
We applaud the first year of the Biden-Harris administration. While it is the most diverse administration in history, it is not yet representative of the American people. Below is a Progress Report of the Policies, Personnel, Scorecards, Recommendations, and Benchmarks. (Last Updated: January 19, 2022)
Firsts
Kamala Harris
First woman and First Person of Color to serve as Vice President
Xavier Becerra
First Latino to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services
Pete Buttigieg
First openly gay Cabinet Secretary to serve as Secretary of Transportation
Christine Wormuth
First female to serve as Secretary of the Army
Kathleen Hicks
First female to serve as Deputy Secretary of Defense
Karine Jean-Pierre
First openly lesbian person to serve as the vice-presidential chief of staff
Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón
First woman to serve as United States Ambassador to Spain
Lynne Tracy
First woman to serve as United States Ambassador to Russia
Janet Yellen
First woman to serve as Secretary of the Treasury
Deb Haaland
First Native American to serve as Secretary of the Interior and first Native American Cabinet Secretary
Alejandro Mayorkas
First Latino as Secretary of Homeland Security
Wally Adeyamo
First African American to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
Rachel Levine
First first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the US Senate to serve as Assistant Secretary for Health
Lisa Cook
First African American to serve as a Member of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve System
First all-female Communications Team
Lloyd Austin
First African American to serve as Secretary of Defense
Katherine Tai
First Asian American and First Woman of Color to serve as US Trade Representative
Cecilia Rouse
First African American Woman to serve as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
Wendy Sherman
First female to serve as Deputy Secretary of State
Shawn Skelly
First transgender Assistant Secretary for Readiness, Department of Defense
Amy Gutmann
First woman to serve as United States Ambassador to Germany
Shalanda Young
First woman of color to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Ketanji Brown Jackson Tracy
First Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court
( “*” Asterisk indicates political appointees that are not yet Senate-Confirmed.)
Policies & Strategies
EXECUTIVE ORDER #13985
Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
EXECUTIVE ORDER #13988
Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation
EXECUTIVE ORDER #14004
Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their Country in Uniform
EXECUTIVE ORDER #14035
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce
EXECUTIVE ORDER #14091
Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
NATIONAL SECURITY MEMORANDUM #3
Memorandum on Revitalizing America’s Foreign Policy and National Security Workforce, Institutions, and Partnerships
OPM MEMORANDUM #01052022
Considerations for Establishing Chief Diversity Officers EO 14035
White House Government-wide Strategic Plan to Advance DEIA in the Federal Workforce (Inclusive America Response)
Department/Agency Equity Plan Snapshots
OMB Study to Identify Methods to Assess Equity: Report to the President
National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality
White House briefings will include an American Sign Language interpreter
WhiteHouse.gov has an Accessibility Policy
White House Convening on Equity
Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity (TACRE)
Chief Diversity Officers Executive Council
Releases First-Ever Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity
DEI Scorecard
We believe in holding government accountable for translating these efforts into systemic changes. To do so, we developed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Scorecard and have begun to assess personnel demographics and enacted policies by each department and agencies.
Department/Agency/Office | DEIA Strategy | Inclusion Rule for Hiring and Promoting | Workforce Diversity Metrics | Retention Metrics | D&I Strategic Plan | Chief Diversity Officer | Ease of Access to Diversity Data |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Department of Defense | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |||
Department of Justice | ✔️ | ||||||
Department of Transportation | ✔️ | ✔️ | |||||
Department of Treasury | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
Department of State | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
Department of Homeland Security | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
Department of Health and Human Services | | ✔️ | | | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Department of Education | | ✔️ | | | | | |
Department of Commerce | | | | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Department of Agriculture | | ✔️ | | ✔️ | ✔️ | | |
Department of the Interior | | ✔️ | | ✔️ | ✔️ | | |
Central Intelligence Agency | | | | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Department of Veterans Affairs | | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Department of Labor | | | | | | | |
Department of Energy | | | | ✔️ | ✔️ | | |
Department of Housing and Urban Development | | ✔️ | | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Small Business Administration | | | | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Office of the Director of National Intelligence | | ✔️ | | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Environmental Protection Agency | | | | | | | |
White House – Executive Office of the President | ✔️ |
Gaps
Cabinet Members
No Asian American serving as a Cabinet Secretary; the first time in two decades.
People with Disabilities
0% representation (25% parity)
Deputy Secretaries
Latina/o/x/ Hispanic
3.8% representation (18.5% parity)
Native American / American Indian
0% representation (1.3% parity)
Middle Eastern / North African
0% representation (3% parity)
People with Disabilities
0% representation (25% parity)
Chiefs of Staff
Latina/o/x/ Hispanic
3.8% representation (18.5% parity)
Black/African American
8.7% representation (13.4% parity)
Native American / American Indian
0% representation (1.3% parity)
Middle Eastern / North African
0% representation (3% parity)
Women of color
4.3% representation (20% parity)
People with Disabilities
0% representation (25% parity)
Room for Improvement
Regularly disclose and disaggregate demographic data, as appropriate.
Data about Gender Identity, Race/Ethnicity, and Sexual Orientation have been reported but nothing on Disability or Religion. Some categories need be disaggregated further (i.e. Middle Eastern Americans, Asian Americans, etc.) It is hard to know which segments of society are being left out without the data being made public and regularly updated.
Aim for parity at every level
…especially for underrepresented communities. Current gaps include:
- People with Disabilities at every level
- Latinas on the National Security Council at the Principal, Deputy, and Senior Director level
- Latina/os/x / Hispanics at every level
- Native Americans at every level other than Cabinet Secretary
- Middle Eastern / North African people at every level
- Transgender people at every level
Ensure systemic changes
Ensure systemic changes are made to make government more inclusive (see three draft Executive Orders: www.InclusiveAmerica.org/eo), especially:
- Ensure Intelligence Community accommodates People with Disabilities
- Develop an Inclusion Rule
- Elevate the position of Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer to the level of Assistant to the President
Deadlines
Date / Deadline | Days since(-) / from(+) today | Percentage until Completion | |
---|---|---|---|
Joe Biden became President | January 20, 2021 | -795 | |
President Biden signed Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities (EO #13985) | January 20, 2021 | -795 | |
Director of OMB shall deliver a report to the President identifying methods to assess equity (EO #13985) | July 20, 2021 | -614 | 163% |
Each Secretary/Administrator must submit an Equity Assessment to the Director of the Domestic Policy Council (EO #13985) | August 8, 2021 | -595 | 148% |
Each Secretary/Administrator must submit an Equity Plan (EO #13985) | January 20, 2022 | -430 | 81% |
President Biden signed Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI Persons Around the World (86 FR 11843) | February 4, 2021 | -780 | |
All agencies engaged abroad shall rescind any directives, orders, regulations, policies, or guidance inconsistent with this memorandum (86 FR 11843) | May 15, 2021 | -680 | |
President Biden signed Memorandum on Revitalizing America’s Foreign Policy and National Security Workforce (86 FR 828X) | February 4, 2021 | -780 | |
Interagency Working Group on the National Security Workforce shall provide a report to the President (86 FR 828X) | August 3, 2021 | -600 | 156% |
Next Congressional election | November 8, 2022 | -138 | 45% |
Next Presidential election | November 5, 2024 | +589 | 21% |