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).