President Obama declared Wednesday that the country’s national security workforce is less diverse than other areas of the federal government, and gave key agency leaders four months to report back to the White House on efforts to attract workers that better reflect the nation’s differences in gender, ethnicity and sexual identity.
Obama wrote a memo to his administration stressing the importance of building on his previous efforts to “draw upon the talents and skills of all parts of our society.”
“In broad comparison with the wider federal government, the federal workforce dedicated to our national security and foreign policy is — on average — less diverse, including at the highest levels,” according to a White House fact sheet.
Obama’s memo said that as national security challenges rise, “we must continue to invest in policies to recruit, retain and develop the best and brightest from all segments of our population.”
The president cited research that he said has shown that diverse groups are “more effective at problem solving than homogeneous groups” and said the goal should be to create a national security workforce that reflects the nation’s gender, ethnic and sexual identity differences, as well as the inclusion of veterans and workers with disabilities.
“Policies that promote diversity and inclusion will enhance our ability to draw from the broadest possible pool of talent, solve our toughest challenges, maximize employee engagement and innovation and lead by example by setting a high standard for providing access to opportunity to all segments of our society,” he said.
The memo requires the assistant to the president for national security affairs, “in consultation with” the directors of both the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management, to report to the president on the progress in implementing the “requirements of this memorandum” in 120 days.
Obama pinpointed three ways national security agencies, including the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence agencies, could promote diversity, including collecting, analyzing and disseminating workforce data to the public and agency personnel in order to “increase transparency and accountability.”
The president said more professional development opportunities and tools, such as academic programs, private-public exchanges and detail assignments in relevant private or international organizations would help attract and retain a diverse workforce.
“In addition, agencies in the national security workforce shall offer, or sponsor employees to participate in a [Senior Executive Service] Candidate Development Program or other programs that train employees to gain the skills required for senior-level agency appointments,” Obama wrote.
Obama also directed senior leaders and supervisors to “play an important role in fostering diversity and inclusion in the workforce they lead” by rewarding and recognizing efforts to promote diversity and inclusion.
One of those efforts, Obama said, should include an expansion of training on “unconscious bias, inclusion and flexible work policies.”
“Agencies shall … make implicit or unconscious bias training mandatory for senior leadership and management positions, as well as those responsible for outreach, recruitment, hiring, career development, promotion and security clearance adjudication,” the memo stated.
