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President-Elect Joe Biden’s Potential New Cabinet Filled With Historic Firsts; New Report Details the Top 10 Careers Most Impacted by COVID-19; and More

November 24, 2020
Written by Brian Good

President-elect Biden continues his push for an administration that “looks like America.”

With more than a month to go until he is even sworn in as the 46th president of the United States and his transition to the office finally underway after weeks of delay, President-elect Joe Biden is already standing by his promise to “promote diversity and accountability in leadership across key positions in all federal agencies” by forming an administration that looks like America. To that end, he announced a number of historic appointments to his cabinet on Monday, Nov 23. Among them:

Janet Yellen for Treasury secretary. A former chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, Yellen would be the first woman to hold the position.

Alejandro Mayorkas for Homeland Security secretary. A Cuban immigrant and former head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Mayorkas would be the first Latino individual to serve in the position within the government agency that oversees immigration issues.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield for ambassador to the United Nations. Thomas-Greenfield is a Black woman who had previously served as the top U.S. diplomat overseeing African affairs in the Obama administration. “My mother taught me to lead with the power of kindness and compassion to make the world a better place,” she tweeted after her nomination was announced. “I’ve carried that lesson with me throughout my career in Foreign Service — and, if confirmed, will do the same as Ambassador to the United Nations.”

Avril Haines for director of national intelligence. The former top CIA official and deputy national security adviser would be the first woman to helm the office.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry for climate czar. The announcement marks the first time that the National Security Council would include an official dedicated to fighting climate change.

Some of the announced positions will need to be confirmed by Congress before becoming official. Biden began laying out his push for increased diversity within the top levels of government early by selecting Kamala Harris, a Black and South Asian woman, as his vice president — another historic first. According to CNN, 46% of Biden’s current transition staff and 41% of his senior staff are people of color with the majorities of both groups — 52% and 53% respectively — being women. Biden’s advisory board is also very diverse, with 43% being people of color and 52% being women. Finally, of the 13 members of Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board, nine are people of color and five are women.

New report details the top 10 careers most impacted by COVID-19.

Employment website Glassdoor has published its list of job titles hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes the industries that are potentially least likely to return in 2021, even if the health crisis begins to lessen. The finding was made through an examination of all job openings listed on the site currently, positions that had been listed over the last seven months and how those positions compare to the number of similar openings that were available for hire in 2019.

According to ABC News, the top five job titles most at risk due to the pandemic are:

Audiologist (down by 70% decline since the pandemic began)
Event coordinator (down by 69%)
Product demonstrator (down by 63%)
Optician (down by 61%)
Chef (down by 56%)

The job also reported that executive assistant, beauty consultant, valet, stylist and coach all fell dramatically, with an approximate 50% drop in job openings.

Johnson & Johnson commits $100 million to address racial and social injustice in the U.S.

Following an announced pledge of $10 million dollars to promote diversity efforts in summer 2020, Johnson & Johnson (Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Hall of Fame company) has now decided to build on their commitment to promote health equity efforts, vowing to spend $100 million on the fight. “There is an urgent need to take on the inequities rooted in systemic racism that threaten health in communities of color across the United States,” the company’s CEO Alex Gorsky said in a statement following the announcement. “That’s why Johnson & Johnson is focusing its efforts and committing $100 million to address racial and social injustice as the critical public health issue that it is.” The announcement comes a day after the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation launched a $100 million program designed to help diversify clinical trials, according to EndPoints News.