Senate Democrats Release Results of 2024 Senate Diversity Initiative Survey
Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Democrats release the 2024 Senate Democratic Diversity Initiative survey showing a steady increase in the number of diverse staffers in Senate Democratic offices. You can find the report here.
Yesterday, the Senate Democratic Diversity Initiative released the results of its 8th annual survey of Democratic staffers. This year’s survey shows a steady continuation in progress to ensure that Senate staff reflects the constituents they represent every day.
“When I became Majority Leader, I promised to work with my colleagues to increase the diversity of Senate offices to reflect the communities they serve. When we have diverse offices and different voices are well-represented, we enact better policies,” said Majority Leader Schumer. “Today, I am proud to say that more Democratic Senate staffers are people of color than ever before, and we’ve reached historic milestones in representation. We have more work left to do, but as we move forward, I am encouraged to see our caucus’ offices growing more diverse each year.”
The number of diverse staffers has increased, reaching the highest levels since Leader Schumer began collecting the data in 2017. This year’s survey revealed that forty-one percent of Democratic Senate staffers are people of color, up from 40.2% last year. Today, Senate Democratic offices employ 47% more staffers of color now than they did in 2017.
More African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders staffers than ever before are Senate staffers. More Democratic Chiefs of Staff and Legislative Directors are people of color and more staffers identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, more than half of Democratic Chiefs of Staff are women and 57% of all Democratic staffers are women.
- 41% of Democratic Senate staffers are people of color, up from 40.2% last year
- 15% identify as Latino
- 14% identify as African-American
- 11% identify as Asian American and Pacific Islander
- 3% identify as Middle East/North African
- 2% identify as Native American, Alaskan, or Hawaiian
- 17% identify as LGBTQ
The Senate Democratic Diversity Initiative was created by then-Leader Harry Reid to build a diverse workforce in the Senate. It was a legacy Senator Schumer was determined to strengthen once he became Majority Leader. In 2017, under Senator Schumer’s leadership, the initiative began conducting an annual staff survey to encourage transparency and progress in achieving a definition of diversity and inclusion emblematic of the party and the country. The survey is used to identify trends and inform hiring conversations to better match talent with Senate offices.
Building a diverse Democratic staff is an ongoing effort of the caucus. In an era in which support for the country’s rich diversity is under constant attack, Senate Democrats continue to work towards a staff that embraces differences across all backgrounds. To date, Senate Republicans do not collect or release similar information on their staff.
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