PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR 

A PLAYBOOK FOR GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP ON 

INCREASING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The objective of this guide is to empower Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and their teams to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the presidential appointee process, with respect to gender, gender identity, race, color, tribal citizenship, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, genetic information, national origin, familial obligations, veteran status, and previous civic service. As we know, diversity is a strength in every work environment, and having different perspectives helps lead to better results. Structural barriers exist in the setup and the functioning of presidential appointee operations that stand in the way of creating the most inclusive work environment. This guide does not replace existing guidelines, legal procedures, and applicable employment laws of The United States.

Increasing Diversity during the Transition

DEI Leadership

• Appoint a chief diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) officer to guide the Transition Team on DEI matters in the vetting and selection process.

Vetting and Selection

• Establish an “Inclusion Rule” to require that the candidate pool for any open position be at least 50% diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, religion, disability, and veteran status. 
• Use automated resume screening tools that anonymize personal information to reduce bias.
• Set clear, consistent evaluation criteria before the process begins so that all applicants are equally aware. 
• Work with outside organizations to identify and recruit qualified diverse candidates.
• Expand networks of individuals or resume/candidate referral sources to increase the pool of candidates for vacancies.
• Provide instructions to individuals involved in vetting and selection during the Transition on interviewing skills and position requirements and ways to mitigate bias in the vetting and selection process.  
• Help staff members access professional development opportunities that can equip them to better understand how unconscious biases may be affecting their ability to engage with people with different backgrounds and experiences during the interview process. 
• Ensure DEI plan has specific numerical goals for diversity recruiting, both in terms of each type of diversity category as well as combined categories.
• Track outcomes from the selection process to check for bias. 

DEI Training

• Provide unconscious bias training to Transition staffers and volunteers. 
• Provide racial equity training to Transition staffers and volunteers.
• Provide anti-harassment training to Transition staffers and volunteers.

Increasing Diversity in the Administration

DEI Leadership

• Appoint a chief diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) officer and a standing government-wide committee to guide the Presidential Personnel Office and the Office of Personnel Management on DEI matters in our government.
• Require the Presidential Personnel Office and the Office of Personnel Management to work with each department and agency to set goals for increasing the diversity of appointees to Senior Executive Service and Schedule C positions and a plan to meet them.
• Require the government-wide committee to review recruitment, hiring, and promotion practices for bias.
• Promote the Administration’s DEI efforts on a public website managed by the office of the chief DEI officer.
• Ensure that the chief DEI officer has a dedicated operational budget and a full staff which, beginning in the first 90 days of the new administration, has access to all personnel data.
• Clearly define the mandate of the chief DEI officer to a) dismantle structural barriers to recruitment, promotion, and retention of underrepresented groups; b) enforce transparency by collecting and disseminating data about the Department’s progress on diversity including promotions and assignments; c) implement accountability mechanisms to change the Department’s culture of impunity for discrimination, harrassment, and bullying; d) promote mentorship and sponsorship for underrepresented groups; e) convene executive task forces on each organizational unit’s diversity numbers; f) launch a diversity data dashboard that automates the updates of data visualizations accessible to the public; g) sit on selection committees for senior assignments and h) collaborate with other chief DEI officer across federal agencies and the private sector to share best practices and lessons learned.

DEI Policy Statement

• Creating/maintaining a written statement declaring that your office supports and values a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention Process

• Provide a clear understanding of processes, priorities, and metrics for success. 
• Provide a clear internal process that guides hiring, compensation, and promotion and that describes the skills valued for advancement.
• Ensure that this information is easily accessible and understood by everyone on staff.

Ongoing Effort of Building a DEI Hiring Process

• Even if there are no presidential appointees to be made, find time once or twice a year to meet with potential candidates and include other members of your team in the process. 
• Maintain an ongoing process of collecting resumes from a broad range of sources to create a pool of diverse candidates when you do have a job opening.

Vetting and Selection

• Establish an “Inclusion Rule” to require that the candidate pool for any open position be at least 50% diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, religion, disability, and veteran status. 
• Use automated resume screening tools that anonymize personal information to reduce bias.
• Set clear, consistent evaluation criteria before the process begins so that all applicants are equally aware.
• Work with outside organizations to identify and recruit qualified diverse candidates.
• Expand networks of individuals or resume/candidate referral sources, especially those from historically marginalized communities, to increase the pool of candidates for vacancies.
• Provide instructions to individuals involved in vetting and selection in the Administration on interviewing skills and position requirements and ways to mitigate bias in the vetting and selection process. . 
• Help staff members access professional development opportunities that can equip them to better understand how unconscious biases may be affecting their ability to engage with people with different backgrounds and experiences during the interview process.
• Ensure DEI plan has specific numerical goals for diversity recruiting.
• Track outcomes from the selection process to check for bias. 

DEI Training

• Provide unconscious bias training during the onboarding process and regularly thereafter. 
• Provide racial equity training during the onboarding process and regularly thereafter.
• Provide anti-harassment training during the onboarding process and regularly thereafter. 

Performance Review and Advancement

• Ensure that each agency’s criteria for evaluation is clear so that all appointees are judged for their performance using the same metrics.
• Ensure gender parity and racial equity in promotion panels.
• Collect diversity data on promotions and conduct a data-driven analysis on barriers for promotion.  

Employee Assessment

• Have employees evaluate your programs and examine policies and procedures.

Employee Resources

• Support Employee Resource Groups (also known as “affinity groups”). 
• Offer formal mentorship and sponsorship opportunities for appointees.
• Launch a Task Force charged with identifying cultural and systemic barriers keeping staff from seeking needed mental health services, and recommending the necessary systemic changes so that staff seek the help they need free of career implications. 
• Fund intensive mid-level leadership seminars designed specifically to help employees from historically underrepresented groups advance through the mid-level and into the senior ranks.  
• Set aside funds and time to host team retreats.
• Consider establishing targets for training and for staff participation in professional development opportunities.

Retention

• Create a plan to keep the talent you hired and a plan to help new hires be successful. 
• Track retention metrics, especially in categories of underrepresented populations. 
• Conduct exit and stay interviews. 

Policies and Procedures

• Craft a strong anti-discrimination policy. 
• Craft a strong anti-harassment policy. 
• Create clear channels for employees to report their concerns to agency general counsels without fear of reprisal.

Pay Equity

• Require OPM to conduct a pay equity audit every year. 
• For positions in which pay or incentives may be discretionary, ensure that equal pay is provided for work of equal value, in accordance with the Merit System Principles.  

Compliance and Accountability

• Collect workplace culture and DEI data and use it to make forecasts and corrections.
• Track representation both in terms of each type of diversity category as well as combined categories. 
• Enhance transparency by making DEI, pay equity, and workplace culture data public, ensuring that all employees are aware where to find the data.
• Reward leaders for DEI efforts (e.g., engaging in DEI initiatives or raising the diversity statistics in their divisions) through evaluations or compensation. 
• Develop and implement methods to address perceptions of stigmatization and retaliation associated with the Equal Employment Opportunity complaint process.
• Maintain proper personnel records, such as of complaints, and ensure compliance with any applicable law regarding personnel records within each department and agency.