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Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers

Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers is the O*NET name for people who monitor and evaluate compliance with equal opportunity laws, guidelines, and policies to ensure that employment practices and contracting arrangements give equal opportunity without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. The skills rated most useful are active listening, reading comprehension, and speaking. The job can ask you to investigate employment practices or alleged violations of laws to document and correct discriminatory factors. The strongest interest signal is Enterprising (5.4 of 7), then Conventional (5.2) and Social, which gives it the code ECS. Getting in usually takes a bachelor’s degree plus a period of work experience, a level O*NET calls considerable preparation. People who want leading, persuading and making business decisions usually fit better here than those who need hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world.

What they do

Monitor and evaluate compliance with equal opportunity laws, guidelines, and policies to ensure that employment practices and contracting arrangements give equal opportunity without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.

Main tasks

  • Investigate employment practices or alleged violations of laws to document and correct discriminatory factors.
  • Prepare reports related to investigations of equal opportunity complaints.
  • Interview persons involved in equal opportunity complaints to verify case information.
  • Study equal opportunity complaints to clarify issues.
  • Interpret civil rights laws and equal opportunity regulations for individuals or employers.
  • Meet with persons involved in equal opportunity complaints to arbitrate and settle disputes.

Skills

  • Active Listening
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Speaking
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Critical Thinking
  • Writing

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You like taking the lead and making the call.
  • You like clear rules and getting the details right.
  • You are ready to spend around four years on a degree, then build experience.
  • You are comfortable relying on active listening and reading comprehension.

May not suit you if

  • You would rather not persuade, sell or manage other people.
  • You want to work with your hands for most of the day. Realistic rates 1.2 out of 7 here.
  • You want to avoid a four-year degree or its equivalent.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code ECS takes the three highest, and Enterprising comes first here.

Preparation

Considerable preparation. Most jobs here ask for a bachelor’s degree, and employers usually expect a few years of related experience as well.

Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Bachelor's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.

Also called

  • Affirmative Action Officer (AA Officer)
  • Civil Rights Investigator
  • Civil Rights Representative
  • Complaint Investigations Officer
  • Equal Employment Opportunity Officer (EEO Officer)

Related careers

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.