Examining Turnover Behavior, Gender, and STEM Participation in the Federal Civil Service

Abstract

How does turnover behavior vary across demographic and organizational subgroups of the federal workforce? This study uses personnel data describing the civilian segment of the Department of Defense (DoD) workforce to perform a survival analysis of factors associated with turnover behavior. The analysis focuses on interactions between retirement eligibility, gender, and participation in STEM career fields. Results indicate that, while gender differences in the likelihood of employee separation persist within the DoD, for STEM job categories, the gender differential largely disappears. Refocusing managerial strategies toward recruitment and advertisement of job openings may be more effective at achieving higher gender diversity in STEM than new retention initiatives.