WASHINGTON — President Obama has ordered national security agencies to do more to recruit, hire and retain qualified minority employees, as data show that defense, intelligence and homeland security agencies lag behind the rest of the federal workforce.
"Our greatest asset in protecting the homeland and advancing our interests abroad is the talent and diversity of our national security workforce," Obama said in presidential memorandum issued Wednesday.
He directed agencies to collect more data on their employment and hiring practices, conduct exit interviews of employees leaving an agency, and institute mandatory training on unconscious bias for management positions.
The presidential memorandum carries the same force of law as an executive order, and follows a number of related directives aimed at increasing diversity in the broader federal workforce and in career leadership positions. But the White House said national security agencies have their own unique challenges. And with some exceptions — like enlisted service members and the civil service employees of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development — generally fall behind the rest of the federal workforce.
"Our greatest asset in protecting the homeland and advancing our interests abroad is the talent and diversity of our national security workforce," Obama said in presidential memorandum issued Wednesday.
He directed agencies to collect more data on their employment and hiring practices, conduct exit interviews of employees leaving an agency, and institute mandatory training on unconscious bias for management positions.
The presidential memorandum carries the same force of law as an executive order, and follows a number of related directives aimed at increasing diversity in the broader federal workforce and in career leadership positions. But the White House said national security agencies have their own unique challenges. And with some exceptions — like enlisted service members and the civil service employees of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development — generally fall behind the rest of the federal workforce.
