WASHINGTON _ The Senate has a lot of work to do on bolstering the diversity of its top staffers, a report released Friday by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found.
Although people of color comprise 40% of the total U.S. population, they make up just 11% of the most senior positions in personal Senate offices. The report, written by LaShonda Brenson, considers diversity in three top positions _ chief of staff, legislative director and communications director.
Republicans and Democrats fall short when it comes to placing people of color in the top spots, according to the study.
"While Democrats employ more personal office top staff of color than Republicans, both parties have low numbers, and the Republicans' percentage is closer to their party's share of voters who are people of color," the report said.
Black, Hispanic and Asian people are all underrepresented in the Senate compared to their share of the total population, the study found. Hispanic individuals are over 18% of the U.S. population, but make up just 3.8% of top Senate staffers. Black people are more than 13% of the population, but comprise 3.1% of top Senate employees. Asians and Pacific Islanders make up over 6% of the total population, but 2.7% are represented in the most senior Senate staff jobs.
The report also notes that Senate offices that represent states with large Black and Hispanic populations hire "relatively few Black or Latina/o top staffers."
Black people average more than 27% of the population in Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York and Virginia, but hold just 3.5% of the top staff jobs in the Senate offices representing those states.
Hispanics average over 29% of the population in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Texas. However, only 13.6% of the top Senate jobs are held by them, the study found.
