Agriculture Dept. Sets 5-Year Plan to Hire More Minorities, Women

WASHINGTON —  The Agriculture Department, which has one of the worst minority employment records in the government, on Tuesday issued a five-year affirmative action plan for hiring and promoting minorities and women.

Agriculture Secretary Richard E. Lyng said the goal is “to increase the employment of minorities and women in occupations and (pay) grades where they are under-represented, compared to the civilian labor force.”

The plan, covering the fiscal year that began last Oct. 1 through 1992, is another step in an initiative Lyng announced two years ago, when he promised to begin correcting some of the inequities in employment practices.

Ranked Low in Survey

At that time, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ranked the department 52nd out of 58 federal agencies in the employment of minorities.

Since 1985, employment in Agriculture has been reduced by nearly 6,500 permanent positions, Lyng said, while the proportion of minorities in the department’s current work force of 90,000 permanent employees has increased to 14.6% from 13%.

The proportion of women employees has increased to 35% from 32.9% in 1985, Lyng said.

“It has been a long time coming, but the fact that we have produced this department-wide plan for affirmative employment makes it clear that the Department of Agriculture is totally committed to equal opportunity in every facet of its operation,” Lyng said.