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USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION
NEWS
ADAM SCHULTZ
Historic Cabinet Biden’s top advisers represent nation’s diversity By Tracey Onyenacho
P
RESIDENT JOE BIDEN’S CABINET is one of the most in-
clusive administrations in U.S. history, being comprised of a dozen women and 10 people of color. Many hope this racial and cultural diversity will be an advantage as they carry out the president’s agenda, which includes creating policies to improve the life of people of all ethnicities.
“It’s really important that we physically represent the vast diversity that we have in this nation,” says Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University in New York City. “The perspective of being these insider-outsiders helps a lot of politicians think about issues in a holistic and more three-dimensional way.” Although Biden’s Cabinet has the potential to create real change for communities of color, racial representation
does not guarantee that long-standing ills, such as inequities in housing and education, will be addressed. Whether effective changes are implemented really depends on the perspectives people bring to the offices, says Deondra Rose, assistant professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University in North Carolina. “While it could be the case that someone who has a diverse lived experience (can) better reflect people who share those demo-
graphic identities, it doesn’t necessarily follow that diversity at the top will trickle down to positive, equitable outcomes,” she says. Taking steps to create a truly equal society will be a challenge, requiring an overhaul of oppressive systems that have historically disenfranchised and disadvantaged communities of color. These seven leaders have accepted the challenge to help improve life for the underrepresented and for the country: