Return to Article: Hispanics still underrepresented in federal jobs
-
40237
I am a female Hispanic (double AA if you please!!) with tho masters degrees and a Ph.D. in Public Adminsitration (management of Government--for those of you that do not know what it is). I have applied for one entire year to so many federal positions too numerous to count. I have never been called for an interview. Lets talk about EEO and AA: the veterans are all employed at the Federal level by getting extra points for being veterans. They served our country, they deserve a bay back. Now, African Americnas have scored much better than Hispanics in obtaining Federal employment, however they are also keeping the jobs for other African Americans. How do I know this: I have friends that work in several offices and know about the practice. Well, lets see, veterans get extra points--but its not AA according to most people. African Americans are unable to discriminate according to many people therefore hiring another African American over a Hispanic is also ok since really, its not discrimination either. So, here I am, several graduate degrees from great universities, speak 4 languages, long track record of successful employment, lots of experience, but not even ONE interview for the Federla Level. So now you tell me why Hispanics do not fare so well in Federal Employment!!
-
15250
Hispanics account for only 3.5 percent of senior-level federal employees and 4.6 percent of GS 13-15 managers. Answer: Why should they be moved to the top of the GS scale? Let them work their way up the grade ladder like other federal workers have had to do. "If Latinos are good enough to defend the country and fight the drugs and stop undocumented immigration, why aren't they good enough to be a GS-15 in the Department of Education?" Pachon asked. Answer: This does not give them qualifications for federal employment, much less a GS-15 position. Pachon said Hispanics in the federal government provide an awareness of issues other employees cannot. Answer: Why should their illegal status issues take precedent over any other issue? Why should foreigners (legal or illegal) be allowed to demand the laws be changed to their benefit?
-
15223
So are Arabs, Chinese and Russians -- so what? The real question should be is whether competent people are underrepresented in government.
-
15149
Maybe in the legal workforce, but how many are accounted for working for companies that have government contracts to perform work on government installations? I can recall two episodes, one at FLETC/Glynco and at the Redstone Arsenal in which building/renovation projects were undertaken by contractors where the crews were mainly illegal Hispanics. As a result, there was a work stoppage when the crews were busted and numerous undocumented aliens were taken into custody for removal proceedings. All of this happened on government property and on the government dime. God only knows where else this has gone on undetected but the bottom line is that, if they're working on a government site, under government contract, they're working for the government which refutes the argument they're underrepresented.
-
15135
The Hispanic population may have a low representation in federal management and federal employment over all. But, we have had an EEO program in place in the federal government for a long time and it hasn't really achieved what it was supposed to. The purpose of EEO was to make sure that qualified applicants from minority groups had an equal chance of applying for positions in the federal government. Instead, the great minds in charge set mandatory hiring quotas and gave minority candidates preference.
Well, it not only didn't work, it polarized the workforce across racial lines. No matter whether a minority candidate was qualified or not, if they got the job, it was considered to be just another EEO quota being filled.
So, if we want to get a proper representation of Hispanics and other minorities in the federal workforce, we need to reopen all of the federal job positions and fill all of them based on the applicants' qualifications alone. Start at the very top of the management pyramid and work down. Hire the most qualified people to do the job.
Get real. There will never be a fair representation of minorities, women, the educated or the qualified in the federal workforce. The system is political, not practical. Even the minority that EEO was meant for has been done a serious injustice. Don't think that it's the minorities alone that suffer because of this. All of the taxpayers do. They have to pay for this mess. We just haven't figured out how to fix it.
-
15101
I was getting a little scared as I read through the comments! Had to get to the last one to see that this is all Dubya's fault! You liberals are slipping (or sipping) too much!
-
15099
Quotas. They are wonderful.
Here are a couple major reasons more Latinos, Moldovans, Lapps, Nigerians, etc., are not hired by the federal government.
1. They don't speak English. Some jobs need English speaking workers. Some Latinos live here many years and never learn English. So they work as gardeners and roofers. My great grandmother was an immigrant from Iceland. She refused to learn English. A bastard language, she said. You know what? She never qualified for a job in the US either. Her kids supported her.
2. They don't qualify for the requirements of the job.
3. Coming from far away, from cultures where few records are kept, they have a very hard time getting security clearances.
My question is: How come we are falling all over ourselves to make places like Bremerton, Wash., Hispanic friendly, with mandatory signs in stores in Spanish, with government forms in Spanish, etc? We have many more Vietnamese and Filipinos than Hispanics. Harborview Hospital in Seattle has translators on call in 122 languages, not just Spanish. If immigrants are "entitled" to signs in their own language to make life easier, how come we don't see signs in Hmong in Minneapolis, where there are lots of Hmong? Why do the Hispanics get the goodies and the others not?
-
15098
The government would really be in trouble if Service-connected Veterans could be classified as "being in the minority" wouldn't it?
-
15097
I was a grade 13 Program Manager at the IRS, I was very proud of my accomplishments and had great mentors. I was the only Hispanic branch chief in the district. Unfortunately, when the IRS started their management overhaul, everything went to pot. You had chiefs from the Midwest making decisions in New York of things they knew nothing about. Management must understand that what works in Nebraska does not mean it will work in a big city. Right before and after 9/11, I had asked my immediate supervisor do let me stay in the midtown office for awhile due to family issues. He refused to grant my request so I accepted an early retirement. I was ready to leave, but I was left with no other choice. I still would welcome returning to government service.
-
15096
Has anyone thought to include the percentage of Hispanics working for the government as contractors? I think the percentage of Hispanics working for the government would rise considerably if this figure was taken into account.
-
15093
Did anyone examine what percentage of the 12.6 percent in the general workforce aren't in the country legally? They also wouldn't qualify for federal employment. I know that DoD has gone begging for Hispanics and if they're capable, they get moved up through the ranks quickly.
-
15092
The challenge here is to expose federal opportunities to a wider and more diverse applicant pool. (USAJobs seems not be widely known within the Diversity segments). Each agency's Applicant Tracking System (Monster's QuickHire, Avue or USAStaffing) should do the rating and ranking from there.
Call me: (703) 861-1869. Monster can use its GSA Schedule rates to dupe any agency's USAJobs listings to the nine premier Diverity job boards.
BlackPlanet.com
AsianAvenue.com
MiGente.com
Demographics: 42 percent college educated; 52 percent female.
Traffic: Averaging more than 4 million monthly visitors.
Other sites in the Monster network:
GayWork.com
HispanicOnline
NAACP
The Retired Enlisted Association
ThirdAge
Women's Sports Services, LLC
Let's fix this!
Adam Davidson
-
15091
The Native Americans are even more unrepresented in the government work force, especially when it comes to promotions.
-
15090
What is the breakdown of all the other ethnic groups? What percentage are blacks and whites, etc.?
-
15087
I would like to know if the figures given for the general workforce of 12.6 percent being Hispanic is entirely legal U.S. citizens, or does it include illegal aliens who of course cannot be legally employed in federal agencies.
-
15080
Too bad. I can see affirmative action for African Americans and women, but Hispanics? These figures are based on some arbitrary employment figures that do not take into account applicant availability and qualifications and offices that are heavily Hispanic -- to the point that others are excluded from promotions and transfers. Obviously no one has visited government offices in New York and New Jersey. What happens to the individuals and groups that are excluded from these special hiring authorities? They are just out of luck. Whatever happened to hiring the most qualified candidate? Seems like if the government was really worried about providing good service and not wasting taxpayer money, it would hire the best person for the job.
-
15073
No green card, no federal job. That's a shame, because Dubya would like to replace federal workers with illegals.
PROMO RIGHT: EVENTS
UPCOMING WEBINARS
NOVEMBER 18
Speed bumps for Teleworking: What are they and how to avoid them?
DECEMBER 3
Achieve Program Success: Unlock the Management Information in Your Data
DECEMBER 10
Practical Transparency: Applying Exchange Networks for Mission Results
PROMO RIGHT: DIRECTORIES
Post a Comment
To post a comment, you must provide a name and a valid e-mail address. Messages must be limited to 400 words. By using this Service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although Government Executive does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.