Hill Diversity
118th Congress Most Diverse in History, But Lacks Representation in Top Staff Hires
Black think tank urges Congress to fill open top positions with diverse staffers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 12, 2023
Contact: Chandra Hayslett, chandra@jointcenter.org
WASHINGTON – The most diverse Congress in history is falling short of hiring top staffers who are representative of the racial makeup of America.
There are 1,599 top positions (chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors) in the personal offices of new and returning members of the 118th Congress. Of that number, Congress members have filled 1,139 and 275 top staff positions for newly elected and returning U.S. House and Senate members, respectively. But while the 118th Congress is the most diverse to date, the racial makeup of its top staff isn’t reflective of the percentage of people of color in the U.S.
According to the Joint Center’s midterm hiring campaign microsite, which went live in November 2022 and features several interactive tracking tools, including monitoring top staff hires of all new and returning members, 88.4 percent of the positions have already been filled (1,414 of 1,599) as of Jan. 6, 2023. Of the top staff hired by new members so far, 16.3 percent are people of color, and 4.4 percent are African American. With people of color accounting for 40.0 percent of the U.S. population (African Americans are 12.4 percent), the low numbers are concerning.
“With a quarter of the 118th Congress identifying as a race other than non-Hispanic white and 28.0 percent identifying as women, this body is the most diverse in history. Unfortunately, the same applause cannot be given for the diversity for the top staff hires,” said Dr. LaShonda Brenson, senior and lead researcher on the midterm hiring campaign. “It’s imperative that the newly-elected and returning members of Congress fill the remaining open top staff positions with diverse staffers because they bring a perspective that’s more representative of their constituents that can be used to dismantle the structural inequality in laws passed by Congress.”
Returning House Members
Of the 1,021 top staff positions filled by returning House members, the hiring of diverse top staffers by returning House members (18.4 percent) continues to lag behind the national population (40.0 percent people of color), but is slightly higher than the top staff of the entire House in 2022 (18.0 percent of color).
House Democrats: Of the 499 positions already filled, people of color account for 29.7 percent of top staff hired by returning House Democrats. By comparison, people of color accounted for 26.3 percent of top staff employed by returning House Democrats of the previous Congress. There are 38 top staff positions of returning House Democratic members that remain to be filled.
House Republicans: Of the 522 positions already filled, people of color account for 7.7 percent of top staff hired by returning House Republicans. By comparison, people of color accounted for 5.4 percent of staff employed by returning House Republicans of the previous Congress. There are 18 top staff positions of returning House Republican members that remain to be filled.
Returning Senators
Of the 258 top staff positions filled by returning Senate members, the hiring of diverse top staffers by returning Senate members (15.9 percent) continues to lag behind the national population (40.0 percent people of color), but is higher than the top staff of the entire Senate in 2020 (11.0 percent of color).
Senate Democrats: Of the 139 positions already filled, people of color account for 23.0 percent of top staff hired by returning Senate Democrats. By comparison, people of color accounted for 19.0 percent of top staff employed by returning Senate Democrats two years ago. There are eight top staff positions of returning Senate Democratic members that remain to be filled.
Senate Republicans: Of the 119 positions already filled, people of color account for 7.6 percent of top staff hired by returning House Republicans. By comparison, people of color accounted for 4.0 percent of staff employed by returning Senate Republicans two years ago. There are 10 top staff positions of returning Senate Republican members that remain to be filled.
Newly-Elected House Members
Of the 118 top staff positions filled by new House members, the hiring of diverse top staffers by newly-elected House members (17.8 percent) continues to lag behind the national population (40.0 percent people of color), but is also lower than the top staff of newly-elected House members two years ago (23.1 percent of color), and the top staff of the entire House in 2022 (18.0 percent of color).
House Democrats: Of the 51 positions already filled, people of color account for 33.3 percent of top staff hired by newly-elected House Democrats. By comparison, people of color accounted for 55.6 percent of top staff employed by freshman House Democrats two years ago. There are 51 top staff positions of new House Democratic members that remain to be filled.
House Republicans: Of the 67 positions already filled, people of color account for 6.0 percent of top staff hired by newly-elected House Republicans. By comparison, people of color accounted for 12.4 percent of staff employed by freshman House Republicans two years ago. There are 56 top staff positions of new House Republican members that remain to be filled.
Newly-Elected Senators
Of the 17 top staff positions filled by newly-elected senators, diverse top staffers account for 5.9 percent, which is lower than the entire U.S. Senate (12.0 percent) and the hiring by newly-elected senators two years ago (36.7 percent). There are four top staff positions (19.0 percent of the total) that remain to be filled; zero are Democratic and four are Republican.
Diversity Must Be a Priority in Filling Remaining Spots
Diversity among top staff of the freshmen members of the 118th Congress is currently less than freshmen of the 117th Congress. Further, if none of the 185 remaining open-top staff positions are filled by people of color, racial diversity among top staff of newly-elected and returning members will fall from 18.3 percent to 16.1 percent in the House, and will drop from 15.3 percent to 14.1 percent in the Senate. Newly-elected and returning members must continue to prioritize racial diversity in filling their remaining 163 House and 22 Senate open top staff positions.
Background
In November, the Joint Center launched its midterm hiring campaign, which includes a microsite featuring interactive tracking tools, reports, an explainer video, coalition letters, and a list of ways concerned citizens and members of Congress can get involved. The microsite allows users to learn how each new and returning member of Congress is faring when it comes to hiring diverse top staff (chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors) in their Washington, DC office. The Joint Center regularly updates tracker data.
The Joint Center also sent letters signed by 70 national organizations and diversity stakeholders to new and returning members of Congress to advocate for increasing diversity among top and mid-level congressional staffers.
To view detailed data on top staff of color hired by newly-elected and returning members, click here.
To understand the problem of a lack of Hill staff diversity, why it matters, and solutions, click here.
This press release is the first in a series of sweeping updates. Please check the press release section of our website for future updates.
About the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, America’s Black think tank, provides compelling and actionable policy solutions to eradicate persistent and evolving barriers to the full freedom of Black people in America. We are the trusted forum for leading experts and scholars to participate in major public policy debates and promote ideas that advance Black communities. We use evidence-based research, analysis, convenings, and strategic communications to support Black communities and a network of allies.
