Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2016)
January 13, 2016 The Skanner Page 9 Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Senators Respond to Report on Diversity in the Halls of Power SENATOR HARRY REID/COURTESY PHOTO Report says 7 percent of the top staffers in the U.S. Senate are people of color, far below minorities’ representation in the population of the United States — and only 3 Senators’ staffers are Black Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has put together a diversity initiative that he hopes will increase the number of minorities in senate leadership positions. By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Contributing Writer L ong before last month’s damning report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies that revealed a stunning lack of diversity among top staff in the U.S. Sen- ate, Nevada Democratic Senator Harry Reid had formed a means to assist offices with identifying and hiring a more di- verse workforce. “ of staff diversity and stand behind the work of the Senate Democratic Diversity Initiative and its efforts to help ensure that our offices are more reflective of the constitu- ents we serve,” Reid said. Luke Bolar, a spokes- man for Louisiana Re- publican Sen. David Vitter, said the senator’s staff includes three mi- norities among its senior members. James R. Jones, who conducted the Joint Center study, told the You need to have people from all walks of life in the room making decisions Reid started the Dem- ocratic Diversity Initia- tive that, in addition to assisting with a more di- verse workforce, would help those who want to work on Capitol Hill with understanding and navi- gating the job search pro- cess. On Dec. 8, the D.C.- based Joint Center – an African American think tank – revealed that just 7 percent of the top staff- ers in the U.S. Senate are people of color, far below minorities’ representa- tion in the population of the United States. The report found only 24 staffers of color out of the 336 top Senate staff- ers working in Washing- ton. Further, minorities make up over 36 percent of the U.S. population, and over 28 percent of the citizen voting-age population, according to the study. There are two Afri- can American senators, three Hispanics, and one Asian-American. “The recent study by the Joint Center illustrat- ing the lack of staff diver- sity at the most senior levels of Senate offices serves as an important reminder of how much work we still need to do, but, I remain as commit- ted as ever to the concept Associated Press that re- searchers looked at top positions in senators’ Washington offices, in- cluding chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications direc- tors in personnel offices, as well as staff directors assigned to committees. They were only able to find 12 Asian-American, seven Latino, three Af- rican American and two Native American staff- ers. The top Senate staffers wield important influ- ence with their bosses, and help shape legisla- tion and policies that af- fect everyone, Jones said. “You need to have peo- ple from all walks of life in the room making deci- sions,” said Jones, a Ph.D. candidate in the sociolo- gy department at Colum- bia University. Working for the Senate also opens doors to other jobs in government, and by not getting those first congressional jobs, mi- norities find it more diffi- cult to move up a govern- ment ladder that looks favorably upon Capitol Hill experience, he said. Minorities make up larger numbers in the Democratic Party than they do in the GOP, but the study noted that the number of minority staffers was not that dif- ferent between the two parties. It found that 8.1 percent of the Democrats’ top Senate staffers were mi- norities and 6.7 percent of the top Republican staffers were minorities. The report noted that people of color make up about 37 percent of those who identify as Demo- crats, and 9 percent of those who identify as Re- publicans. “Increasing the pres- ence of people of color in senior staff positions in the Senate will amplify the voices and perspec- tives of communities of color,” said Spencer Overton, president of the Joint Center. The think tank is call- ing on senators to in- crease diversity by inter- viewing more minorities for top positions, hiring more minority interns and starting fellowships for minority staffers. It also called on the Senate to be more trans- parent in its staffing because — unlike many government agencies — Congress is not required to monitor the race and ethnicity of its work- force. Researchers said they combed online profiles, consulted with Senate organizations and called Senate offices to come up with their numbers.
