The U.S. Senate Has a Diversity Problem in Its Staff
As policy decisions affecting all Americans are debated in the halls of Congress, you will be hard pressed to find people of color in topâ€level staff positions. A report released by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found that the most influential Senate staffers are disproportionately white. Among senior-level Senate staff — chiefs of staff, legislative directors and other folks who ultimately shape the laws we all live by — a mere 7.1 percent are people of color, researchers found, although people of color make up 36% of the U.S. population.
