Fewer Complaints, but Reservations Continue

MSBP added that the percentages of employees who report discrimination on bases such as ethnicity and race, sex, age, and religion have declined over that time, as have reported incidence of retaliation for activities such as whistleblowing. “Additionally, with few exceptions, men and women hold similar opinions of their jobs, agencies, and treatment, suggesting that progress has been made in eliminating sex-based discrimination and stereotypes,” it said. However, “employees continue to express reservations about how agencies fill vacancies and allocate awards. Similarly, employee trust in supervisors to make fair and wise personnel decisions is guarded, although greater than in the past. Moreover, survey results show a continuing and often substantial gap between minority and nonminority employees’ perceptions of the fairness of personnel policies and decisions, and the prevalence of discrimination and other prohibited personnel practices.”