US Intel Agencies Need to Focus Intensely on ‘Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,’ Intelligence Chief Says

Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence, stated that intel agencies should be more focused on national security during a hearing held by the House Intelligence Committee on March 9. “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Mike Turner (R.-Ohio), Intelligence Chairman, called the hearing to discuss global threat.

Haines made comments on the need to have the intelligence community (IC), hire more minorities based upon their race.

Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.) Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) addressed the issue. “workforce development” Haines was questioned.

Carson cited earlier comments by David Petraeus (ex-head of the Central Intelligence Agency), claiming that minorities were not represented in the IC.

“What are your organizations doing to improve diversity when it comes to recruiting and retaining your workforces?” Carson asked Haines, Carson and the other panelists. “Does the IC need to devote more resources to professional development? How do you all plan on tackling those very apparent issues?”

“I think there is no question that we have to do better on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility,” Haines responded promptly.

Haines referred to recent budget requests where her organization had asked for more funding. “more intense efforts” To increase the representation of minorities in IC

“I think you’ll see in our budget requests and our proposals in all of the work that we’re doing that … we see this as an area that we need to focus more intense resources and efforts,” Haines said.

She specifically mentioned the dearth of Hispanics and Latinos in the leadership of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

“In the senior leadership [of the ODNI], I look at the percentage of Hispanic and Latinos for example,” Haines said. “It is, as you know, a little bit more than three percent, and that clearly does not reflect the country.”

Haines stated that the IC must do better. “ensuring that we have data that is reliable, [data] that allows us to be held accountable to what our diversity and inclusion is.”

She said, “We are also working across a range of other issues that we’ve seen to  promote recruiting across the country in a variety of different communities to ensure that we’re reaching folks that don’t normally come to the IC or know about the IC.”

Overall, the hearing was tense for Haines and her fellow witnesses who were grilled on by Republicans. Reported civil rights abuses The U.S. surveillance system.