CIA study shows lack of minorities among top staff

LANGLEY, Va., June 30 (UPI) -- A Central Intelligence Agency report released Tuesday shows the agency has a lack of diversity among its high-ranking workforce.

The Diversity in Leadership study showed that less than 24 percent of the CIA workforce and only 10.8 percent of its top ranks are composed of minorities. In the past seven years, minority recruitment for CIA jobs has also dropped to 19.3 percent from a high point of 31.5 percent in 2008.

Both a press release and a news conference on Tuesday confirmed Director John Brennan's plan to alleviate the lack of diversity in CIA leadership.

The plan involves several measures. By October 1, Senior Intelligence Service officers will be assessed on their ability to create and maintain a diverse workplace environment. By 2016, all of these officers will attend diversity and inclusion training.

These measures accompany actions carried out prior to the study's release, including the establishment of a Talent Center of Excellence, regular engagement with Agency Resource Groups that represent the CIA workforce and the requirement of supervisors to participate in a 360-degree feedback program.

Brennan explained the focus on workplace diversity and promoting talent from within has been frequently deflected by global events that consume senior agency officials' time. The study included anonymous quotes from CIA officials that corroborated this explanation, and Brennan himself noted the U.S. military has outperformed the CIA in promoting minorities to top positions.

Brennan added that the agency must do a better job of reaching out to college graduates debating career paths in order to offer itself to students before they have other job opportunities lined up.