Workplace diversity order is just the first step in effort
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011(Washington Post) For those hungry to increase diversity in the federal workplace, the executive order President Obama issued last week may leave even the vegetarians among them asking, “Where’s the beef?”
The answer: Wait for the second course.
Think of Obama’s order promoting “the Federal workplace as a model of equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion” as an appetizer preparing for more meaty efforts to come.
By itself, it’s just another plan. But it’s really too early to tell how effective it will be. More will be known after the promised overall strategy is developed, followed by more detailed agency-level proposals.
The order calls for a coordinated government-wide strategic plan to promote inclusion and diversity. The Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget, coordinating with the President’s Management Council and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, will issue that strategy within 90 days. Agency specific plans are due 120 days after that.
