Despite a Growing Population, Hispanics Remain Sharply Underrepresented in Congressional Offices
In a report released by the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association (CHSA) detailed the strikingly low representation of minority groups on Capitol Hill, not as elected representatives, but in influential Congressional staff positions. The report was released during the first annual “State of Diversity on the Hill Address” hosted by CHSA and the Congressional Black Associates, Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association, and the Congressional Muslim Staff Association.
The non-partisan, volunteer-based congressional associations intend to draw annual attention to the progress of achieving a qualified congressional staff that is representative of the American population. The report, entitled “Unrepresented: A Blueprint for Solving the Diversity Crisis on Capitol Hill”, notes that this is cause for concern among all minority populations but makes specific reference to the Hispanic American community in its reporting of current statistics.
“By working with Congressional leaders and our partners, we hope to shed light on this situation and ensure the marble halls of Congress resemble the patchwork culture of America,” asserted the CHSA Executive Board in a statement. “Our goal is to facilitate a solution to this difficult challenge by 2020 so that Hispanics and all minority groups are properly represented amongst the ranks in Congress.” Taking appropriate steps to recruit and hire qualified candidates, CHSA advises that a reasonable representation level of 75 percent of the current U.S. Hispanic population percentage could be attained on Capitol Hill within the next ten years.
The U.S. Census has for years shown the rising growth of minority populations with Hispanics being the largest group comprising over 15 percent of the American population. These increases aside, the CHSA report illustrates that Hispanics are dramatically underrepresented at all levels in the House of Representatives, and in top staff positions “made up only 2.7 percent of chiefs of staff and 2.1 percent of legislative directors.”
There is a similar picture on the Senate side. In citing a 2006 DiversityInc investigation, the report notes, “only about 6 percent of the 4,100 U.S. Senate employees were people of color, which includes African-American, Asian and Latino staff”. These low numbers are particularly significant given that “these communities combined represent more than 30 percent of all Americans.”
Members of Congress depend greatly on their staff in every aspect of legislative work. Staff members are tasked with crucial duties and, in turn, their close counsel provides them access and influence within the processes of Congressional operations and policy making.
The report provides clear recommendations to resolve the diversity issue and outlines a course of action for Congress. Recommendations include creating diversity offices, securing a commitment to gather and publish racial and ethnic demographic data on Congressional hiring practices, as well as considering the adoption of a policy similar to the National Football League’s “Rooney Rule,” which requires qualified, interested minority candidates be interviewed when top-level job vacancies are available.
These measures seek to increase transparency and accountability, and provide the type of information already measured in other facets of federal policy. Raising awareness of the issue, through events such as the annual “State of Diversity on the Hill Address”, remains the key component to ending the diversity crisis in Congress.