DEIA in the Federal Workforce Benefits All Americans

The EO called on federal agencies, as the largest U.S. employer, to model DEIA and treat all employees with dignity and respect.2 Ultimately, all Americans benefit from a diverse and inclusive federal workforce that receives equitable treatment and full workplace accessibility. Factors to Consider in Advancing DEIA From Planning to Results Agencies must champion the drivers of model DEIA organizational cultures, such as: * Understanding differences. * Building work environments based on trust. * Fostering collaboration and engagement. * Enhancing dialogue on DEIA. * Facilitating personal growth and learning from individual's differences. * Spurring innovation and problemsolving through teams with different perspectives, more information, and broader insights. * Hiring and retaining employees in specific demographic groups or with particular expertise, such as technologists.5 Strong organizational culture is an advantage in attracting talentand outperforming the competition. In the 2021 Best Places to Work analysis, the highest scoring federal agencies were two mid-size agencies, the Government Accountability Office at 89.8 and the National Science Foundation at 86.0; a small agency, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, at 85.6; and NASA at 85.1, which has topped the large agencies for the past 10 years.10 Among age cohorts, senior leaders had the highest 2021 engagement and satisfaction scores, followed by employees in their first year of federal service. The more people know and want to learn about DEIA, the better the odds of success. Since understanding generally stems from what an individual has experienced, observed, read or been taught, many in the workforce may find it difficult to fully grasp the inequities and lack of respect suffered by members of underserved and underrepresented groups.