Senate Democrats continue staff diversity survey, despite Trump’s anti-DEI trend
Staff working for Senate Democrats are significantly more diverse than a decade ago, according to the results of their annual survey.
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Forty-three percent of Senate Democratic staff now identify as nonwhite, up from about a third in 2017, when the survey first began.
The report comes as President Donald Trump continues to lash out against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across other parts of the government. He has dismantled federal DEI policies and targeted corporations and government contractors with such programs.
“While Donald Trump is purging people of color from public service and waging war on diversity, Senate Democrats are moving in the opposite direction — and the results speak for themselves,” Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer wrote in a statement.
Senate Republicans do not release any similar diversity survey.
According to the report, 16 percent of Senate Democratic staffers identify as Latino and 13 percent are African American, holding steady from last year.
Twelve percent said they are Asian American and Pacific Islander; 3 percent said Middle Eastern or North African; and 2 percent said Native American, Alaskan or Hawaiian. Meanwhile, 16 percent identified as LGBTQ, and 58 percent are female.
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While those numbers more closely resemble the makeup of the nation than in the past, barriers still remain on Capitol Hill, especially in the highest-paying jobs. An independent report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies released this June found that Black and Latino staffers remain underrepresented among top committee roles across the Senate, for example.
For personal offices, Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, led Senate Democrats in staff diversity, with 72 percent identifying as “non-Caucasian,” according to the survey. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., was next at 70 percent, followed by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., at 69 percent. At the committee level, the Senate Banking panel topped the list.
Meanwhile, Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., 18 percent; Peter Welch, D-Vt., 19 percent; and Tina Smith, D-Minn., 21 percent, had the fewest number of staffers identifying as non-Caucasian. The Senate Armed Services Committee was the least diverse at 14 percent.
Former Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., established the Senate Diversity Initiative in 2007. In 2017, Schumer tasked the initiative with an annual survey of the caucus. That same year, Senate Democrats also adopted caucus rules for hiring staff that they hoped would increase diversity, under pressure from advocacy groups and strategists who argued they should work harder to reflect the constituents they represent.
“Democratic staff is the most diverse it has been since we began collecting this data, with 40% more staffers of color than in 2017. That progress makes the Senate stronger, more effective, and more representative of the country we serve. We are proud of this record — and determined to build on it,” Schumer said.
