Following in the footsteps of former President Obama, President Biden has signed an Executive Order (E.O.) on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) for federal workforce employees and applicants. Issued without much fanfare, the new E.O. establishes diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as Biden Administration priorities. President Obama signed a similar but less detailed E.O. calling for diversity and inclusion in the federal workforce in 2011.
Among other things, President Biden’s E.O. 14035, formally titled Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce, requires federal agencies to provide the White House with an assessment of the state of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in their human resources practices and workforce composition, to submit an agency “DEIA” Strategic Plan with quarterly goals and actions, and to measure demographic representation and trends related to diversity in the agency’s overall workforce composition.
And while the new Biden E.O. solely addresses the federal civilian workforce, diversity measures taken by agencies to comply with the E.O. may spur efforts to implement similar measures in the private sector, which would most likely start with mandates imposed on federal contractors.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.