Striving Toward a Workforce that Reflects American Society 

 

By Mandy Olund

Vol. 22 Number 4,  2001

 

 

 

Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.  Whatever the vexations or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living.  Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.

 Rachel Carson, from The Sense of Wonder1

 

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is a science-based organization, and our scientists tell us that biodiversity within ecosystems is absolutely necessary for good health and sustainability.  Yet for years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service didn’t practice what it preached with regard to the diversity of our human capital within the workplace.  Our own habitat, our own ecosystem, our own populace, was a homogenous society that lacked diversity.  In 1940, the year that the Department of Interior agencies of the Bureau of Fisheries and the Bureau of Biological Survey combined to form the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we were primarily white, and nearly all male. 

In retrospect, we can look at USFWS history and provide explanations in detail as to why our workforce did not include very many women.  Systemic reasons included the fact that as recently as 1975, some American colleges did not allow women to pursue natural resource-based degree programs; and certainly, women who were scientists in the fields of biology, ecology, or conservation were frowned upon by society at large.  

The glass ceiling was alive, healthy, well, and growing in the Federal sector.  The USFWS did have one claim to fame:  Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring1, and the individual whom many believe started the modern conservation movement in this country, was a USFWS employee from 1936 to 1952, as Editor-in-Chief for all USFWS publications.  

Evolution, as we all know, happens slowly; but it does happen.  By 1981, when I first began my career with the Department of the Interior (within the Bureau of Land Management, another agency within Interior), it seemed that only a few individuals looked like me—young and female. And I wondered, as a new employee, whether there truly was a future for me within Interior.  

Most of my co-workers were men, and in fact, men comprised most of the organization’s Region’s Management Team at that time.  A stint in the typing pool certainly provided me with enough female co-workers, and high turnover rates provided opportunities—I became a supervisor of eight employees in 1983 at the tender age of 19.  In 1988, a move to Oregon led to being hired as a secretary with the Bureau of Land Management.  Performing my duties in another primarily male-dominated environment (cadastral surveying), was difficult for my young, feminist heart, especially because there were no opportunities for advancement.  I yearned for new challenges. 

Soon, a collateral duty opportunity for a Federal Women’s Program Manager was advertised, and I was selected for the position.  The Federal Women’s Program is a special emphasis program designed to assist managers with alleviating the under-representation of women in the workforce, especially in non-traditional occupational categories.  The program is also valuable in that it provides a forum for eliminating stereotypes about women, and educating managers and other employees about the historical contributions that women have made to society. 

This collateral duty position exposed me to the field of Equal Employment Opportunity law, encouraged me to return to college, and gave me the insight that I had found my calling.  Some of the most profound and satisfying accomplishments in my new career field occurred when I could assist managers in recruiting, hiring, and retaining highly qualified women scientists.  The next several years brought about career promotions to the positions of EEO Assistant, EEO Specialist, and Personnel Management Specialist.  My most recent career move was to my current position of Affirmative Employment Program Officer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Now, in looking back at twenty years with Interior, happily employed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I am both excited and proud to have contributed to an organization that has truly evolved into one which values women in the workforce.  

Several factors have contributed to the increasing numbers of highly qualified women within Interior.  These include the Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (preventing discrimination in education), the women’s liberation movement, the easing of social stigmas relative to women in science, and the excellent reputation of many women pioneers in science and industry.  The past two decades have seen women enrolling in natural resource and science-based degree programs in record numbers at colleges and universities.  

As women began to obtaining undergraduate and graduate natural-resource related degrees in greater numbers, and many gained valuable experience as part of the Department of Interior workforce, significant emphasis was placed in the Federal sector on targeted recruitment of highly qualified women scientists, and garnered very positive results.  

Now, more than at any time in USFWS history, women in the agency occupy high level positions of significant responsibility, power, and influence.  In 1993, Molly Beatty, who is now deceased, became the first woman in history to be named Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  She was followed by Director Jamie Rappaport Clark, who led the agency from 1997 to 2001.  

In 2001, nearly 3,300 women are employed by the USFWS (roughly 40% of the total workforce), and of those, 34% are professional scientists.  And women are moving ahead in the managementranks.  This year, nearly a quarter of all managers and supervisors are women, with numbers steadily increasing each year. 

Women fare even better in the workforce when viewed regionally.  The Pacific Region (Region 1) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where I work, is the largest in the agency, and is led by our Regional Director, Anne Badgley, along with an outstanding Regional Directorate comprised of 33% women members.

Our total workforce is 43% women, and a third of our managers and supervisors are women.  Perhaps it is because we are in the West but there has always been an expectation, beginning with pioneer women and continuing on through our organization today, that women can and do hold their own when it comes to just about any task laid before them! 

Yet we are not complacent.  There is work left to do because we are still not at parity in terms of the numbers of women and minorities in our workforce compared with the surrounding civilian labor force.  But each year, we are making progress toward achieving a workforce that reflects the American public we serve, and exciting times lie ahead for those of us who are a part of that progression.  

I continue to be honored to work for the USFWS, an excellent, science-based organization with a worthwhile mission to protect and conserve fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the benefit of all Americans.  Eighty percent of the positions we fill are General Biologists, Fishery Biologists, Wildlife Biologists, Refuge Managers, and Refuge Operations Specialists.  Other professional positions for which we recruit include Engineers, Botanists, Hydrologists, Zoologists, and Chemists.  All positions are advised on the web at www.usajobs.opm.gov, and you can search this web site by agency.  If you are looking for an outstanding career opportunity to engage in cutting edge science on a daily basis, the USFWS should be the employer of choice for you.  Become part of our historic tradition and enjoy a challenging future!

 

 

1Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder (New York: Harper & Row, 1956), and Silent Spring (Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Pub., 1962).