Blinken appoints new chief diversity and inclusion officer to build ‘workforce that reflects America’ [Video]

The State Department has tapped a new chief diversity and inclusion officer, just months after it defended a memo from Secretary of State Antony Blinken that urged staffers to steer clear of gendered language such as “mother” and “manpower.”

Blinken announced Tuesday that Zakiya Carr Johnson, who previously worked at the State Department from 2010 to 2017, had been tapped to lead the State Department’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion in an effort to “advance our deep commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the Department.”

Tasked with constructing “a workforce that reflects America,” Johnson will replace Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, who served as the State Department’s chief diversity and inclusion officer from April 2021 to June 2023. Conny Mayer briefly served in the position as acting chief diversity and inclusion officer.

CONGRESSIONAL DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION OFFICE SHUT DOWN BY $1.2T GOVERNMENT FUNDING DEAL

“Over the past three years, the Department of State has made significant progress on this front …