DiversityInc's recent investigation on the U.S. Senate's glaring lack of diversity within the ranks of its employees has sparked the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to action. The CBC is demanding that incoming Democratic leaders hire more people of color to work for House committees and on lawmakers' staffs, saying the dearth of diversity on Capitol Hill is a significant issue.

DiversityInc magazine's June 2006 article "Who Is Worst for Diversity? The United States Senate" found that of the 4,100 U.S. Senate employees across the country, only 6 percent were people of color. The exposé also found that people of color were virtually nonexistent when it came to filling influential Washington, D.C.-based Senate aide positions. Although each senator generally employs at least 10 senior-level aides, DiversityInc found only 7.6 percent of the approximate 1,000 positions were held by people of color. Of that 7.6 percent, 2.9 percent were black, 2.8 percent were Asian American and 1.9 percent were Latino.

In a letter to House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi and the leaders of the Democratic Steering Committee, the CBC said the party must increase the number of people of color working for committees and subcommittees, which will be controlled by Democrats.

The hiring of blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans and other people of color has "been a major problem" for years, said outgoing CBC Chairman Melvin Watt, D-N.C., to The Washington Times. "All you have to do is look at the composition of committees, subcommittees and leadership staffs," Watt said, adding that the lack of diversity extends to legislators' staffs.

Pelosi, D-Calif., has promised to make diverse hiring a priority for incoming committee chairman and has met with the incoming CBC chairman, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich.

"This is the right time to address this, and we will be working with the speaker to increase those numbers," Kilpatrick said.

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