President Biden’s State Department announced Wednesday the creation of a chief diversity officer position, as well as a council of deputy assistant secretaries from each of its bureaus, in an effort to bring “diversity and inclusion” to the department, Fox News reported.
“I am committed to bringing the diversity and inclusion work already underway at the State Department to the next level,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Wednesday. “To make that happen, I am pleased to announce the creation of a new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer position at State.”
The new officer will “hold senior leadership accountable” for implementing new diversity and inclusion programs and report directly to Blinken, he said.
“Our diversity gives us a significant competitive advantage on the world stage,” he said. “This is something that the President, the Vice President, and I firmly believe.”
Each State Department bureau has been asked to designate one of its deputy assistant secretaries to oversee their diversity and inclusion efforts in their workplace, according to the statement.
“Each one of us has the power and the opportunity to help create a stronger, fairer workplace, where everyone can contribute their talents and ideas and everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” Blinken said. “That’s what this work is all about, and why we’re making it an early priority.”
The State Department had reinstated diversity training in late January, after former President Donald Trump directed federal agencies last year to end “critical race theory” training that the White House deemed divisive and a “waste of taxpayers money.”