By Alyssa Rosenberg
Federal agencies need strong leadership commitment, structural changes and a willingness to confront internalized biases if they want to create a truly diverse workforce, speakers at a National Academy of Public Administration panel said on Friday.
"People look at mechanisms to improve diversity, but the bottom line is if you don't have support at the top, those other things don't matter," said John Palguta, vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service. "Managers need to be held accountable for providing that culture."
Tania Shand, staff director for the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia, said a new bill introduced by Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., would provide some of that structural reform and accountability. The bill would create three-person panels that include a woman and a member of a racial minority group to review appointments to Senior Executive Service positions, and then report those appointments to agency heads.
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