Ambassador Susan Rice Provides Keynote Address for Event on Forging Future of Federal Leadership
The African American Federal Executive Association, Executive Women in Government, Senior Executives Association, and Management Concepts partnered to present “It Starts with Us: Forging the Future of Federal Leadership.” The event featured Ambassador Susan Rice, current head of the White House Domestic Policy Council, as a keynote speaker and then continued with a panel discussion on the role of leaders in increasing equity, diversity, and inclusion in the federal leadership cadre of the future.
Ambassador Rice began the discussion with an address affirming the Biden administration’s commitment to equity. “Equity is the bedrock from which we must build a government that serves all people… Equity is a core part of our common mission,” Rice explained.
Ambassador Rice continued to highlight the ways in which national unrest caused by the pandemic has uniquely impacted historically marginalized groups and stressed the importance of ensuring government resources fully reach these communities.
To make this possible, the Biden administration has promised a whole-of-government approach. “From hiring and procurement to data and accessibility, we must hold ourselves accountable,” Ambassador Rice said.
Rice also outlined the administration’s three equity principles, focused on:
Real action on equity, not just words.
Acknowledging when programs and policies meant to target all Americans leave out marginalized Americans.
Focusing outside special projects to make equity central to all projects.
Ambassador Rice highlighted that the benefits of increasing equity are not reserved for people of color, but rather are benefits for all Americans. Rice explained the significant economic cost of racial discrimination. She priced the impact on the U.S. economy at $16 trillion over the past two decades, a number formed in a study by Citigroup that tracked the cost of discrimination since 2000.
Ambassador Rice noted the Domestic Policy Council is making equity a primary focus with the support of every other White House office, they now need the support of every federal agency as well.
Tyra Dent Smith, Executive Director of the African American Federal Executive Association (AAFEA), kicked off the panel noting the growing gaps in executive level diversity as more employees leave government service than enter.
The panelist featured for the discussion were:
Patrina Clark, Deputy Director, Office of Agency Services, Farm Credit Administration
Roland Edwards, Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, Department of Homeland Security
Wonzie Gardner, Office Head and Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of Information and Resource Management, National Science Foundation
Kerry Neal, Managing Director, Financial Policy, Reporting and Analysis, Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, U.S. Department of State
When asked what works well in terms of bridging the diversity gap in leadership, Gardner highlighted the importance of identifying and addressing barriers to diverse advancement. For example, Gardner noted that National Science Foundation (NSF) has a diversity task force to review policies and procedures that may have negative racial impacts.
Edwards continued to explain the importance of starting outreach to diverse groups at the bottom and developing their success as the individuals move throughout government. Similarly, Clark noted the importance of individual commitments to mentoring and cultivating the continued development of diverse individuals in government.
“Once people are on boarded, we need to ask how we assist them in staying and developing into leaders in government,” Edwards explained.
Neal outlined several candidate development programs across government that can help cultivate the skills needed for diverse sets of employees to serve in the Senior Executive Service (SES). One such program highlighted by Clark is the SEA mentorship program, which pairs mid-career employees with SESers to help the lower level employees understand the “language” of the office they hope to work in.
Neal reminded the audience that improving equity is a “resource intensive marathon” that agencies must embark on. Gardner further stressed that for equity projects to truly improve work life and stand the test of time, senior leaders must meet employees at the point of their needs. For marginalized groups, this is especially necessary and can require the extra step.
FEDagent will link to the video of the panel discussion and the keynote address by Ambassador Susan Rice when it becomes available.