The House Democratic Caucus voted Monday, during their weekly phone conference, to include a diversity rule in the Caucus regulations, which encourages members to prioritize diversity in hiring practices for all levels of staffing.
“One of our Caucuss top priorities has long been to promote diversity at every level of Congress so that these halls better reflect the dynamism and vibrancy of the American people whom we are privileged to represent,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Chairman Hakeem Jefferies (D-N.Y.) and Chairwoman Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) in a joint statement.
“This Diversity Rule is another key step toward ensuring that our Congressional community will be more inclusive, diverse, open and representative of the full range of voices and values of our communities,” they said in the statement.
Incorporating this new rule is part of an ongoing effort by Democrats to diversify Capitol Hill. At the start of the 116th Congress, when the Democrats gained a majority in the House, they voted to establish as part of the Rules Package a permanent House Diversity Initiative, which among other things, created a new House Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
The House Office of Diversity and Inclusions goal was to formulate a diversity plan for House members, including policies on guiding House offices on hiring and retaining a diverse workforce and to act as a resource for employees on diversity issues.
Although Democrats have been steadily working on making the Congress more diverse, the death of George Floyd and the national protests that have followed, prompted the leadership to adopt the diversity rule (pdf), in an effort to counter “social injustices.”
“Our nation is currently experiencing one of the most important social justice awakenings since the Civil Rights movement that culminated in the 1960s,” Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter Monday before the conference call.
“While it is true that we have the most diverse Congress in American history when itRead More From Source
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