President Joe Biden’s campaign is hiring a diversity, equity, and inclusion director, even as such initiatives in corporate America and academia increasingly come under fire.
The position, posted on Friday, is looking for a candidate who will “focus on creating and executing a comprehensive strategy to attract and support diverse talent” while also working on “further educating campaign staff around DEI.” The position is offering a $95,000 to $120,000 annual salary.
According to the listing, the person in this position would work with external partners such as the Democratic National Committee and other organizations and implement DEI-focused workshops for management and staffers to educate on best practices.
The DEI director would also be responsible for identifying “opportunities for learning and development of the campaign’s diverse workforce to support career pathing during and after the campaign,” according to the job description. The campaign is looking for someone with “extensive experience in the DEI space” and “progressive experience in Human Resources, Employee Experience, and/or Campaign Operations.”
Biden has made DEI a focal point of his administration, but throughout his time in the Oval Office, programs with the same aim have been dismantled. In 2021, he signed an executive order to advance DEI initiatives throughout the federal workforce. The Supreme Court’s decisions last year that ruled affirmative action unconstitutional in the college admissions process have had major implications for diversity and DEI programs across the country, with state governments and companies distancing themselves from the practice.
The term “DEI” became more mainstream and gained momentum after a Minneapolis police officer’s murder of George Floyd in 2020. In response to public pressure to implement corporate social accountability, many big companies began appointing chief diversity officers, vowing to ensure their staff would be more racially and culturally representative.
However, these programs have faced backlash throughout the political, business, and academic worlds. Opponents of DEI argue the programs amount to reverse racism because they select candidates based on their race rather than qualifications. Supporters of the framework say it is about helping promote equality and representation for people of different races, genders, and abilities.
Among the loudest opposing voices are hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and Elon Musk, both billionaires with large social media followings.
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The movement has faced new setbacks, particularly in academia. The University of Texas at Austin announced it would lay off around 60 employees related to DEI measures after Texas banned DEI positions at public universities. A month earlier, the University of Florida announced it was dissolving its DEI offices in accordance with a similar law in the Sunshine State.
The Biden campaign did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment and context regarding the DEI director position.
