Commissioner of Indian Affairs William E. Hallett today initiated a policy to quicken the recruitment, employment, and promotion of Indian women employees for mid- and senior-level supervisory/management positions in grades 9 and above
Hallett directed each BIA Area Office as well as the Central Office to: (1) determine the status of Indian women employees relative to other employees, and (2) develop recruitment plans to upgrade Indian women to a status comparable to other employees.
Currently, the overall average grade of permanent, full-time Indian women employees in the Bureau is GS-5.
The policy requires key managers in the Central and Area Offices to develop an advance assessment of potential Indian women employees, and an advance notification process of job vacancies. This advance personnel resource and job notification action must cover each occupation for which vacancies are projected during the current and succeeding years.
Hallett suggested that each office establish an inundate applicant pool by identifying Indian women who had applied for employment during the past two years. He also encouraged "aggressive outside recruitment of Indian women."
Hallett said that achievements in enhancing the grade level and the level of authority of Indian women will be an element of the performance review of Bureau managers and supervisors in the area of Affirmative Action. The five areas in which managers will be evaluated are affirmative action, human resources management, socio-economic procurement, the Administration's Small Community and Rural Development Policy, and special BIA initiatives.
