More Latinos Needed In Highest Levels Of Federal Government

All things being equal, with population growth rates remaining the same, by the year 2050 there will be no clear ethnic or racial majority in the United States. That’s according to a report published in the Washington Post.

The article wasn’t about population projections, per se, but the fact surfaced as context and I thought it bared mention because it puts the next 40 or so years in perspective.

The report was specifically about Latinos in the SES, the Senior Executive Service – that’s the upper most level of executive in the federal government. The article referenced a study done by the Center for American Progress (CAP) that brought to light the fact that Latinos are greatly under represented in the federal executive ranks.

Hispanics will be vastly underrepresented in the Senior Executive Service. In 2030 we project it will be 6.8 percent Hispanic—less than a third of the likely representation of Hispanics in the civilian labor force according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which predicts that 23 percent of the civilian labor force will be Hispanic.

President Obama has  signed an executive order that promotes diversity and minority inclusion in the federal workplace and that could go a long way towards fixing the problem and bridging the gap, but the authors of the CAP study see a deeper issue that what the President’s order can address.  It’s not just about hiring a more diverse workforce, it’s about correcting systemic wrongs that become obstacles for Latinos, blacks and women who are qualified to enter the ranks of federal senior executive. It turns out that the selection panels, the ones in charge of picking the senior executives, need to be diversified first, in order for their choices to mirror the nation’s workforce.

The reasons go directly to the American ideal. The authors of the report’s summary filled it with poignant ideas:

Improving diversity will lead not just to a more representative senior civil service but a better government. A diverse workforce can significantly enhance organizational performance, for example by better serving customers, according to a number of studies.

Moreover, for a government to effectively represent the citizens it serves and who pay for it, the government must look like its citizens.

In short, the federal government must reaffirm its leadership in ensuring fair hiring and expanding opportunities for people of color and women. More than just the “right thing to do,” a more diverse workforce will lead to better government through greater efficiencies, more innovation, and better effectiveness.

There is an urgency in this matter because we’re already too far behind the curve. The efficiency, innovation and effectiveness of the federal government, forty years from now, depends on how well we address the problem today.

As a follow up to the executive order, the president will announce a specific plan to increase diversity in the SES by mid-November. We’ll see how deep his plan goes.