Hill Diversity
The Joint Center’s Hill diversity work analyzes racial diversity of congressional staff. See below for our research, analysis, and activities.
Joint Center President Explains How to Increase Top Staff of Color on MSNBC’s PoliticsNation with Rev. Al Sharpton
Joint Center President Spencer Overton appeared on Rev. Al Sharpton’s MSNBC talk show, PoliticsNation, to discuss the lack of congressional staff diversity in Washington, DC personal offices and explain what can be done to fix it. People of color account for 40% of the U.S. population, but less than 14% of top staff in Congress.…
Joint Center Op-Ed: After Georgia, Senators Must Prioritize Staff Diversity
Sources: CNN, NYT, Cook & Joint Center.* After Black voters in Georgia enabled Democrats to control the Senate, Morning Consult published this commentary by Joint Center Senior Fellow of Diversity and Inclusion Dr. LaShonda Brenson and Joint Center President Spencer Overton calling for the Senate to take key steps to prioritize hiring, developing, and promoting…
Almost Two-Thirds of Top Staff Positions Are Filled & New Members Lag in Top Staff of Color
The Joint Center released the following press release giving an update on top staff diversity among new Members of Congress. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 13, 2021 Contact: press@jointcenter.org WASHINGTON – Almost two-thirds of the top staff positions of newly-elected U.S. House and Senate Members have been filled. While freshmen Members have hired top staff…
Joint Center Commends U.S. Senator Mark Warner for Hiring Lauren Marshall as Legislative Director
Marshall is One of Only Three Black Senate Legislative Directors WASHINGTON — Today, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies commends U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) for promoting Lauren Marshall to legislative director in his personal office. Marshall is one of three current Black legislative directors in the U.S. Senate. Jasmine Dimitriou…
Joint Center Launches Interactive Tool Showing Diversity of Top Staff of New Members of Congress
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 21, 2020 Contact: press@jointcenter.org Joint Center Launches Interactive Tool Showing Diversity of Top Staff of New Members of Congress So Far, Newly-Elected House Members Hiring Fewer Top Staff of Color Than Two Years Ago WASHINGTON – The Joint Center launched its interactive tracking tool allowing users to learn how each new…
Joint Center President Joins MSNBC’s The Cross Connection Inaugural Episode
Joint Center President Spencer Overton joined the inaugural episode of Tiffany Cross’s MSNBC show The Cross Connection for a panel discussion on diversity in the Biden administration and congressional staff. Panelists included Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL), and Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies President & CEO Madalene Mielke, and When We All Vote Chief…
Report Card of Diversity of Top Staff Hires by New Members in the 117th Congress (2021-2022)
The Joint Center’s August report found that people of color account for 40 percent of the U.S. population, but only 11 percent of U.S. Senate office top staff (chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors). An earlier report found that people of color account for 38 percent of the U.S. population in 2018, but…
Joint Center Joins WURD Radio to Discuss The Importance of Black Top Staff in Congress
Joint Center Senior Fellow of Diversity & Inclusion Dr. LaShonda Brenson appeared on WURD Radio’s Reality Check to discuss the importance of congressional staff diversity. “If you think about Congress, a lot of the work that’s being done is usually being handled by top staffers,” said LaShonda referencing chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications…
Marketplace Interviews Joint Center Senior Fellow of Diversity & Inclusion on Congressional Staff Diversity
Joint Center Senior Fellow, Diversity and Inclusion Dr. LaShonda Brenson joined NPR’s Marketplace to discuss our efforts to increase congressional staff diversity. During the interview, LaShonda shared that when she interned for a Member of Congress in 2009, she didn’t see many people who looked like her. She also noted that not much has changed…
Obtaining a Presidential Appointment with Reps. Horsford, Underwood, and Allred
Watch Congressman Steven Horsford (D-NV), Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL), and Congressman Colin Allred (D-TX) discuss obtaining a presidential appointment in the video below. This video is a collaboration of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Joint Center & the Black Talent Initiative.