MORE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITES AT THE FEDERAL SECTOR FOR HISPANICS

by Andrea Acosta

Published in Vol. 23, No. 42, Oct. 19, 2000 issue of El Pregonero Newspaper

To be fair to the minorities and women who work in the federal sector requires not only hiring them at levels that match their representation in the Civilian Labor Force, but also offering them career development opportunities and increasing their representation in managerial ranks.

To remedy the underrepresentation of Hispanics in the federal workforce, the Clinton administration recently issued an Executive Order.

“This executive order is a call to action, a wake-up call to take more proactive steps to ensure that Hispanics are better represented in the federal sector. Hispanics remain the only minority group that remains underrepresented in the Federal government,” said Jorge Ponce, a federal employee for the last twenty-five years. Although Hispanics represent close to 11% of the U.S. population, they make up only 6.4% of the federal workforce. To illustrate that there has been very little progress in the Hispanic representation in the federal sector during the last ten years, Ponce points out that Hispanics made up 5.3% of the federal workforce in 1990. “Hispanics in the federal sector have never reached parity with their representation in the Civilian Labor Force,” said Ponce, who was recently hired as a Diversity Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where the Hispanic representation is 3.2%.

In his new position, Ponce is responsible for developing strategies to recruit, hire, develop and retain all groups in the U.S. population. He worked previously at the U.S. Department of Treasury for six years as an Equal Opportunity Manager, where he was able to increase the Hispanic representation to 8.4%.

Ponce explains that the majority of federal jobs are currently in the administrative category. However, he pointed out that there are also many jobs in the professional category, which require specialized university degrees.

Ponce implied that one of the reason for the low representation of Hispanics at the U.S. Department of Commerce is the result of having an equal number of administrative and professional positions. Thus, Ponce emphasized that although the 8.1% benchmark is helpful to get a general picture, it should not be the only statistic used to gauge the support that federal agencies lend to the Hispanic Program. [For example, the representation of Hispanics in the professional category, as reported in the 1990 census, is 3.5%].

Ponce affirmed that the support offered by federal agencies and their managerial staffs for the career development of Hispanic employees varies. “It depends on the commitment that Hispanics in the higher grades have towards mentoring Hispanic employees who are trying to move up the ladder to the executive ranks.”

Ponce also adds that it depends on the barriers faced by Hispanics on their quest to get promoted and on their familiarity and use of the complaints process when facing discrimination. “I’ve been helped in my professional career by many individuals of various hues and creeds, but I’d relied on my own initiative when the help was not forthcoming.”

Ponce stressed the importance of a good education. Thus, he believes it is crucial for federal agencies to support initiatives that increase the number of Hispanics graduating from college and that augment the participation of Hispanic students in internship programs.

Syddia Lee-Chee, of Panamanian origin and employed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is glad that Hispanic issues are finally getting national attention. “It is not sufficient to hire Hispanics in the federal sector. It is just as important to provide career development and promotional opportunities for them—not just at the staff level, but also at the managerial ranks.”

Making it perfectly clear that their views are their own and not those of the federal agencies that they work for, both of these federal employees agreed that Hispanics have a lot to contribute to the federal sector. “Hiring Hispanics pays big dividends because these are multicultural and bilingual employees,” said Lee-Chee. “Just like businesses in the private sector are tapping into Hispanic human capital, agencies in the public sector should do the same.”