January 2024 DEI Committee Blog

Diversity in Government Relations with Angela Lee 

WGR's January Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee meeting featured a very informative presentation by Angela Lee, Director of Communication and Programs for the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, on the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion in Government Relations Survey Report by the Diversity in Government Relations Coalition (DGRC).  Support for the survey and report was provided by WGR along with partner groups the Hispanic Lobbyists Association and Q Street.

This presentation came on the heels of our committee's participation in a panel discussion featuring the coalition's diverse voices in government relations at American University's 57th Public Affairs and Policy Institute. 

Angela provided our committee members with an overview of DGRC's findings and explained plans to use valid data points to drive diversity in the government relations field. Their comprehensive survey captured demographic information about those working in our field shaping policy on the local, state, and national levels and provides insights on their experiences in order to bring about changes to an industry that has long been dominated by White men.

The DGRC report includes the findings of a survey of approximately 900 respondents and offers recommendations for government relations organizations to improve diversity in the field and ensure better work cultures for women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ community.  

The survey measured respondents’ experiences across five categories: fairness and opportunity; input and satisfaction with decision-making; whether respondents felt like they had a voice in their workplace; feelings of belonging in the workplace; and current diversity as well as effort to improve diversity.

Among the findings: 

• women, people of color, and people with disabilities were commonly having worse experiences working within the government relations field than their peers who are men, White, or non-disabled; 

• underrepresented groups reported experiences of feeling less comfortable voicing their opinions, feeling less heard, less involved in decision-making and less confident that their work is fairly evaluated or in their opportunities for upward mobility and growth; 

• 73 percent of white respondents said “people from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to succeed," compared to 60 percent of respondents of color; 

• 44 percent of Black women reported feeling that there are equal opportunities to succeed at their organizations, while 69 percent of white women shared the same sentiment; and 

• Interestingly, Black men reported relatively positive experiences at work compared to other historically underrepresented groups, falling mainly in line with that of their white male peers, with one of the biggest gaps appearing when asked if they felt their employer values diversity. 

The goal of the report is to launch a meaningful, honest dialogue about workplace DEI in the government relations industry. 

Valuing and engaging diverse voices in government relations is a priority for our DEI committee and we welcome the opportunity to share the DGRC report. To access: https://www.dgrcoalition.org/our-survey

Moving forward, if you have thoughts about the kinds of speakers you would like to see featured at our DEI Committee meetings, please let us know. 

We welcome all WGR members to join DEI Committee Meetings on the third Tuesday of each month. Register here for the next meeting on February 20 from 11:30 - 1pm Eastern Time. For more information on WGR’s DEI Committee, please reach out to dei.wgr@gmail.com.

This month's blog post was authored by Denise Murphy McGraw, WGR's DEI Committee Corresponding Secretary.