Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the representation of women and minorities at the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) District of Columbia and Los Angeles County offices, focusing on employees at grade 11 or higher. GAO noted that: (1) the relative number of black women more than doubled from September 1984 through September 1992 at the INS District of Columbia office, the relative numbers of white women, Hispanic men and women, and black men increased by 58 percent, 36 percent, 52 percent and 1 percent, respectively; (2) black women and Hispanic men entered the workforce in lower relative numbers than those at which they were employed; (3) white women and black men separated from the workforce in higher relative numbers than those at which they were employed; (4) in the INS Los Angeles County workforce, the relative number of Asian men and women increased most between 1984 and 1992, followed by Hispanic women; (5) black women, black men, and Hispanic men increased in number by 70 percent, 50 percent, and 36 percent, respectively, and white women were the only group that decreased in number relative to white men; and (6) in both locations, the change in relative numbers in different equal employment opportunity groups varied by grade level.
