The head of the executive branch of the U.S. government is an African American. But a new report from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) finds that African Americans continue to face many obstacles in gaining employment in the federal work force. Educational inequalities and insufficient training are among the obstacles mentioned as being significant barriers to fuller participation in the federal work force by African Americans.
The report states that African American faces the following seven obstacles:
- Unconscious biases and perceptions about African Americans still play a significant role in employment decisions in the federal sector.
- African Americans lack adequate mentoring and networking opportunities for higher-level and management positions.
- Insufficient training and development assignments perpetuate inequalities in skills and opportunities for African Americans.
- Narrow recruitment methods negatively impact African Americans.
- The perception of widespread inequality among African Americans in the federal work force hinders their career advancement.
- Educational requirements create obstacles for African Americans in the federal work force.
- EEO regulations and laws are not adequately followed by agencies and are not effectively enforced.
The EEOC report may be accessed here.
Even when you have the education and meet the criteria the “ticket is closed” when the one person they want to have the job is not among the top three. I have had this happen to me so many times that I have stopped looking for federal employment. The sad truth is that I would be a great employee. I just wish I could convince “hiring officials” of that fact but it is not possible when one is never allowed to contact them.