How is Asian American employment in the federal bureaucracy different from other minority employment? DoAsian American employment patterns differ substantially? This paper examines the ways that agency types, occupational structure, and grade levels (especially the SES) are related to Asian American employment patterns in the federal service. Findings indicate that Asian Americans tend to be doing much better than other minorities at every grade level except the SES. While all minorities are severely underrepresented at the top levels, the drop-off in representation of Asian Americans at the top levels is so much more dramatic than for other minority groups. Occupational structure, however, does not appear to be related to underrepresentation of Asians in the senior executive positions. Further, Asian federal civil servants are likely to be overrepresented in certain regulatory, distributive, and independent agencies, where other minorities are underrepresented. The Senior Executive Service (SES) also shows similar trends as other grade levels with regards to agency types.
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