The U.S. Department of State released its Equity Action Plan in response to President Joe Biden’s mandate to build equity in the executive branch, from programming to decision-making.
Biden issued executive order 13985 Jan. 20, mandating building equity in government programming and the decision-making process for leadership and staff positions in every department and agency in the Executive Branch, according to an April 14 State Department release.
“Today, the White House released the U.S. Department of State’s Equity Action Plan to implement executive order 13985 on advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government,” the release reported.
The Equity Action Plan focuses on five priority areas for implementing more equity into foreign affairs work: foreign policy development and implementation; foreign assistance; public diplomacy; consular services; and procurement, contracts and grants, the release reported.
Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Brian P. McKeon has been leading the enterprise-wide application process for the Department of State, according to the release.
