EEOC Adopts New Strategic Plan

WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced it has approved its Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2022-2026 https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc-strategic-plan-2022-2026. Implementation will begin immediately.

The Strategic Plan serves as a framework for achieving the EEOC’s mission to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and advance equal employment opportunity for all.  The Plan also sets forth its vision of fair and inclusive workplaces with equal opportunity for all.

To accomplish this mission and advance the agency’s vision, the Strategic Plan outlines the EEOC’s strategic goals and objectives to: combat and prevent employment discrimination through the strategic application of the EEOC’s law enforcement authorities; prevent employment discrimination and advance equal employment opportunities through education and outreach; and strive for organizational excellence through its people, practices, and technology.

Highlights of the new Strategic Plan include:

• Increased focus on systemic discrimination. The Plan emphasizes expanding the EEOC’s capacity to eliminate systemic barriers to equal opportunity in the workplace, including training staff to identify and investigate systemic cases and devoting additional resources to systemic enforcement.
• Improved monitoring of conciliation agreements to ensure workplaces are free from discrimination after the EEOC makes a finding of discrimination.
• Enhanced intake services to potential charging parties, respondents, and representatives. Under the Plan, the EEOC will focus on improving and expanding access to intake services, increasing the availability of intake interview appointments, and improving overall service to the public.
• Leverage technology and innovative outreach strategies to expand the agency’s reach to diverse populations; vulnerable communities; and small, new, and disadvantaged or underserved employers.
• Promote promising practices that employers can adopt to prevent discrimination in the workplace.

“The new Strategic Plan reflects our thoughtful assessment of the agency’s mission, goals, and objectives in light of current conditions and what we expect in the next few years,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows. “It emphasizes expanding the EEOC’s capacity to eliminate systemic barriers to equal opportunity in the workplace, using technology and other tools to improve our services to the public, and achieving organizational excellence with a culture of accountability, inclusivity, and accessibility. I am grateful for the hard work of our staff across the agency who assisted in developing this plan and look forward to its successful implementation.”

The process for developing the Strategic Plan was an inclusive and collaborative effort by working groups comprised of staff from EEOC’s headquarters, field offices, Commissioner’s offices, and the agency’s union. The agency also sought public comment on the draft Strategic Plan and carefully reviewed and considered all comments received in developing the final Strategic Plan.

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act requires executive departments, government corporations, and independent agencies to develop and post a strategic plan on their public websites every four fiscal years. These plans direct the agency’s work and lay the foundation for the development of more detailed annual plans, budgets, and related program performance information in the future.

The EEOC also publishes a Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP), which is a separate document that establishes the EEOC’s substantive area priorities for its work to advance equal employment opportunity and prevent and remedy discrimination in the workplace. 

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.  Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.