Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM GASCH, District Judge. This class action was tried before the Court, sitting without a jury, during the first two weeks of December 1979. At trial the Court heard the testimony of twenty-nine witnesses, received into evidence numerous exhibits, and accepted the stipulations of the parties’ counsel as to certain facts. After trial, at the Court’s request, the parties’ counsel submitted proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Upon consideration of the foregoing and the entire record, the Court makes the findings of fact and conclusions of law that follow. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. This is a class action brought by plaintiff Mary P. Valentino against defendant the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. 2. Plaintiff has exhausted her administrative remedies and has met the jurisdictional requirements set forth in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(c) for bringing this action. 3. By order dated June 13, 1978, the Court certified the class which plaintiff represents as follows: all females who since June 16, 1976, have been employed or are now employed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) Headquarters in the Washington, D.C. statistical metropolitan area in the positions compensated according to USPS pay scales at level PES-17 or higher, and who have been accorded disparate treatment because they have been denied advancement on the basis of their sex, excluding, however, any such females who are union members or who participated in the personnel decisions resulting in plaintiff Mary P. Valentino’s individual claims. 4. In 1976 when the events concerning plaintiff’s individual claims occurred, and in 1978, when the class she represents was certified, the USPS pay scale relevant to this action was known as the Postal Executive Schedule, or PES pay scale. Subsequent to the class certification, the PES pay scale has been changed. 5. As the first step in this change, the PES pay scale became the Executive Administrative Schedule, or EAS pay scale. The EAS pay scale is identical with the old PES scale in both pay scale and promotion procedures. Thus, for example an EAS-20 is what was formerly referred to as PES-20. 6. More recently, on March 31,1979, the upper management levels of the USPS were placed under the Postal Carrier Executive Service, or PCES system. There are two levels in the PCES system: PCES-II and PCES-I. PCES-II’s serve at the pleasure of the Postmaster General and are the officers of the USPS, the highest level in USPS management. PCES-I’s are general managers and above, the second highest level in USPS management. Thus, PCES relates to the title of a position, not specifically to the position’s former grade. As a general rule, all level 30 and above grades are now in the PCES system. There are, however, positions formerly below the 30 level included in the PCES system. I. Plaintiff’s Individual Claim. A. Background. 7. In October 1970, Ms. Valentino left her position as Director of Personnel at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to work for the then Post Office Department as an Employment Specialist (Women). The EEOC had recently reduced her pay grade, and by coming to the Post Office Department plaintiff increased her annual salary by approximately $2,000. 8. During this period, the functions of the Post Office Department were being transferred to the USPS. In implementing this transfer of functions, the Department offered certain employees an option to retire early with a six-month pay bonus. Ms. Valentino was within the group entitled to that option. In May 1971, just seven months after coming to the Department, she retired and received a six-month pay bonus of approximately $13,600. 9. Nine months later, in February 1972, Ms. Valentino reentered the work force as a Personnel Staffing Specialist at the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). In December 1972 she left that position and became Director of Personnel for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”). In February 1974 she left the CPSC and returned to the USPS as the Director, Office of Career Planning, PES-28. Unlike most, if not all, other persons who returned to the USPS after receiving the six-month retirement bonus, plaintiff was not required to repay the bonus upon her return. B. The Realignment. 10. Plaintiff, as Director of the Office of Career Planning, was in the Employee and Labor Relations Group. She, along with heads of seven other departments or offices, reported directly to the Senior Assistant Postmaster General for the Employee and Labor Relations (“E&LR”) Group. Her staff consisted of herself and two other persons. On paper, her office had two responsibilities: the design, implementation, and monitoring of a Women’s Program, and career planning for postal employees. There was a certain amount of overlapping between the career planning functions of plaintiff’s office and those of other organizations within the E&LR Group. The problem of functional overlap was not, however, limited to the Office of Career Planning. James V. P. Conway, who became Senior Assistant Postmaster General (“SAPMG”) of the Group in September 1975, testified and the Court finds that at the time when he assumed that position the Group needed realignment, and that a large number of positions would in the interests of efficient management have to be eliminated. 11. Planning for the realignment began shortly after Mr. Conway became the SAPMG for the E&LR Group. All the Group’s offices and high-level managers— including the Office of Career Planning and Ms. Valentino — contributed to planning the realignment. The goal of the realignment was to streamline and make more efficient the organization and to eliminate functional duplication among the numerous offices in the Group. During this planning phase, a conscientious effort was made to avoid considering what specific people would fill what specific positions in the new organization. 12. In April 1976 the realignment was announced, effective June 4,1976. The realigned Group had approximately 100 fewer positions. Ms. Valentino’s position as Director, Office, of Career Planning, was one of the positions that had been eliminated. 13. Several new positions, including the directorships of the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Employee Services, were created by the realignment. Both of these new positions reported to Assistant Postmaster General (“APMG”) Paul Carlin, who, as head of the Employee Relations Department, in turn reported to Mr. Conway, SAPMG for the E&LR Group. 14. A substantial number of people were affected by the realignment. Approximately 140 people became excess as a result of the realignment. These were people like Ms. Valentino, whose positions had been eliminated and who did not assume newly-created positions in the E&LR Group. 15. Ms. Valentino contended that the realignment should have been handled as a reduction in force (“RIF”), in which persons entitled to Veterans Preference are favored. As the widow of a veteran, Ms. Valentino was entitled to preference under that Act. 16. Mr. Conway testified that the USPS sought to avoid using RIF procedures. Among the reasons for avoiding RIF procedures, particularly relevant in the context of this litigation, was that the favoring of veterans would have serious adverse effects on female employees, most of whom were not entitled to Veterans’ Preference. 17. Ms. Valentino filed an administrative charge with the Civil Service Commission challenging the realignment. She contended that the realignment was improper because the USPS had failed to follow the Veterans’ Preference Act. She was unsuccessful in persuading the Commission of the merits of her claim. However, she pursued this contention long after she took up the advocacy of women’s rights. 18. Somewhat inconsistent with plaintiff’s advocacy of women’s rights is her continued insistence upon her veterans’ preference bumping rights which are a part of the RIF procedures which she advocates in lieu of the realignment program. RIF procedures disproportionately favor male employees who are more likely to have veterans’ preference than women. Second, plaintiff’s advocacy of RIF procedures which might help her but not women generally impairs the efficacy of her representative position. Her notion of what is discriminatory or not discriminatory appears to turn on whether the policy benefits her personally rather than women generally. C. The Essential Vacancy System. 19. On November 12,1975, the Postmaster General directed that all vacancies at Headquarters be filled from within. This directive was viewed as a fundamental change in policy. It brought outside hiring at the USPS to a virtual standstill and committed the USPS to a policy of filling high-level management jobs from within. 20. On January 28, 1976, the USPS established its Essential Vacancy System to implement the Postmaster General’s policy of promoting from within. The system prohibited the filling of vacant positions which were not considered essential. With regard to those positions which were to be filled, the Essential Vacancy System brought two fundamental changes into promotion practices at the 17 and above levels at USPS Headquarters. First, it required the advertising, or posting, of all vacancies at levels 29 and below to be filled by promotions. Initially, the posting of vacancies at levels 30 and above was optional. Later, it became mandatory to post all vacancies except officer positions. The purpose of this posting requirement was to get a broader range of candidates for positions. Second, the Essential Vacancy System established the use of Review Committees to screen applicants for promotion. These Review Committees were to include, if possible, either a female or a member of a minority. The Essential Vacancy System is still in force, except that since March 1979 positions at the General Manager and above levels have been filled under the entirely new procedures of the PCES system. D. Plaintiff’s Promotion Efforts. 21. On April 15, 1976, announcements were posted under the Essential Vacancy System for the new positions of Director, Office of Employee Services (“OES”), PES-29, and Director, Office of Human Resources (“OHR”), PES-30. They were the 30th and 32nd vacancies, respectively, to be announced under the new system. A single Review Committee was selected to fill both positions. It consisted of one woman, Nancy George, and four men, Joseph Jackson, Emmett Cooper, Peter DelGrosso, and John Wise. Mr. Cooper was a member of a minority group. 22. The Committee was appointed by Mr. Conway. He personally selected the individual panel members and considered each to be “eminently qualified” to serve on the Committee. All were high-level managers with extensive experience in all phases of USPS operations, including managing large USPS installations and functions and working with a wide variety of USPS personnel matters. 23. Plaintiff submitted an identical application for both positions. There were 53 applicants for the OES position and 66 applicants for the OHR position. The Review Committee determined that it would interview six applicants for each position. Each Committee member reviewed the applications which had been submitted. The Committee then met, reviewed the applications jointly, and reached a consensus as to whom to interview for each position. The Committee decided to interview Ms. Valentino for the OES position, but not for the OHR position. 24. Included with each application was an “Estimate of Potential” prepared by the applicant’s supervisor. Ms. Valentino’s Estimate of Potential was prepared by Mr. Conway. In his comments regarding Ms. Valentino, Mr. Conway referred to her as “an attractive manager who conceptualizés well.” Plaintiff’s Exhibit 83. Mr. Conway testified that he included this phrase to mean that Ms. Valentino was an attractive candidate, in the sense that her application merited serious attention. In response to questioning by plaintiff’s counsel he denied that he was referring to Ms. Valentino’s physical appearance, and further stated that he has characterized candidates of both sexes as “attractive.” The Court credits Mr. Conway’s testimony. Neither of the two panel members who testified about Mr. Conway’s evaluation understood the adjective “attractive” to be directed at Ms. Valentino’s looks. Neither testified that Ms. Valentino’s physical appearance was a consideration by the panel. 25. Ms. Valentino also testified that Mr. Conway never discussed her Estimate of Potential with her. She apparently feels that without such a discussion he should not have completed the block on the estimate calling for “the highest positions or types of responsibilities he or she aspires to achieve.” Plaintiff’s Exhibit 83. Mr. Conway testified that he had a large number of estimates to fill out at that time; that he was already late in completing them; that he did not think the information called for by that block was critical to her application; and that he therefore completed the block as follows: “for the present, Office Director, PES-29/30.” Review Committee member Nancy George testified that if the Estimate of Potential had reflected that Ms. Valentino wanted a higher position than the one indicated, that fact would have made no difference to the Review Committee’s decision. The Court credits Ms. George’s testimony. The Court thus finds that plaintiff’s complaint about this item is of no real significance. Moreover, the Court believes that her concern is not probative of sex discrimination. There is no evidence that Mr. Conway interviewed men whose Estimates of Potential he was preparing. Furthermore, Mr. Conway’s unrebutted testimony was that he gave Ms. Valentino a better estimate than some of the male employees he evaluated for the position in question. 26. Following the interviews, the Review Committee reached a consensus on the three persons to recommend for each position and forwarded their names to Mr. Carlin, the selecting official. Plaintiff was not recommended to Mr. Carlin for either position. 27. The Essential Vacancy System was implemented under Mr. Carlin’s direction. It was his responsibility as APMG for the Employee Relations Department. This was his first personal involvement with the new system. Because of these circumstances, he experimented with “quantifying” the Review Committee’s selection process by means of an experimental point system. In so doing, he examined the Review Committee’s appraisals of all candidates interviewed including Ms. Valentino. Different point systems yielded different results and Mr. Carlin eventually abandoned his attempt to quantify the Review Committee’s selection system. For purposes of making the promotion — as opposed to trying to quantify the practice — Mr. Carlin considered only the persons recommended by the panel. Thus, Ms. Valentino was not considered for either position. After a brief consultation with Mr. Conway, who approved his selections, Mr. Carlin selected Mr. Brian Gillespie for the Director, OHR position, and Mr. Elmer Weems for the Director, OES job. 28. There is no evidence suggesting that the panel considered Ms. Valentino’s sex in deciding not to recommend her, nor is there anything in the record to indicate that Mr. Carlin considered her sex in deciding not to select her despite the panel’s failure to recommend her. Ms. George testified that the panel compared applicants on the basis of respective strengths and weaknesses. This testimony was not challenged. Nor was the testimony of Mr. Carlin challenged that he would not have treated Ms. Valentino differently had she been a man. Indeed, like Ms. Valentino, several men had been denied an interview for the OHR position. 29. Ms. Valentino bases her individual claim on the contention that her rejection must be suspect because her qualifications were so markedly superior to those of the candidates who were selected. She testified about her years of experience with federal personnel systems, and her success in establishing the personnel system of two' new, small agencies. She further testified that she had experience with each of the duties for the two positions being sought. She made no claim, however, that she had acquired her experience at the USPS. Those duties were listed on the job announcements introduced as Plaintiff’s Exhibits 81 and 82 and are set forth in the margin. Ms. Valentino also noted that the Committee was told to look for people with managerial ability and technical knowledge and she testified that her background entitled her to the highest rating in those areas. 30. Three witnesses offered testimony in support of Ms. Valentino’s claim that she was highly qualified for the positions: Randall Batson, her friend, former subordinate at the USPS, and former co-worker at both the FDA and CPSC; Jeffrey Sindler, a former co-worker; and Henry Gronkiewicz, also a former co-worker. None of these three had any connection with the filling of the vacancies in question; none had the breadth of USPS experience of any of the panel members or the selecting official; and none had reviewed any of the applicants submitted to the Committee. 31. In evaluating her experience, Ms. Valentino fails to note that both the job announcements specifically state that the incumbent will have to work with various programs involving Postal Service employees. The Court takes judicial notice of the fact that the standard Civil Service rules and regulations with which Ms. Valentino had spent her professional career had not worked well for the old Post Office Department, and that one of the purposes specified by Congress in enacting the Postal Reform Act was to free the Postal Service from that system and subject it to private sector collective bargaining concepts. 1970 U.S. Code Cong. & Admin.News 3649, 3662. To that end, Congress freed the USPS from most “federal law[s] dealing with employees ... .”, 39 U.S.C. § 410(a); generally authorized the USPS to establish its own personnel system, 39 U.S.C. § 1001(a); and made significant portions of the National Labor Relations Act applicable to the USPS. 39 U.S.C. § 1209. In short, Ms. Valentino’s experience was with a personnel system which had not been applied in the USPS for six years, and which the Congress had found to be inadequate to meet the needs of the Postal Service. 32. This lack of relevant experience goes to the heart, of Ms. Valentino’s claim of technical expertise. In April 1976, Ms. Valentino had only about two years of experience with the USPS and approximately one-fourth of that time was before the transition from Post Office Department to USPS was complete. She had no experience with labor-management relations under the National Labor Relations Act. Her only experience with unions was in the federal sector, the labor-management relations of which differ significantly from those in the USPS. Despite this lack of experience in USPS labor relations, Ms. Valentino applied for two positions in which she would have administered nationwide programs that had a substantial impact on labor relations in the USPS. Indeed, approximately ninety percent of the USPS work force of about 650,000 is subject to collective bargaining agreements. 33. Ms. Valentino’s lack of technical knowledge was not limited to the obligations of the USPS under the National Labor Relations Act. Her applications indicate that she had no field experience. Many of the programs to be administered by the two new directors, such as testing and training, and the injury compensation program, required an intimate knowledge of the workroom floor. Mr. Conway testified that he would have felt “uncomfortable” with an individual in the OHR position who lacked the “long learning process” Ms. Valentino would have needed to become familiar with such matters. Moreover, for the same reason the announcement for the OES position did not specify a general, federal personnel background like Ms. Valentino’s as a desirable qualification, but did specify that applicants should have “[ejxtensive experience in . . . postal field operations . . . . ” Plaintiff’s Exhibit 81 (emphasis added). The evidence in this case which is not challenged is that field expert ence is an extremely important and necessary qualification for the high-level USPS management positions such as those for which Ms. Valentino applied. 34. Plaintiff’s claim to managerial experience is not persuasive. The two new director positions were not first line supervisors, but managers of programs administered nationwide in 44,000 postal installations. The incumbents had to manage subordinate managers who were themselves responsible for functional areas. Nothing in the record before the Review Committee suggests that Ms. Valentino had such experience. Ms. Valentino contended that her management abilities had been proven in administering the personnel offices of the EEOC and the CPSC. Both agencies had total complements of about 1,000 people. In each, her staff was far smaller than those of the positions for which she was applying. 35. The Court finds that Mr. Gillespie was better qualified for the OHR position than Ms. Valentino. In the USPS, he acquired extensive experience in various functional areas of the USPS. He had experience as an Executive Management Trainee, Employee-Management Cooperation Specialist, Labor Relations Specialist, Manager of Labor Relations, and Director of the Office of Programs and Policies. He had acquired valuable field experience while working in the New York region and while managing a post office in California. He also had acquired management experience and an extensive knowledge of USPS labor relations and other USPS programs to be administered by the Director of the Office of Human Resources. Ms. Valentino, on the other hand, did not have comparable experience in the various functional areas of the USPS. Her career experience was generally limited to the field of federal personnel systems, experience which was of limited utility at the USPS where the federal personnel system was not used. She lacked field experience. She also lacked experience in USPS labor relations and with other programs to be administered by the Director of the OHR. She did, however, have experience with the program for upward mobility for women. On balance, Mr. Gillespie was the better qualified candidate. 36. The Court finds that Mr. Weems was better qualified for the OES position than Ms. Valentino. Shortly before coming to the USPS in 1970, Mr. Weems had retired from the United States Army as Lieutenant Colonel. While with the Army, he acquired a wide variety of valuable experience, among other things in supervising civilian personnel. While with the USPS, he acquired extensive experience in various USPS functional areas. He had held positions as a Management Institute Specialist, Mobile T.E.A.M. (Team Effectiveness Approach to Management Program) Chief, Training and Development Institute Field Center Manager, Manager of the Administrative Services Division of the Training and Development Institute, and General Manager of the Planning and Placement Division. He had acquired extensive field experience in these positions, and was known as a good manager in large organizations. In contrast, Ms. Valentino did not have as much experience with the USPS and its programs as did Mr. Weems. Ms. Valentino lacked field experience. While she had an edge over him with regard to the personnel services function of the OES position, his experience in management and in the field better qualified him for supervising the many other programs to be administered by the Director, OES. On balance, then, Mr. Weems was a better choice for the OES position than Ms. Valentino. E. Reassignment of Valentino. 37. Following realignment of the E&LR Group, some 140 people were in “excess” positions. Mr. Conway encouraged excess employees to seek out aggressively vacancies for which they wished to be considered and encouraged managers to nominate and recommend such employees for consideration for filling any vacancies in their organizations. 38. Eugene C. Hagburg, then Director of the USPS Training and Development Institute (PST & DI), testified that he learned that Ms. Valentino was an excess employee at a time when he needed to fill a level 28 position, the General Manager, Operating Services Division. Under USPS procedures, Mr. Hagburg had the option of laterally reassigning someone at a level 28 into the position or of posting the vacancy under the new Essential Vacancy System. Choosing the former course, Mr. Hagburg decided to see if Ms. Valentino was interested in the position. By laterally reassigning her, Mr. Hagburg saw an opportunity to fill the position quickly and to fill it with a woman. He preferred a female candidate, in part, because he recognized that his performance in the EEO area would be reviewed by his supervisors. Indeed, Ms. Valentino was one of the two women Mr. Hagburg sought out for reassignment to jobs under his supervision. 39. On June 2, 1976, Mr. Hagburg telephoned Ms. Valentino to determine whether she would be interested in the position. He thought her response to his telephone inquiry was “positive.” A meeting between the two took place a few days later at which time the position was discussed. Mr. Hagburg continued to believe Ms. Valentino was interested in the position. He understood she wanted more time to consider her options. Mr. Conway told Ms. Valentino that Hagburg’s position was the best he had available at the time. In Mr. Conway’s opinion, the position was a good opportunity for Ms. Valentino, and he approved her reassignment. Both Mr. Conway and Mr. Hagburg thought that Ms. Valentino voluntarily accepted the new position. 40. The position to which Ms. Valentino was reassigned in August 1976 was a position of considerable importance. In most respects it was superior to Ms. Valentino’s former position. It entailed broader responsibility: as General Manager, Operating Services Division, the incumbent was responsible for one of the largest correspondence courses in the country. Some 70 people reported to this General Manager, through at first five, and later four, subordinate managers. This contrasts with the two subordinates Ms. Valentino had as Director, Office of Career Planning. As Mr. Carlin testified, the position would have provided Ms. Valentino with a kind of management experience she had not had up to that point. 41. Ms. Valentino now argues that the Operating Services position was a “downgrade” from Career Planning, because she reported to the SAPG through intermediate supervisors, rather than directly. Mr. Carlin, however, testified that rank is not dependent solely on reporting relationship. The Court credits Mr. Carlin’s testimony. Moreover, the Civil Service Commission rejected Ms. Valentino’s “reduction-in-rank” allegation when that claim was presented in the context of her Veterans’ Preference Appeal. 42. Ms. Valentino also testified that she was placed in a building separate from the building in which her supervisor, Mr. Hag-burg, was housed. She also complained that two of her subordinates were housed in Mr. Hagburg’s office building and reported directly to him. The Court finds these complaints without merit. As Mr. Hagburg explained, none of Ms. Valentino’s subordinate managers reported directly to him. Furthermore, there was nothing unusual about the physical location of Ms. Valentino or her subordinate managers. Of the half dozen or so buildings at the Institute there were two primary office buildings, a block apart. Ms. Valentino was housed in one, along with two of her subordinate managers; Mr. Hagburg was housed in the other, along with two more of Ms. Valentino’s subordinate managers. Ms. Valentino’s fifth subordinate manager was located in Norman, Oklahoma. Ms. Valentino never complained to Mr. Hagburg about her physical location and her reporting relations with her staff. Indeed, she had regular staff meetings with her subordinate managers and had full authority to manage all five of them. 43. Ms. Valentino subsequently sought and received employment outside the USPS. She left the USPS in October 1978 for a position with another federal agency, the Community Services Administration where her salary at the time of the trial was $47,600. Her salary at the United States Postal Service was $35,500. II. Plaintiff’s Class Claim. 44. Plaintiff’s class allegations, as originally framed in the complaint, alleged that she would represent every past, present, and future female employee of the USPS work force and every past and future female applicant for employment by the USPS who had been and was being discriminated against on the basis of sex. Those “boiler plate” allegations were apparently intended to provide plaintiff with a basis for engaging in discovery rather than to provide the USPS with notice of what class claims she intended to litigate. The Court thus finds that plaintiff’s complaint did not provide the USPS “with the essential information necessary to determine [either] the subject matter [or] size of the prospective litigation ....” 45. The second class definition proposed by plaintiff was also too broad to provide the USPS with the notice to which it was entitled. The Court therefore finds that the defendant did not have that notice until this Court defined a class for plaintiff in its June 13, 1978 certification order. 46. Plaintiff seeks to prove her allegation of sex discrimination against the certified class in two fashions: (1) by individual, anecdotal testimony regarding various past events, and (2) by statistics. A. The Non-statistical Evidence. 1. The Claim of Class Member Samuels. 47. Plaintiff presented the claim of Gladys Samuels, a class member, who was denied a promotion to a vacancy in the Northeastern Region. As a threshold matter, the Court notes that Ms. Samuels’ claim is of no probative value in determining whether a practice or policy of sex discrimination exists at USPS Headquarters in the Washington, D.C. area. Had she obtained the position, she would have worked in New York City and would have lost her status as a Headquarters employee. The selecting official was a Regional official, not a Headquarters official. The Promotion Panel which declined to recommend her for promotion was made up of persons who work in Chicago, New York, and New Jersey. 48. Ms. Samuels’ claim that her failure to obtain the New York promotion was sex discrimination is open to question. Ms. Samuels charges that the Committee rejected her because she was both female and black. Yet two out of three members of the panel were black. Moreover, at the time she filed this EEO complaint, she had a second complaint pending in the USPS Southern Region in Memphis, Tennessee. In that complaint, Ms. Samuels charged that a promotion had been denied her because of her race and sex, even though the person promoted was also a black female. Apparently, Ms. Samuels considers all personnel actions which are adverse to her to be discriminatory, and her testimony that any particular one was discriminatory must be discounted accordingly. 49. Ms. Samuels also testified that after she filed her EEO charge, she received a letter from the panel member which criticized her for acting like a “woman scorned.” The author also sent a similar letter to a black male who had filed a complaint over the same personnel action which is the subject of Ms. Samuels’ complaint. The attitude of the Postal Service, as opposed to the author of the letter, is clear. The author was disciplined. He has since retired from the USPS. 50. Ms. Samuels’ only testimony probative of general USPS Headquarters policy favors defendant rather than plaintiff. Ms. Samuels came into the USPS in a clerical position and now occupies a professional position. It appears that more rapid advancement by Ms. Samuels has not been impeded by her sex. 2. The Claims of Class Members Anderson and Broadhurst. 51. Jo Elaine Anderson and Helen Broadhurst are black, female class members who competed against each other for the position of Marketing Specialist at Headquarters. Both were among the five persons recommended by the Review Committee as best qualified. The selecting official, William A. Rissell, a General Manager at USPS Headquarters, selected a white male applicant who had also been certified by the Committee. Both Ms. Broadhurst and Ms. Anderson have claimed that this selection is sex discrimination, although both have elsewhere suggested that it may instead be race discrimination. 52. There is nothing in either woman’s testimony to suggest that Mr. Rissell’s decisions were influenced by an overall practice or policy of the USPS. Indeed, it is most unlikely that Mr. Rissell’s alleged policy of discrimination could have been even department-wide, inasmuch as two of the other General Managers within the department are women. 53. Moreover, there is no evidence from which this Court could infer a discriminatory animus on the part of Mr. Rissell. Ms. Anderson and Ms. Broadhurst both rest their claims on the superiority of their qualifications over those of the male applicant selected. There is, however, nothing in the record which allows the Court to compare those qualifications. Instead, the Court must choose between the class members’ conclusory and contradictory assertions that each was the best qualified for the position in question, and Mr. Rissell’s testimony that he interviewed each candidate, reviewed the qualifications of each, and made his selection based on the relative qualifications and experience of each of the applicants, as well as the performance of each on a written exercise. The Court credits Mr. Rissell’s testimony and thus declines to infer from the record before it that Mr. Rissell selected the male candidate on the basis of gender. 54. "Plaintiff sought to establish Mr. Rissell’s anti-female animus by showing that he gave a “test” to the five applicants; that he sent Ms. Anderson a confidential memorandum expressing displeasure with her repeated absences; that he asked Ms. Anderson to type; that he denied an EEO counsellor access to the promotion file; and that he removed certain papers from the promotion file. None of these actions is probative of a sex animus on Mr. Rissell’s part. Moreover, Mr. Rissell had a legitimate reason for each challenged action. 55. The “test” Mr. Rissell had each applicant take was an exercise in which the applicant was required to correct a draft document similar to those which the person promoted to the position would be responsible for preparing. Moreover, this exercise was apparently not biased against women, inasmuch as Ms. Anderson made the best grade of all the applicants on the test. The confidential memorandum was sent to Ms. Anderson because she was abusing her leave privilege and was caught falsifying her time records. Mr. Rissell expected all his employees to type when clerical shortages required them to do so. Because the EEO counsellor was not an official investigator, Mr. Rissell delayed providing her with information concerning people other than the complainants until he could obtain advice concerning his obligations under the Privacy Act. Finally, Mr. Rissell was asked to send the promotion file to the Headquarters personnel office for reasons unknown to him. The papers he removed were personal notes, which are not considered part of the promotion file. Moreover, the removed papers have not been destroyed, and are still maintained in his office. Plaintiff made no attempt to show that any of Mr. Rissell’s explanations were pretextual. 56. The only testimony presented by either Ms. Anderson or Ms. Broadhurst which is probative of the . general attitude at USPS Headquarters toward women is the statement of each woman that she entered the USPS as either a clerical or blue collar worker and now holds a professional position. 3. The Claim of Class Member Oliver. 57. Mildred Oliver testified that prior to 1974 she had been promoted by Mr. Troy and Mr. Sharp to the position she now holds, and until that time she received good merit evaluations from Mr. Troy. She alleges that in 1974 Mr. Troy became aware that there would be a vacancy in a higher position, and that he “set her up” by suddenly lowering his evaluations of her because of sex so that he and Mr. Sharp could select a man for the position. She further contends that Mr. Troy’s poor evaluations of her continued due solely to sex and that, as a result of those evaluations, she was denied a 1976 promotion which went to a male. Even if entirely true, Ms. Oliver’s testimony does not support an inference of a policy of sex discrimination by the USPS. Her complaint is rather that Mr. Troy and Mr. Sharp, acting as individuals, have discriminated against her because she is a woman. 58. Moreover, her claim is not persuasive. Between the time Ms. Oliver was given her last good evaluation and the time she began receiving poor evaluations, she was promoted. Mr. Troy’s lowered evaluations of Ms. Oliver are far more likely to be the result of poorer performance in her new job than sex animus. Both Mr. Troy and Mr. Sharp promoted Ms. Oliver to her current position. Additionally, Mr. Sharp brought a woman into a second professional position. Either Mr. Sharp or Mr. Troy was responsible for that woman being promoted a second time. Thus, there is no evidence that either Mr. Troy or Mr. Sharp was motivated by a general bias against women. 59. Mr. Troy did not reject Ms. Oliver’s application for the 1976 position. Indeed, she was not recommended to him by the Review Committee. Ms. Ann Robinson, the chairman of that Committee and a class member, testified that Ms. Oliver was rated low by the Committee in large part because of her unimpressive interview and unimaginative approach to problem solving. 60. While employed by the USPS, Ms. Oliver had advanced from a clerical job to her current professional position. 4. The Claim of Class Member Bach. 61. Patricia Hamil Bach testified that she was denied a promotion because of gender. She had been interviewed by a Review Panel which did not recommend her. Nothing in her claim suggests that the Review Committee’s decision was made in conformity with any pattern or practice at USPS Headquarters. 62. Ms. Bach rests her claim of discrimination on the theory that she was the best qualified candidate and that her-nonselection could be explained only by sex discrimination. However, no evidence was introduced which would allow the Court to compare her qualifications to those of the other candidates. 63. Julie McCarthy, a class member, chaired the Review Committee that interviewed Ms. Bach for the position which is the subject of her complaint. As Ms. McCarthy testified, the panel felt Ms. Bach’s technical and educational qualifications minimally qualified her for the position in question. For that reason the panel decided to interview Ms. Bach. The panel felt that Ms. Bach’s interview was not as impressive as the interviews with the twelve other candidates minimally qualified for the position. Specifically, the panel was disappointed with Ms. Bach’s ideas regarding solving some very serious problems in the branch to be managed as well as her approach to managing the functions of the position. Ms. McCarthy testified that she and the other panel members ranked Ms. Bach slightly below the middle of the 13 applicants whom they interviewed for the position. Three names were forwarded to the selecting official. Ms. Bach was not close to those certified as the best qualified candidates. There is no credible evidence upon which the Court could conclude that Ms. McCarthy and her fellow panel members would have selected Ms. Bach if she were a man. Indeed, Ms. McCarthy’s testimony, which the Court credits, is to the contrary. 5. The Testimony Concerning Biglin. 64. Ms. Valentino introduced evidence concerning the efforts of Francis X. Biglin, the then SAPMG in charge of the Finance Group, to intervene in the efforts to promote two class members: Alexandra Moroney and Mary Pescatore. These instances both arose out of Mr. Biglin’s practice of reviewing the promotions of all professionals within the Group. 65. In reviewing the promotion file for a Mail Classification Specialist, Mr. Biglin noted that the successful candidate, Ms. Moroney, seemed to lack qualifications that another male candidate had. Moreover, Ms. Moroney’s mother worked on the Postmaster General’s staff, and Mr. Biglin was concerned that charges of nepotism might be made in the event of Ms. Moroney’s selection. Mr. Biglin therefore asked the selecting official why Ms. Moroney was chosen. The selecting official’s reply was satisfactory to Mr. Biglin, and he approved Ms. Moroney’s promotion. 66. Subsequently, Mr. Biglin reviewed the promotion of Ms. Pescatore to the position of Senior Statistician. Originally, the selecting official had determined that none of the candidates, including Ms. Pescatore, should be promoted to the position. Mr. Biglin denied permission to recruit from outside the USPS and ordered the selecting official to select one of the candidates. Ms. Pescatore was selected. It then came to Mr. Biglin’s attention that Ms. Pescatore’s promotion would involve a pay increase of over 30%. USPS regulations at the time limited employees to increases of 15% a year. Mr. Biglin explored several alternatives which would have allowed Ms. Pescatore to fill the position and keep her salary increase within the 15% limit. While he was doing this, he was told that Ms. Pescatore had already been informed that she would get the position and the more than 30% pay increase. Mr. Biglin then approved the promotion, thus favoring Ms. Pescatore over similarly situated male and female employees bound by the 15% rule. 67. It is difficult to see how Mr. Biglin’s actions regarding Ms. Moroney and Ms. Pescatore amount to anything other than acceptable management practices. Certainly, neither Ms. Moroney nor Ms. Pescatore was adversely affected by virtue of sex. Indeed, neither testified in this case that they felt they were the victims of sex discrimination. 6. The Testimony of Julie McCarthy. 68. In rebuttal to Ms. Bach’s claim of sex discrimination, defendant called another class member, Ms. Julie McCarthy. Besides testifying persuasively that Ms. Bach was not the victim of sex discrimination, Ms. McCarthy expressed her views regarding plaintiff’s allegations of discrimination against a class of women in Headquarters, level 17 and above, Washington SMSA. 69. In the past year and a half Ms. McCarthy has been a member of approximately 20 different Review Committees for a variety of positions throughout the USPS, including Washington, D.C. Headquarters positions. As Ms. McCarthy testified, the sex of any female applicant was not considered by any of these panels in determining whether that applicant was qualified to hold the position being filled. Ms. McCarthy emphasized her conclusion that the panels of which she had been a member had not discriminated against women whose applications they had reviewed. 70. Ms. McCarthy is a PCES-I employee of the USPS. As a high level female USPS employee, Ms. McCarthy expressed her conviction that the USPS has not discriminated against women as a class in levels 17 and above at USPS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. To the contrary, she testified that the USPS was committed in principle and in actuality toward providing advancement opportunities for all its employees regardless of sex. She noted a number of programs which typified this commitment such as training programs, the Headquarters-Field Interchange Program, the Officer in Charge (OIC) Program, educational programs, and the policy of using temporary assignments to give employees training in areas where they have not previously worked. 71. Ms. McCarthy has personally benefitted from many of the programs which she identified. Ms. McCarthy is presently assigned to a Sectional Management Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. This assignment allows her to gain experience in an area of USPS business outside of the bulk mail background in which she has previously worked. This assignment has given Ms. McCarthy important field experience which will help her advancement in the Postal Service. Furthermore, Ms. McCarthy has participated in the USPS’ Executive Development Program. Under this program the Postal Service sent her to Cornell University for additional, high-level management training. 72. Finally, Ms. McCarthy stated that she had not been the victim of sex discrimination by the USPS during her eight years of service. To the contrary, she testified that she had had a wide variety of interesting and challenging jobs with expanding responsibilities. Her opportunities have been almost unlimited and being female has not been a negative factor in her experience. 7. The Testimony of Ann Robinson. 73. In rebuttal to Ms. Oliver’s claim of sex discrimination, defendant called another class member, Ms. Ann Robinson. Besides testifying convincingly that Ms. Oliver was not the victim of sex discrimination with regard to her individual complaint, Ms. Robinson discussed plaintiff’s claims of discrimination in USPS Headquarters, Washington SMSA, against women at levels 17 and above. 74. Ms. Robinson has served on approximately 10-12 Review Committees for positions advertised in the PES-17 and above levels at USPS Headquarters, Washington, D.C. SMSA. The sex of female applicants had never been the subject of discussions by the Review Committees for any of these positions. Moreover, Ms. Robinson has never observed sex discrimination against any female applicant by any of the panels on which she has served. 75. When asked for her personal observations as to whether the class in this case had been the victims of sex discrimination by the Postal Service, Ms. Robinson responded: I have no knowledge of such discrimination. Indeed I have seen the hiring and selection process from the standpoint of an applicant, from the standpoint of the member of the Review Committee, from the standpoint of the chair of the Review Committee and from the standpoint of the hiring official and I have not seen evidence of discrimination as you have outlined. 76. Moreover, as a PCES-I employee, Ms. Robinson is a member of the second highest group of management officials in the Postal Service. In this position she has been able to observe, firsthand, the commitment of upper management to upward mobility for women in the USPS. Ms. Robinson described that commitment as follows: The Postmaster General’s public pronouncement[s] on this subject I think are quite clear. I have had the opportunity to speak with him personally on a one-on-one situation. I’ve had the opportunity to be part of a group of women managers that luncheoned with him and discussing the progress of women and I know quite clearly and believe quite strongly that his commitment to the identification and to the advancement of qualified women is total and is a compelling commitment and I believe that his philosophy has filtered down to his top managers. 77. Additionally, Ms. Robinson testified about some of the programs which the USPS has developed to facilitate and accomplish upward mobility for women. Specifically, she identified the Essential Vacancy System, the Headquarters-Field Interchange program, and the Executive Leadership program. 78. Ms. Robinson has participated in various programs she identified. As noted, she has been extensively involved in all aspects of the Essential Vacancy System. Moreover, she benefitted from a two-month assignment as Acting Postmaster and Sectional Center Manager in Norfolk, Virginia, which she described as “invaluable” experience. Ms. Robinson spent six weeks at the University of Virginia in the Executive Leadership program. 79. Finally, Ms. Robinson has not experienced sex discrimination in her 13 years as a USPS employee. To the contrary, Ms. Robinson testified that in her opinion women have a distinct advantage in the USPS. 8. The Testimony of Nancy George. 80. In rebuttal to Ms. Valentino’s individual claim that she was the victim of sex discrimination by the Review Committee that considered her applications for the positions of Director, DHR, and Director, DES, defendant called a member of the Review Committee, Nancy George. Besides testifying convincingly that the Review Committee did not single Ms. Valentino out for adverse treatment because of her sex, Ms. George testified about her experience as a female employee in USPS Headquarters. 81. Ms. George has been a member of approximately 12 Review Committees under the Essential Vacancy System. Sex discrimination against female applicants has not been condoned by those Review Committees. 82. Ms. George is a PCES-II employee of the USPS. By virtue of her high level position in the USPS, including her present job as Assistant Postmaster General in charge of the Employee Relations Department, Ms. George has been able to observe, firsthand, the determination of top management to provide upward mobility for women. This was illustrated by a very firm commitment by top management to provide opportunities through a variety of programs and job experiences to enhance women’s abilities to become competitive individuals for upward advancement. 83. Ms. George also testified specifically that Mr. Carlin and Mr. Conway, two of the individuals whom Ms. Valentino has characterized as discriminating officials, are both committed to the USPS policy of encouraging upward mobility for women. With regard to Mr. Carlin, Ms. George related a personal experience of being on panels where Mr. Carlin was also interviewing candidates. Ms. George observed that Mr. Carlin always questioned the candidates intently about their attitudes toward women and minorities before recommending anyone for a supervisory management position. George, Tr. II at 160. Similarly, Ms. George described Mr. Conway as a dedicated manager who was committed to all programs in the USPS including the Women’s Program and upward mobility. 84. Ms. George also identified specific programs which she felt were examples of the commitment of the USPS to the upward mobility of women. She specifically listed the Headquarters-Field Interchange program, the Management Associate program, the Management Trainee program, the Office-in-Charge program, a professional and specialist program to develop specialized skills of individuals, and other extensive training programs including classroom, on-the-job training, and correspondence courses. 85. Finally, Ms. George stated that being a woman had not adversely affected her advancement through the ranks of the USPS. In July 1966, Ms. George started as a GS-7 with the Postal Service; her salary was $6,500. Today, Ms. George is a PCESII, the highest level in the USPS; her annual salary is over $50,000. 9. Programs to Assist the Advancement of Women. 86. The unrebutted testimony of several other witnesses confirms the observations of Ms. McCarthy, Ms. Robinson, and Ms. George. The USPS has instituted numerous programs to facilitate the advancement of women into its higher level positions. 87. One of the most effective means of assisting the advancement of women in the Postal Service has been the Essential Vacancy System. The advertising of positions which is required under the Essential Vacancy System makes women aware of available vacancies and gives interested women the opportunity to apply for those vacancies. The use of Review Committees has had a salutary effect on the advancement of women at levels 17 and above in USPS Headquarters. By allowing the input of several different individuals, the personal prejudices, bias, and opinions, if any, of a single' individual are minimized. Moreover, the use of women on Essential Vacancy Review Committees allows women to become involved in the promotion .process and thereby gain confidence and familiarity with the factors that will be considered for promotions. 88. Plaintiff attacks the subjectivity, flexibility, and absence of extensive paper work as flaws in the Essential Vacancy System. What plaintiff characterizes as “flaws” seem to the Court to be necessary, practical, and expected attributes of an effective promotion system for high-level management employees in an organization as large and extensive as USPS Headquarters. Even if one were to assume such characteristics are arbitrary and somehow evidence poor management judgment, there is no evidence that these factors are used to discriminate against women as a class. Instead, the Essential Vacancy System, since its inception in January 1976, has been an effective instrumentality in facilitating the advancement of women in the USPS. 89. The importance of field experience in facilitating advancement to upper level management positions in the Postal Service Headquarters was recognized by several witnesses. Several programs which assist women in obtaining field experience to make them more competitive for promotions to high-level management jobs have been developed and made operational. Specifically, the Headquarters-Field Interchange program allows employees to move temporarily from Headquarters to field assignments. Similarly, the Officer in Charge (“OIC”) program allows women to obtain temporary field management experience by running an actual field Post Office, the operational arm of the USPS. Temporary assignments also have been used to move employees into functional areas with which they would otherwise be unfamiliar, to move employees to the field for valuable field experience, and to move employees into managerial positions where they can obtain important supervisory experience. 90. The USPS has also instituted a professional and specialist program which allows employees who lack professional and specialized skills to acquire these skills by serving in those positions on a probationary status for up to two years and thereby become qualified for professional and specialist positions. 91. Training programs have also been developed to assist in upward mobility. In addition to technical, classroom, on-the-job, and correspondence course training, special EEO related training is conducted. For example, seminars are held to give advice to employees on how to prepare resumes and how to present themselves effectively to Review Committees. Additionally, Headquarters managers are given EEO training. 92. At the top levels of training the USPS has the Executive Leadership Program, which sends high level management employees to extensive courses offered at various universities such as Cornell, Virginia, and Harvard. For every year for which full data is available, women employees have been selected to participate in this program at rates more favorable than their male counterparts. Plaintiff’s Exhibits 2, 14, 15, 16, and 71 reflect the following regarding the Executive Leadership Program: % Women Year Available % Women % Women Nominated Selected 1977 2.76% 11.76% 18.18% 1978 3.07% 5.13% 5.88% 1979 3.68% 4.26% 12.50% These figures demonstrate the Executive Leadership Program has been used effectively by the USPS to train high-level women managers for assuming greater managerial responsibility. 93. High-level employees such as the Postmaster General and his deputy, Mr. Conway, personally meet with USPS managers to impress upon them the importance of EEO obligations and the importance of their performance with regard to upward mobility for women and minorities. This high-level emphasis on EEO performance is also translated into tangible incentives for employees. Managers are rated annually on their EEO performance as part of the merit evaluations upon which their merit salary increases are based. The EEO records of candidates for high-level promotions are given close scrutiny by Review Committees and selection officials. The USPS policy of evaluating individuals on the basis of their EEO performance, was, in part, a motivating factor behind Mr. Hagburg’s aggressive search for female applicants, one of whom was Ms. Valentino. 94. The USPS’ efforts to increase the representation of women in the higher level ranks are reflected in the statistical evidence which has been presented in this case. The Court next considers that evidence. B. Statistical Evidence. 1. Background. 95. The statistical evidence presented to the Court came from two sources which were available to both plaintiff and defendant: computer tapes and Essential Vacancy files. a. Computer Tapes. 96. John Hyatt, General Manager of the Employee and Labor Relations Information Systems Division, USPS Headquarters, provided to the experts retained by both parties the computer data. The parties and their experts made extensive use of the computer data which was reproduced on certain computer tapes provided by the USPS. The first computer tape which was utilized by the parties was provided by Mr. Hyatt in late 1978 or early 1979. It contains Type I records with “snapshot” data regarding employees as of Jpne 1974, March 1975, January 1976, January 1977, and January 1978. Additionally, it contains Type II records with historical information regarding employees who were at the USPS at the time the tape was prepared or who had left the USPS not more than 54 weeks prior to the time the tape was prepared. A second computer tape was provided by Mr. Hyatt to both experts in October 1979. This tape contained Type I, snapshot, data for January 1979, and October 1979. In both instances, Mr. Hyatt forwarded the tapes containing the identical relevant data to the parties’ experts at the same time and retained a third tape containing the same information for himself. 97. Mr. Hyatt was made available to advise both plaintiff’s and defendant’s experts regarding technical questions or problems which might arise in their use of the tapes. Mr. Hyatt answered both experts’ questions in the same fashion, and gave both thé same explanations and information. Moreover, he advised both experts whenever relevant information concerning use of the tapes was brought to his attention. b. Essential Vacancy Files. 98. The Court has also reviewed data collected manually from Essential Vacancy files kept at the USPS Headquarters. By USPS regulation these files are normally maintained with the Department filling the vacancy. In the course of discovery in this case, these files were collected and stored in the Personnel Office for USPS Headquarters under the direct supervision of Steven Moe, Manager of the Personnel Discipline Branch in the Employee Relations Department of the USPS Headquarters. 99. Mr. Moe supervised the collection of all Essential Vacancy files in the possession of the USPS for all positions advertised in USPS Headquarters, Washington, D.C. SMSA, at levels 17 and above. As a result of careful and thorough canvassing of all Headquarters’ Departments, Mr. Moe accounted for all the promotion files which were created from the inception of the Essential Vacancy System in January 1976, until late October 1979. All files in the USPS’ possession were made available to plaintiff’s attorneys and their support personnel for review and inspection from the time they were collected, beginning in September 1979, until the time of trial. 100. When plaintiff originally requested (in her Second Set of Interrogatories) certain data which could only be obtained from these files, the USPS made the files available for review by plaintiff’s counsel. Subsequently, plaintiff requested additional information from these files, including applicant flow data. Pursuant to an agreement between counsel, the USPS made the first compilation of data request