The Wave of 2020: Inclusion and Diversity
By Jerome Murray, Karissa Willhite, Dean Aguillen and Dee Buchanan
In five years, a Wikipedia chart will show the 2020 election cycle was unusual by historical measure. An incumbent Republican President was replaced, and with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris likely holding a tie-breaking vote in the Senate, Democrats will flip control of that chamber. Republicans, however, unexpectedly picked up seats in the House, shrinking Speaker Pelosi’s majority to the slimmest in history. It was an unusual cycle, but by no means was it a wave election as we traditionally define that term, when one political party is crushed by its opposition’s candidates.
What the Wiki chart won’t show, however, is an actual political wave that continued to build in Washington on election night. It was a wave of diversity that swept over Washington. That wave hit the beach with ferocity last night when Georgians elected Raphael Warnock, who will be the first African American U.S. Senator from the Peach State.
This wave has emerged in familiar and unexpected political waters. President-elect Biden made history with Senator Kamala Harris as his Vice-Presidential pick and is keeping his campaign promise to fill his Cabinet and White House with talented picks reflecting diversity. If confirmed, Janet Yellen will be the first female Treasury Secretary, Xavier Becerra will be the first Hispanic to run Health and Human Services, retired Army general Lloyd J. Austin will be the first African American leader of the Pentagon, and New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland will serve as the first Native American Cabinet secretary and head the Interior Department.
While Congressional Democrats have historically achieved greater diversity than their Republican counterparts, the 2020 diversity wave washed over the GOP, too. The Washington Post reported that “[House] Republicans will welcome their most ethnically diverse and gender-diverse freshman class in history as women and lawmakers of color join their predominantly White and male ranks.” The incoming class consists of 17 women, two African Americans, three Hispanics, a Native American, two Asian Americans, and an Iranian American. Republican leaders promise to maintain focus on electing diverse candidates.
A Pew Research Center analysis of Congressional Research Service data found more than one-in-five Members in the 116th Congress were racial or ethnic minorities. Overall, 116 lawmakers in the 116th Congress were nonwhite (including African Americans, Hispanics, Asians/Pacific Islanders and Native Americans). This represents an increase of more than 80 percent since 2002.
Few of us need reminding of how critical identity and representation was in 2020’s narrative. The social unrest that took place over the summer forced many Americans and businesses to take stock of their own approach to social justice and how we can individually and collectively strive for a more inclusive society.
Corporations are making progress on diversity. The Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Federation, the National Manufacturers Association and scores of their member companies have implemented programs to value and promote inclusion and diversity. Late last year, Nasdaq filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking permission to require its listed companies to disclose information related to board diversity. While progress on the corporate front may not be enough for some, it’s undeniable change.
With the commitments corporate America is making to diversity, it is a logical extension to ensure that those commitments are also reflected in vendors, contractors and consultants, including government relations contractors and lobbyists at the state and federal level.
Washington is typically slower to adopt changes that are happening at a national level, and that includes corporate approaches to lobbying. Just think how long it took for Members of Congress to adopt social media to communicate with their constituents. Similarly, it took quite some time for lobbyists to use the same channels to influence policy.
We know that some executives are working to ensure that their corporate commitments to diversity are reflected in their Washington operations because our clients are requiring it. Their executives want to know that their lobbying program is being executed by a team of professionals that reflects the same commitment to inclusion and diversity that the company has for its other operations. Federal lawmakers are taking note of the trend in lobbying as well. One only needs to inventory the decision makers in President-elect Biden’s Administration and Congress to know that diversity matters.
Years ago, Ogilvy Government Relations decided to build a diverse, bipartisan team because it was the right thing to do. It was also a smart business move because our clients know that they need a diverse team to build and execute winning, bipartisan strategies that are targeted at the most diverse policy making environment in history. Our firm still has work do, but our thirteen-person team is Republican, Democratic, moderate, LGBTQ, African American, Hispanic, White, female and male. These individual pieces not only reflect our values, but we need this diverse team in order to win for our clients.
The authors are principals at Ogilvy Government Relations, a multi-client lobbying firm in Washington, DC. Murray was chief of staff to Del. Stacey Plaskett and a senior staffer to former Congressional Black Caucus chair Rep. G.K. Butterfield, Willhite is a former deputy chief of staff for Sen. Robert Menendez, Aguillen was a senior advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Buchanan is a former House Republican leadership chief of staff under Rep. Jeb Hensarling.
