Office of the Secretary

For Immediate Release: July 13, 2000

Contact: Joan Moody 202-208-6416

Report Warns of High-Tech Worker Shortage:

Department of the Interior Promotes Commission's Call to Promote Diversity in the Science, Engineering and Technology Workforce

Washington, D.C. - The Department of the Interior joined representatives of the Commission for the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology Development today in releasing recommendations for boosting the numbers of women, minorities and persons with disabilities in the science, engineering and technology workforce.

At a Capitol Hill press conference preceding a hearing of the House Committee on Science today, the commission released a report warning that a severe shortage in skilled workers for high-tech jobs will lead to an "economic crisis" if current trends are not reversed. The Department of Interior and its agencies are partnering in this effort, joining legislators, educators and businesses from throughout the United States in addressing the issue.

Clearly our workforce needs more women, minorities and disabled persons," said U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Eastern Regional Director Bonnie

McGregor, representing the department on the interagency steering committee to the commission. "Diversity is integral to our success not only from a scientific standpoint but also from a communications standpoint. We need to be able to communicate our scientific information so that all people can understand and use it." McGregor has been a marine geologist, oceanographer, and administrator for more than thirty years, and she was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in 1992.

The commission's recommendations include:

� Creating a strong early education foundation through the promotion of ongoing education reform efforts, including adoption of statewide standards in math and science, increases in the number of qualified math and science teachers, and legislation to require school districts to disaggregate achievement data by race/ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, and disability status.

� Promoting greater access to higher education among diverse groups through targeted intervention efforts and increased financial support for students at the high school transition points into postsecondary education and at the community college transition into four year colleges.

� Promoting greater parity in job retention, pay and promotion by developing and disseminating a national model of a diverse workplace environment that successfully recruits, retains and advances the careers of women, minorities and persons with disabilities.

� Changing the often negative public image of scientists, engineers, and high-tech workers through the establishment of public/private partnerships that coordinate media and image campaigns promoting positive and diverse images of SET workers.

Finally, the Commission called for the establishment of a public-private partnership to implement and benchmark the recommendations established by the Commission with the development of appropriate programs and action items through government, industry and academe partners to monitor and further progress towards the Commission's goal of domestic workforce parity.

John Berry, Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget at the Department of Interior, notes that the department has accelerated efforts to eliminate unjustified barriers that may inhibit equal opportunity for all applicants. Berry has required all Interior agencies and bureaus to review their hiring policies and practices to remove such barriers.

To ensure progressive actions to promote diversity, the Department has required increased advertising and targeted recruitment for all positions in under-represented occupations, better tracking of the diversity of the applicant pool, and providing reports on implementation of upward mobility and developmental programs.

Participants in today's press conference included: Congresswoman Constance Morella of Maryland; Commission Chair Elaine Mendoza; Dr. Rita Colwell, Director of the National Science Foundation; Dr. George Campbell Jr., formerly President and CEO of NACME, Inc., America's largest privately funded source of minority engineering scholarships and the new President of the Cooper Union; and Dr. Kathryn O. Johnson, Owner & Project Manager of MATRIX Consulting Group, a South Dakota firm that consults on issues related to environmental science.

The Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology Development was established by Congress on October 14, 1998 to research and recommend ways to improve the recruitment, retention, and representation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science, engineering and technology education and employment. Congresswoman Morella, Chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Technology, authored the legislation establishing the Commission, which has coordinated its study and development of the Report through the National Science Foundation. The Commission is also supported by an Interagency Steering Committee comprised of senior officials at the federal agencies whose missions encompass human resources in science, engineering, and technology.

-DOI-