What
Does Underrepresentation Really Mean? |
Site
Index |
Chart from page 5 of the 2003 OPM report.
OPM alleges that Hispanics are "Underrepresented" but what does that really
mean? |
In this chart from the 2003 OPM report, OPM estimates that only 6.7% of the Federal
Workforce (FW) is comprised of Hispanics, while 11.9% of the Relevant Civilian Labor Force
(RCLF) is comprised of Hispanics.
OPM wants us to believe that this proves that Hispanics are "underrepresented"
and therefore should be given preference in hiring and promotion. |
But the Civilian data used by OPM includes non-citizens and unemployed individuals,
whereas the Federal data, by definition, includes only employed individuals who are
predominantly U.S. citizens.
| |
FEDERAL
WORKFORCE (FW) |
RELEVANT
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE (RCLF) |
| U.S.
Citizens: |
YES |
YES |
| Non-U.S.
Citizens: |
no |
YES |
| Employed: |
YES |
YES |
| Unemployed: |
no |
YES |
OPM's data definitions state: "The Federal workforce (FW) ... covers permanent
employees. ... The Civilian Labor Force ... cover every non-institutionalized
individual 16 years of age and older, employed and unemployed ... [and] U.S. citizens and
noncitizens." [FEORP at
page 54.]
"Underrepresentation, as defined in 5 CFR, Section 720.202, means a situation in
which the number of women or members of a minority group within a category of civil
service employment constitutes a lower percentage of the total number of employees within
the employment category than the percentage that women or the minority group constitutes
within the civilian labor force of the United States." [FEORP at page 54.]
Commentary
The doctrine of underrepresentation, as defined, says that
Federal employers must strive to achieve equal results in hiring
and promotion of certain races as opposed to offering equal opportunity
based on skill and ability regardless of race or ethnicity.
Second, by their own definition, OPM's data is biased toward overcounting minorities in
the civilian labor force by including unemployed and non-citizens in this count. The
result is that the Federal underrepresentation numbers for specific races are higher than
they would otherwise be.
Third, there is no cap on Federal recruitment of selected minorities even when a race or
group achieves proportional representation in the Federal workforce. Witness the
overhiring of blacks at EEOC by 614% beyond their proportion in the civilian labor
pool. The same is true at dozens of Federal agencies.
Taken together, these facts portray a Federal government which is hell-bent on hiring and
promoting based on skin color and ethnicity as long as that skin color is not white
and as long as that ethnicity is not Northern European.
The OPM report does, indeed, paint a vivid picture of racial quotas run amok. --
Tim Fay, Editor. |
