Beco
I'm Not Your Guru
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2002
- Posts
- 57,795
Washington Post June 30
Senate Democrats have long faced criticism for a lack of diversity among those that work for them, and have faced increased pressure in recent months to take up minority-hiring efforts.
Responding to the pressure, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) released a report Friday that confirms what staffers and outside observers long believed: Despite having 16 women in the caucus and more minority senators than ever, Democratic Senate staffing is overwhelmingly white.
Thirty-two percent of staffers are “non-Caucasian,” defined as African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino, Native American or Middle Eastern/North African, according to the report. Fifty-four percent of staffers are women; 46 percent are men.
The report “confirms what we’ve all known for some time — that there is a significant diversity problem that cannot be allowed to continue in the most representative branch of our government,” said Don Bell, director of the Black Talent Initiative at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a group that has been studying congressional staffing issues for years. He called on other House and Senate leaders “to follow suit and begin collecting this vital information.”
Senate Democrats have long faced criticism for a lack of diversity among those that work for them, and have faced increased pressure in recent months to take up minority-hiring efforts.
Responding to the pressure, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) released a report Friday that confirms what staffers and outside observers long believed: Despite having 16 women in the caucus and more minority senators than ever, Democratic Senate staffing is overwhelmingly white.
Thirty-two percent of staffers are “non-Caucasian,” defined as African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino, Native American or Middle Eastern/North African, according to the report. Fifty-four percent of staffers are women; 46 percent are men.
The report “confirms what we’ve all known for some time — that there is a significant diversity problem that cannot be allowed to continue in the most representative branch of our government,” said Don Bell, director of the Black Talent Initiative at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a group that has been studying congressional staffing issues for years. He called on other House and Senate leaders “to follow suit and begin collecting this vital information.”
