Diversity among top Senate staffers is abysmal

[Celerity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/12/senate-staffers-racial-diversity/

https://archive.is/UOjDO



This year’s Super Bowl should shine a bright spotlight on the issue of diversity. Yes, two Black quarterbacks have led their teams to the championship game, a sign of progress. But the league continues to struggle with its dismal record of hiring Black head coaches. The problem goes far beyond football. Lack of diversity in leadership roles is common in workplaces across the country, including, arguably, one of the most important locations: the U.S. Senate.

Decades ago, I had the privilege of working in two different offices in the Senate. There, I saw up close a near complete absence of people in senior staff roles who looked like me. And nothing has changed. Let’s look at some numbers: Of the 100 U.S. senators, 88 are White, each with a chief of staff to lead their teams of 50 to 70 public servants. In this “world’s most deliberative body,” there is only one Black chief of staff, four Black legislative directors and one Black communications director.

On the Senate committees where legislation takes shape, there are zero Black people in top committee staff director positions. Following the recent midterm elections, newly elected senators are continuing this poor trend, with only 5.9 percent of their top staff positions (chief of staff, legislative director, communications director) held by people of color.

These staffers are crucial to the Senate’s work. Chiefs of staff hire and manage each office’s workers, decide their senators’ schedules, and serve as the primary interface between the staffs and their bosses. Legislative directors determine their senators’ issue priorities, recommend how they vote, serve as their principal policy ambassadors to other offices and outside interests, draft legislation and prepare for floor debates. Staff directors run committees for the chairs and schedule proceedings and votes on legislation, move nominees through the confirmation process, help choose questions to ask witnesses, and negotiate deals on legislation as they move from the committee to the Senate floor.

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[a kennedy]

1. Damn embarrassing. 🤬 🤬 🤬