Diversity in the Federal Government

Abstract

A study of the Federal Government Agency through a socio-ecological model was conducted to examine the causes for the low Hispanic representation rate. At the Individual level, it was found that salary, benefits, job security, and meaningful jobs were important to young job seekers regardless of race or ethnic background. At the Interpersonal level, job seekers aren't fully utilizing their professional networks. At the Community level, Hispanics have a distrust of the Federal Government which may cause low participation rates in government employment. At the Organizational level, it was discovered that an undeveloped strategic diversity plan may contribute to the lack of diversity hiring. The socio-ecological model provided a more complete picture than simply hiring additional Hispanics; rather the framework provided more context in which the Federal Government can develop plans to mitigate or investigate further.