Frequently Asked Questions - Diversity and Inclusion

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action (AA) are foundational to Berkeley's commitment to equity, inclusion and equal access on our campus.   An internal recruitment may be approved in cases where the anticipated pool of campus, divisional, or departmental applicants is equally or more diverse than the general workforce for the protected groups in question. 

The process to review if a job vacancy may be posted via an internal-only recruitment starts with the hiring manager providing the Berkeley job titles for the anticipated internal pool of qualified applicants. The Staff EEO Compliance unit in People & Culture reviews the campus affirmative action goals established for the vacant job and conducts an analysis to determine if the potential internal applicants are sufficiently diverse in areas where affirmative action goals exist.  If the internal representation is greater than that of the general workforce, the vacancy is approved. More often than not, the internal applicant pool is not sufficient for internal recruitment to be supported, in which case, a full recruitment is required. 

To request a vacancy be reviewed to determine if an internal-only recruitment can be conducted, please complete the Request - Internal Only Recruitment Form

An affirmative action goal provides a target to strive for and to measure the success of your recruitment efforts.

A quota indicates that the result is pre-determined and inflexible.

The University does not set quotas. Rather, the University sets affirmative action recruitment goals with the expectation that hiring managers conduct inclusive recruitment when there is a job opening. It is the University's policy to select the best qualified person for the job and to document recruitment/selection efforts.

Yes. Beginning in 2014, the University will begin to ask applicants to self-identify their status in these categories, following regulatory changes initiated by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

In many cases, the work force numbers would be too small to be interpretable.

Utilization analysis (in the affirmative action sense) compares the percentages of minorities or women qualified and available for a given job group against their representation in the actual job group; when the representation is less than the availability, underutilization exists. The numbers of minorities or women in the actual job group is not compared against the numbers of women or minorities in the general population. Occupational parity is the criteria used for determining underutilization, not population parity. The availability for American Indians and Blacks in the Senior Management Group is 0.8 and 9.4 percent, respectively.

No. It is neither a finding of discrimination nor a finding of a lack of good faith affirmative action efforts. Rather, underutilization is a technical targeting term used exclusively by affirmative action professionals to measure affirmative action programs.

Yes. Because there is underutilization, good faith efforts must be made to ensure that a diverse pool will be available.

Yes. Advertisements must continue to state that the University is an "Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer." It is also recommended for advertisements to state that "all qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, including minorities, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities."

No central funds are available. However, in many cases, inclusive recruitment does not mean the need for more money, but more creativity. For example, departments may send the posting to professional organizations or affinity groups. Or, departments with similar occupational job openings can share advertising costs. Contact your Employment Recruiter for ideas.

In hiring, departments may only consider Affirmative Action goals when recruiting for positions. Race, ethnicity and gender cannot be used during the selection process once the applicant pool has been developed. Affirmative Action goals are displayed in Talent Acquisition Manager (TAM) after the job title and department are input. When there are openings, departments can make good faith efforts by noting the affirmative action placement goals that are displayed in TAM, and supplementing general outreach efforts with inclusive recruitment to underutilized minorities and women. This helps ensure that a diverse applicant pool will be available. When there is underutilization, race, ethnicity and gender can be used in the recruitment process without violating Proposition 209. In training and development, departments can make career advancement/promotional opportunities available to interested and qualified employees, including minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

No. As a federal contractor, the University is obligated to comply with federal laws and regulations regarding affirmative action and nondiscrimination in employment. These obligations include ensuring diverse pools of applicants for campus positions; developing and implementing affirmative action plans that identify areas of underutilization of minorities and women; developing and disseminating annual placement goals and demonstrating good faith efforts to eliminate underutilization. California Proposition 209 both contain provisions that require continued compliance with federal regulations to keep the University eligible to receive federal funds.

Yes. Managers are responsible for making good faith efforts toward achieving affirmative action goals and objectives and should be evaluated on their performance in this area.