Women, People Of Color Comprise Around Half Of Biden’s Transition Team

Topline

Nearly half of President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is made up of people of color while women comprise a slight majority of the team, new data from the campaign shows, indicating a Biden administration may look different than the predominately white and male White House under President Donald Trump.

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“Across the board — from our classrooms to our courtrooms to the president’s Cabinet — we have to make sure that our leadership and our institutions actually look like America,” Biden wrote in an op-ed in June. 

Surprising Fact

Trump’s cabinet is more white and male than any cabinet in almost 40 years, according to the New York Times. Around 25% of Trump’s appointments to Senate-confirmed positions are women. In contrast, around 43% of former President Barack Obama’s appointments were women by the beginning of his second term.

What To Watch For 

Trump has yet to concede and the General Services Administration has thus far refused to greenlight the start of the transition process, a crucial first step. 

Tangent 

Less than half of the senior staff on Trump and Biden’s campaign were people of color, according to data obtained by NBC News in June. Around a third (35%) of staff overall and senior advisers (36%) were people of color on Biden’s campaign, while 25% of senior staff on the Trump campaign were people of color. The Trump campaign did not release data on full time staff, according to NBC News. A majority of both campaigns were made up of women. 

Further Reading

People of color make up nearly half of Biden transition team (CNN)

Trump’s Cabinet So Far Is More White and Male Than Any First Cabinet Since Reagan’s (New York Times)

Who Could Make Up Biden’s Cabinet? (Forbes)

Biden Taps Ron Klain For Chief Of Staff As Transition Persists Despite Trump Resistance (Forbes)