The percentage of federal executives who are women rose from 13.4 percent in 1993 to 21.8 percent in 1998, according to the most recent Office of Personnel Management data.
Women also made gains in the top three tiers of the General Schedule, rising from 25.1 percent of GS-13s in 1993 to 30.2 percent in 1998, 20.1 percent to 25.2 percent of GS-14s, and 16.1 percent to 22.1 percent of GS-15s.
Despite ongoing federal downsizing efforts, the percentage of women in the workforce has slightly increased in the past decade, from 42 percent to 42.9 percent. Women have held their own even though they occupy a majority of positions in several occupations that are frequent targets for downsizing. Nearly 98 percent of secretaries are women, as are 79.2 percent of clerical workers.
Men still tend to hold higher positions than women; the average GS grade for women is 8.4 compared to 10.4 for men. A number of factors explain the gap, according to OPM. The average age of male federal workers is 46.3, while the average age of women in the federal workforce is 44.7. Men have served in government 17.4 years on average; women have served an average of 15.7 years.
Other factors that help men are education and veteran's preference. Forty-six percent of men hold a bachelor's degree or higher and 41.2 percent are eligible for veteran's preference. In contrast, 32 percent of women hold a bachelor's degree or higher and just 4.7 percent are eligible for veteran's preference.