could be encouraged to select SLAC as a possible future employer.
e. Computer Scientists
We are also setting goals for minority computer scientists as there are more opportunities in this area of study and occupation than other occupational areas and we can make some significant contributions to the national labor pool in this area while increasing general diversity within the Laboratory. The National Consortium for Minority Engineers has included Computer Science as one of the areas of engineering which they are attempting to bring more diversity. We will attempt to recruit more interns into this program through this occupation area as well.
3. General Efforts to Increase Diversity, Meet Goals and Educate Staff Regarding Diversity
a. Recruitment - SLAC has attended and will continue to attend job fairs that minorities and women are likely to attend (e.g., UC/Berkeley Minority Job Fair, Westech in San Jose, Stanford University School of Engineering Job Fair, etc.). We have advertised positions in predominantly minority and female mediums (e.g., radio, newspapers, etc.). SLAC will combine its efforts with Stanford University's employment and recruitment activities and will work to incorporate recruitment activities into on-line computer services and networks serving minorities and women. It should be noted that preferential recruiting along gender and racial lines is becoming increasingly challenging, legally, due to post-Proposition 209 awareness and prohibitions against ethnic recruitment.
b. Retention - SLAC has conducted annual studies into termination and turnover rates for minorities and women. Reasons for their departure are routinely examined and it is noted that their departure are not due to discriminatory reasons, but rather due to non-discriminatory considerations like relocation, career change, or higher compensation. Formal exit interviews are done by the Human Resources Department and, if EEO/AA problems are cited by exiting employees, they are referred to the Affirmative Action Office for action as appropriate.
c. Upward Mobility - The reclassification system and employment system have been reviewed to determine whether minority and female employees are represented proportionate to their population in the work force. The Affirmative Action Office has a specific mechanism to review all reclassification actions prior to implementation, especially where protected class members are being denied reclassification.
d. Diversity Training - The Stanford Continuing Studies Program and Training Opportunities at SLAC has been evaluated as a possible vehicle for offering classes in diversity training for all supervisors. Courses, which would help employees bridge the communication barriers created by gender differences will be identified and recommended to the managerial staff this year. A specific proposal to rotate all supervisors through a course in diversity to improve their understanding of equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and their management of a diverse work force will be considered again this year contingent on funds and managers being made available for such a purpose. Due to our layoffs in recent years, most funds and managers have been devoted to maintaining the integrity of the research program.
In April 2000, we ran an EEO Diversity Training Program for the entire laboratory along with the DOE Racial Profiling Stand Down Program. Included in this training program was information about diversity, discrimination, stereotyping and maintaining a discrimination-free working environment which employees and managers would find useful and helpful during their career at SLAC. Out of 1154 regular employees, 1070 (or 92.7% of the total employees) participated in this training. Among the 334 minority employees, 320 (95.8% of the total) participated. Among the 264 women, 253 (95.8% of the total) women participated in this Diversity Training.
e. Employment Policy and Support for Skill Attainment - We continue to have open job postings, job-training opportunities for staff, and a tuition refund program, which encourages career development and provides all employees equal access to all jobs within SLAC. The Human Resources Department is available to all employees to discuss career options within SLAC.
Other Supportive Activities The various service areas are outlined below. Although maintaining effective internal program controls is our primary performance measure, these activities assure our controls are working properly and are current and applicable.
a. Monitoring the consistency between the Laboratory's and the University's EEO and AA programs.
b. Investigating all allegations of discrimination based on race, gender, disability, religion, national origin, veteran status, and age.
c. Monitoring all employment actions affecting protected class members.
d. Self-auditing and reporting on procedures and systems in areas for which the Office is responsible for monitoring (e.g., promotions, terminations, reclassifications, employment, salary setting, etc.).
e. Meeting the extensive technical standards outlined by the Department of Labor/OFCCP annually and per formal audit.
f. Counseling and training protected class members, supervisors, and employees regarding EEO and AA programs and issues.
Finding: The Affirmative Action Office's internal controls were found to be effective in monitoring the activities which made possible the achievement of the goals of the SLAC Equal Employment and Affirmative Action Program and the requirements of both the Department of Energy and the Department of Labor with respect to these programs.
Discussions: Many 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.). There are two Employee Relations personnel, two Compensation personnel, and one Employment person, all of whom generate paperwork or issues, which require the formal attention of the Affirmative Action Officer (of which there is only one). 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, the opportunities available (which are driven by budgetary considerations), and the educational and labor market trends. For example, low turnover, budgetary constraints or reductions, and decreases in educational and labor market trends in the field of science and engineering have a profound effect on our ability to make significant progress towards our availability percentages. 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.
As already mentioned, the responsibility for diversity recruitment remains in the Human Resources Department and can be evaluated as part of the Human Resource component of the assessment.
Proposed action: The Affirmative Action Office's functional area should continue to monitor performance and establish strategies for continued improvement. We will continue to lend support to the Human Resources Department's effort to get more resources and funds for the purpose of diversifying the applicant pool.
Problem Analysis
Root-Cause Analysis
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 and the
subsequent labor market figures. Barrier(s) to Improvement 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. However, SLAC is actively
pursuing alternative ways in which to make the working environment more attractive to
our staff by exploring things like: remote commuting, flexible
work schedules, increase 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. There is a continuing decline in minority and female
college enrollment generally, and in the sciences specifically, over the last
decade. 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, more and more minorities and women will
be impacted. 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. Improvement Action Plan/Goals Recognized areas of improvement The Affirmative Action Office's functional area 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. Goals for FY2001 Our focus in the coming year will
continue to be: