UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Lisette Garcia, assistant vice president of diversity, inclusion and belonging for Penn State Human Resources, was one of 13 experts from across the nation selected to produce a new report for the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to help the commission effectively utilize pay data from employers across the nation, and improve future data collections, with the ultimate goal of helping the EEOC advance greater pay equity across the United States.
The expert panel was assembled by the nonpartisan National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, featuring experts from universities, business and industry organizations, financial institutions, employment law organizations and nonprofit research institutes from around the country. Garcia, who joined Penn State in 2020, was selected for her expertise as both a human resources professional and a trained researcher who has worked extensively on collecting and analyzing data related to education and employment.
On Aug. 25, the panel briefed the White House Office of Management and Budget on the findings outlined in the report – the first of its kind to analyze pay data collected by the EEOC at the national level. She also recently joined the panel in briefing the EEOC’s commissioners on July 24.
The report examines pay data collected by the EEOC for the first time in 2020 from certain private employers and federal contractors, with the goal of determining how this data can be used to support the EEOC’s goal of advancing equitable pay practices for all workers regardless of their background or identity. Garcia said the report provides important insights on how the EEOC can use this data to understand national trends in pay across different industries.
“The EEOC has been seen as a go-to organization when it comes to issues of workplace equity since 1965, and while they have largely focused on questions of representation – the proportion of women or people of color in certain occupational categories, for instance,” Garcia said. “This report is monumental because the EEOC has never previously ventured to collect pay data. We found that not only is this collection in direct support of the EEOC’s mission, it will be important for the commission to consider how they’re collecting this data in the future so it can be best used to understand and explore pay dynamics."
The report concludes that the EEOC’s continued collection of pay data will be an important tool in preventing and combatting pay discrimination and makes recommendations for how to modernize the data collection process to reflect contemporary workplace trends, including the rise of certain kinds of contractors and gig economy workers.
Garcia said that, especially as the EEOC continues to refine its data collection process, this data will help employers conduct “self-audits” to compare their pay practices to other employers in the same industry.
Garcia contributed extensively to the sections of the report detailing existing measures for collecting data and making recommendations for improving these collection processes in the future. As part of her contributions, she led a series of interviews and listening sessions with employers and expert witnesses to understand employer perspectives on this data and how the data could be used to benefit pay equity in their organizations.
“It’s an important first step that the EEOC undertook by collecting this data, and the panel hopes our insights, analysis and recommendations will help the commission continue to advance pay equity for employers and workers across industries,” Garcia said. “I appreciate Penn State’s support as I have lent my time to this important effort.”
She will continue to participate in a series of briefings to government agencies and officials in the coming months, sharing the report’s findings and recommendations.
In addition to her work lending her expertise to national dialogues related to human resources, workplace practices, and diversity, equity and inclusion, Garcia has also served as a leader alongside University partners on a variety of Penn State initiatives, including the BUILD @ Penn State diversity, education, inclusion and belonging education initiative; incorporating the diversity competency into the University’s annual performance review process; conducting numerous workshops and trainings with offices across the University, including in collaboration with Penn State’s Affirmative Action Office; and creating a series of workshops for the Human Resources office focused on serving the needs of diverse communities across the University.