Introduction/Background
Point of Contact:
SueVon Gee
Phone No.: (650)926-2968
Fax: (650) 926-5178
Email: sgee@slac.stanford.edu
Discussion of Individual Performance Objectives
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 and 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 not traditionally found.
Documentation:
Annual Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) and Strategic Plan (within
AAP).
Scope of Review:
- 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 2005 Plan).
- 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 2005.
- 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.
- 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,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 2005 and the results obtained subsequent to the implementation
of this plan are outlined below.
- Goals and Results for FY 2005 Strategic Plan
The 2005 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). Our overall effort within the context of the strategic
plan, available resources and opportunities justifies an
"Excellent" rating.
- Overall Efforts
During the Fiscal Year 2005, there was an overall
work force decrease by 40 positions due to layoffs.
There was a total of 69 layoffs of which 15 (21.7%)
were women and 22 (31.9%) were minorities. Our review
will be done within the context of this reduction-in-force
challenge.
SLAC’s Strategic Plan and Affirmative Action Plan
results were excellent. There were a total of 180 opportunities
(hires and promotions). Of these, 67 or 37.2% of the
total went to minorities. Women accounted for 40 or
22.2% of the total opportunities.
Minority hiring was 38 or 38.0% of the total new
hires and minority promotions accounted for 29 or 26.3%
of the total promotions. Women hiring was 18 or 18.0%
of the total new hires and women promotions accounted
for 22 or 27.5% of the total promotions. When compared
to FY 2004 when minority and women representation was
at 31.4% and 22.8%, respectively, and FY 2005 when minority
and women representation is 31.7% and 22.0%, respectively,
we find that minorities have had a slight increase (i.e.,
.7% of total employment) and women have had a slight
decrease (i.e., .8% of the total employment).
The reduction-in-force challenge this past year coupled
with the normal separation rate among minorities (i.e.,
33.3% of the total separations) and "higher than representation"
separation rate among women (i.e., 27.4% of the total
separations) made our efforts to "increase" representation
for both minorities and women particularly difficult.
That we were able to preserve past gains and hold their
relative position within the work force (even in the
face of layoffs and higher than expected attrition rates)
is a testament to our commitment to diversity.
- Specific Efforts as Outlined in Strategic Plan
The following highlights some of the results for
each of the strategic goals set.
- 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 4 GEM
students over the summer with 1 returning and 3
new GEM students.
In addition to trying to match vacant positions
with successfully graduated GEM students, we set
a goal to establish a SLAC-sponsored engineering
intern position within one of our technical areas.
This one year, fixed-term intern position was jointly
funded by the Affirmative Action Office and the
Environmental and Safety Division. An African American
Chemical Engineer was hired during FY 2004 to work
as a Hazard Materials Specialist intern and his
appointment has been extended in the hopes that
this intern will eventually be placed in a regular,
permanent position at SLAC.
- Management
Throughout the year, we continued to look for
opportunities to place minorities and women in managerial
position. While we were unable to place any women
in new 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 well in promotions this year accounting
for 22 or 27.5% of the total promotions, which is
higher than their 22.0% representation in the work
force.
- Faculty Exchange Program
The faculty exchange program, which was initiated
in 2002, has always been a great success and while
we looked forward to inviting and placing more visiting
professors from Historically Black Colleges and
Universities at SLAC this year, the funding source
for the program was canceled. We are hopeful that
another source of funding can be found to restart
this program and if successful, we will continue
with the Faculty Exchange Program next year. Past
participants and their respective students have
benefited greatly from the linkages established
between SLAC and the home institutions.
Performance Rating:
We consider our overall performance rating this year to be
"Excellent", based on:
- An increase in our minority representation and our ability
to maintain our relative position with respect to female
representation even as we are losing them at a higher rate
than their representation in the work force and the layoff
challenge.
- The addition of 2 new female managers (Asian Administrative
Service Administrator and Caucasian Buyer Supervisor).
- Our effectiveness in maintaining our Laboratory-wide
EEO and AA Program, such that we can successfully respond
to a Department of Labor’s laboratory-wide audit.
- The excellent preemptive and internal controls for assessing
the day-to-day and long-term health of our EEO and AA Programs
- Our successes in increasing the participation and involvement
of minorities and women in the sciences via our summer programs
(e.g., Work Study Program, Graduate Engineering for Minorities
Program, Youth Program and Summer Intern Program.
- Our commitment to innovation by bringing in promising
minorities and women into intern programs in scientific
and technical occupational areas where they have not traditionally
been represented (e.g., engineering, chemistry, physics).
- The comprehensive studies that we conduct to more precisely
and better identify minorities and women in each occupational
fields; giving us a better tool and understanding for recruiting
and retaining minorities and women.
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 Assistant EEO 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.
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 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.
Barrier(s) to Improvement
Our salaries and fringe benefits are not as competitive as
private industry when it comes to 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.
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.
Improvement Action Plan/Goals
Recognized areas of improvement
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.
Objective/Goals for FY 2005
Our objectives and goals in the coming fiscal year will be
to:
- Maintain our control systems and improve our statistical
tools. This includes more improvement in the management
of data so it can be more efficiently stored and retrieved
and the use of statistical tools to evaluate demographic
and sociological trends. We will continue to do correlative
studies regarding reasons why employees stay or leave SLAC
and explore incentives, which would attract minorities and
women to SLAC. To the extent necessary, we will review or
initiate policies, which would mitigate conditions which
make diversity more difficult (e.g., commute challenges,
housing, etc.)
- Address and monitor diversity recruitment with the Human
Resources Department, especially within the Employment Unit,
as opportunities become available.
- Increase the participation of minorities and women in
science by focusing on our Educational and Employment Programs
as a source for increasing diversity. These programs are
undertaken as part of our overall commitment to improving
employment opportunities for minorities and women in the
sciences and technical field. These programs are also designed
to help support minorities and women financially with part-time
and summer employment while they are in school and to provide
opportunities to broaden their work experience and resumes
in anticipation of long term employment.
Performance Rating for FY 2005
The Performance Rating for FY 2005 has been agreed upon between
SLAC and DOE (SueVon Gee and Sara Brunson, respectively). The
following is a reiteration of the performance gradient and will
be the basis upon which SLAC will be evaluated in the FY 2006
Self Assessment Review.
Performance Gradient:
- Outstanding – Defined as establishment of programs
outlined in the Strategic Plan:
- which would contribute to more diversity within
the work force; and/or
- result in significant advancement in the area of
diversity in the general labor market; and/or
- which result in the placement of minorities or women
in occupational areas where underutilization existed;
and/or
- which would meet all or most of the annual goals
previously set.
- Excellent – Defined as establishment of programs
outlined in the Strategic Plan:
- which would encourage general diversity within the
work force; and/or
- which would result in the placement of minorities
or women in occupational areas where underutilization
existed; and/or
- which would meet many of the annual goals previously
set.
- Good – Defined as establishment of programs outlined
in the Strategic Plan:
- which would encourage general diversity within the
work force; and/or
- which would result in the placement of minorities
or women in occupational areas where underutilization
exist; and/or which would meet some of the Strategic
Plan goals or plans previously set.
- Marginal – Defined as the establishment of programs
outlined in the Strategic Plan
- which would encourage general diversity within the
work force and
- which would meet at least one of the Strategic Plan
goals or plans previously set.
- Included in the above rating ranking system would
be other considerations such as:
- resource availability (or limitations thereof);
- effect of turnover on ability to achieve goals;
- and other achievements significant to diversity.
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