In collaboration with Morrison Foerster, Inclusive America analyzed 3 important aspects to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at the state-level: 1) Boards and Commissions States 2) DEI Offices and Officials) 3) Published DEI Reports. Analyzing all of these factors together, we aim to demonstrate the advancement of DEI within certain states, and see what we can learn to apply at the federal level.
| State | Boards & Commissions | Officials | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | No | No | Yes |
| California | Yes | Yes | No |
| Colorado | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connecticut | Yes | No | Yes |
| District of Columbia | No | Yes | No |
| Florida | Yes | No | Yes |
| Illinois | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Indiana | No | Yes | No |
| Iowa | Yes | No | No |
| Kansas | No | Yes | No |
| Kentucky | Yes | Yes | No |
| Massachusetts | No | Yes | Yes |
| Michigan | No | Yes | No |
| Minnesota | No | Yes | No |
| Missouri | Yes | No | No |
| Montana | Yes | No | No |
| Nevada | Yes | No | No |
| New Hampshire | Yes | Yes | No |
| New Jersey | No | Yes | No |
| New York | No | Yes | No |
| North Carolina | Yes | No | Yes |
| North Dakota | Yes | No | No |
| Oregon | Yes | | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | No | Yes | No |
| Rhode Island | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tennessee | Yes | No | Yes |
| Utah | Yes | No | No |
| Vermont | No | Yes | No |
| Virginia | No | Yes | No |
| Washington | No | Yes | No |
| Wisconsin | No | Yes | No |
| State | Type | Strict/Permissive | Implementing Language | Gender | Race | Ethnicity | Sexual Orientation | Disability | Economic | Geography | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | Federal | Permissive | For State Commissions on National & Community Service: “The chief executive officer of a State shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the membership of the State Commission for the State is diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, age, gender, and disability characteristics. | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| California | State | Strict | 5 or more members can’t have more than 60% of board of the same gender; 4 or less can’t have gender uniformity for cities over 50,000 people | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Colorado | State | Permissive | “Shall make reasonable efforts, to the extent an application for board membership is submitted to the Governor…along with meeting the board’s specified membership requirements…reflect the geographic and demographic diversity of the entire state….” | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Connecticut | State | Permissive | “Shall make a good faith effort….(board and commission members are) qualified and closely reflects the gender and racial diversity of the state according to the most recent United States census population data. | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Florida | State | Permissive | “Appointing authority should select…those persons whose appointments would ensure that the membership…accurately reflects the proportion of each group of [enumerated] minority persons” | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Illinois | State | Permissive | All appointments “shall be gender balanced to the extent possible…if gender balance is not possible, then appointments shall provide for significant representation of both sexes” | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Iowa | State | Permissive | “All appointing authorities…should consider qualified minority persons for appointment to boards.” | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Young Person |
| Kentucky | State | Permissive | Governor may reject board appointments “in the event the current membership of a board or commission reflects a proportion of the minority group less than the proportion of the minority group in the total population” | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Missouri | State | Permissive | “When making appointments … the governor shall take affirmative action to appoint women and members of minority groups. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | “All minority groups” |
| Montana | State | Permissive | “… all appointing authorities of all appointive boards. Commissions, and councils of state government shall take positive action to attain gender balance and proportional representation of minorities resident in Montana to the greatest extent.” | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Nevada | State | Permissive | “the Governor shall solicit nominees … who represent the geographic diversity of this state.” | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| New Hampshire | State | Permissive | “… when an appointment is made and when a vacancy is filled, one of the factors which may be taken into consideration shall be the gender balance in the population which is served or regulated by the state office, agency, commission, or board…” | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| North Carolina | State | Permissive | “In appointing members to public bodies … the appointing authority should select, from among the most qualified persons, those persons whose appointment would promote membership on the body that accurately reflects the proportion that each gender represents in the population of the State as a whole or, in the case of a local body, in the population of the area represented …” | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| North Dakota | State | Permissive | “Appointments to boards, commissions, committees, and councils of the state established by this code, if not otherwise provided by law, should be gender balanced to the extent possible and to the extent that appointees are qualified to serve on those boards, commissions, committees, and councils.” | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Oregon | State | Strict | All appointive authorities for state boards, commissions and advisory bodies shall implement this policy of affirmative action in their appointments, subject to the legal requirements for each appointment.” | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Rhode Island | State | Permissive | “… each person responsible for appointing one or more individuals to serve on any board or commission or to the governing body of any public authority or board shall endeavor to ensure that, to the fullest extent possible, the composition of the board, commission, or governing body reflects the diversity of Rhode Island’s population.” | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Tennessee | State | Permissive | “It is the intent of the general assembly to recognize the importance of balance in the appointment of minority and non-minority persons to membership on statutorily created decision-making and regulatory boards, commissions, councils, and committees…” | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Utah | State | Permissive | “In making a nomination, appointment, or reappointment to fill a vacancy on any board, committee, bureau, commission, council, or other entity, the appointing authority shall strongly consider nominating, appointing, or reappointing a qualified individual whose gender is in the minority on that entity.” | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| State | B+C | Type | Title | Authority | Purpose | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Yes | Official | l State Chief Equity Officer | Government Operations Agency (2022) | Develop DEI framework and vision for California State Employees. Note: California also announced a diversity partnership with Inclusive to help source diverse talent in California government in 2019, but it not clear if the project has gone anywhere. | Information Flyer |
| Colorado | Yes | Office | l Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Office | Executive Order (D 2020 175) (2020) | Develop a statewide DEI policy, create and implement diversity training, and provide an annual report to the Governor. | Office Website |
| D.C. | No | Official | l Chief Equity Officer | Governor Appointment (2021) | Work in the Office of Racial Equity to ensure “policy decisions are evaluated through an equity lens” and engage with community stakeholders. | Appointment Press Release |
| Illinois | Yes | Multiple | l Office of Equity l Chief Equity Officer | Executive Order (2018-02) (2021) | Elevated Chief Diversity Office to Chief Equity Officer and created an Office of Equity by making DEI resources available to state employees, and coordinating DEI trainings. | Reorganization Press Release |
| Indiana | No | Official | l Chief Equity, Inclusion, & Opportunity Officer | Governor Appointment (2020) | Coordinate trainings and initiatives for statewide employees, and develop an Equity Data Portal. | Office Website |
| Kansas | No | Office | l Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion | Department of Administration | Develop policies and resources to promote diversity in state agencies. | Office Website |
| Kentucky | Yes | Office | l Office of Diversity, Equality, & Training | Personnel Cabinet | Develop policies and programs to promote and monitor progressive statewide workforce management for EEO, affirmative action, inclusion, and diversity. | Office Website |
| Massachusetts | No | Office | l Office of Diversity & Equality Opportunity | Executive Office of Administration | Develop DEI policies and release annual report on Executive Branch diversity demographics | FY2019 Diversity Report |
| Michigan | No | Office | l Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Division | Department of Civil Rights | Develop DEI resources and guides for the states. | Office Website |
| Minnesota | No | Multiple | l Inclusion Council l Chief Inclusion Officer | Executive Order (19-01) (2019) | In Governor’s first Executive Order, created the Council and Chief Inclusion officer to provide direction and advance the work diversifying employees and appointments. | Press Release |
| New Hampshire | Yes | Council | l Governor’s Advisory Council on Diversity & Inclusion | Executive Order (2017-09) (2017) | Review New Hampshire laws to identify ways to advance DEI and support community efforts. Note: Office website posts monthly agendas, documents, and meeting minutes. | Office Website |
| New Jersey | No | Multiple | l Chief Diversity Officer l Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging | Executive Order (265) (2021) | Established office to coordinate policymaking process for state agencies to strengthen DEI | Press Release |
| New York | No | Multiple | l Executive Committee for Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity l Chief Diversity Officer l Chief Disability Officer | Executive Order (187) (2018) | Committee and Chief Diversity Officer advises the Governor on plans, policies, and programs for the state. Governor appointed the Chief Disability Officer in 2022. | Executive Order |
| Pennsylvania | No | Office | l Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office | Governor Appointment (2021) | The Office of Advocacy and Reform created ad DEI office to lead DEI initiatives for state agencies. | Press Release |
| Rhode Island | Yes | Office | l Office of Diversity, Equity, & Opportunity | Executive Order (13-05) (2013) | Create a diverse and inclusive state government that matches Rhode Island demographics. | Office Website |
| Vermont | No | Multiple | l Governor’s Workforce, Equity, & Diversity Council l Chief Racial & Diversity Officer | Executive Order (14-18) (2018) | Chief Racial and Diversity Officer advises Governor and created mandatory implicit bias training for all appointed leaders in agencies and departments. Officer and Council advise Commissioner of Human Resources on EEO and diversity programs in the state. | Press Release |
| Virginia | No | Official | l Chief Diversity, Opportunity, & Inclusion Officer | Executive Order (10) (2022) | Promote DEI policies in the state. | Press Release |
| Washington | No | Office | l Washington Equity Office | Governor Appointment | Assist agencies in developing DEI plans and create a dashboard for DEI plans. | Press Release |
| Wisconsin | No | Council | l Governor’s Council on Equity & Inclusion | Executive Order (59) (2019) | Develop DEI plans, mandatory training, and advise governor. | Council Website |
| State | Report Authority | Public Requirement | Publish Status | Scope | Gender | Race | Ethnicity | Sexual Orientation | Disability | Economic | Geography | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Voluntary | Not Required | Published | Exec Branch | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | N/A |
| Connecticut | Statute | Required | Published | B+C | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | l Compares to census data l Year-over-year analysis |
| Florida | Statute | Not Required | Not Published | B+C | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Illinois | Statute | Not Required | Published | B+C | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | l Includes Applicants Demographics |
| Massachusetts | Voluntary | Not Required | Published | Exec Branch | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | l Compares to census l Tracks Veterans |
| North Carolina | Statute | Not Required | Not Required | B+C | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Oregon | Statute | Not Required | Not Required | B+C | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Rhode Island | Statute | Required | Not Required | B+C | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Tennessee | Statute | Not Required | Not Required | B+C | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |