Elected and federally appointed officials aren’t the only ones making government more diverse and inclusive. A new government survey has revealed that more than 38% of people working on the Democratic side of the Senate also identify as non-Caucasian.
CNN’s Daniella Diaz and Ali Zaslav have reported on the survey, which revealed that “38.3% of Democratic Senate staffers identify as non-Caucasian, a 3.5 percentage-point increase from last year.”
According to Diaz and Zaslav, “the survey found that Senate offices with the most diversity in their staffers were those of Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii (73%), Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico (71%) and Raphael Warnock of Georgia (70%).”
On the other hand, Diaz and Zaslav noted that “the Senate offices with the least diversity were those of Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia (7%), Patrick Leahy of Vermont (8%) and Angus King (8%).”
Not surprisingly, the report revealed that the most diverse Senate committee was Indian Affairs, with 100% diverse staffing, followed by Judiciary, where 56% of workers came from diverse backgrounds.
The survey also revealed significant increases in the representation of Asian or Pacific Islanders, workers who identified as LGBTQ and women as a whole.
In a statement issued to CNN following the release of the study, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “Senate Democrats understand the importance of hiring staff that reflects the increasing diversity of the communities we represent. We’ve made some significant progress this past year, but much work remains to increase congressional staff diversity and ensure that every voice is heard and adequately represented in the halls of Congress.”
On the Republican side of the Senate, where diversity and inclusion is still remarkably sparse, Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell’s office declined to comment on any ongoing DEI efforts that might be underway.
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