Biden's State Dept. appoints Zakiya Carr Johnson as diversity chief to create agency workforce that 'reflects America'

President Biden's Department of State has named Zakiya Carr Johnson as the department’s next Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO). According to the State Department, Carr Johnson will take the helm of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) within the Department.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of Carr Johnson's role in advancing DEIA within the agency.

“American diplomacy can only succeed if it fully harnesses all of the talent that our nation has to offer. That is why I created the position of CDIO to elevate DEIA within our organization and give it the dedicated senior-level attention that it deserves,” said Blinken in a statement.

Blinken expressed confidence that Carr Johnson would contribute to creating a workforce that "reflects America." She also will be tasked with combatting the "massive retention issue" at the State Department, according to NBC News.

“We disproportionately see women and minorities leaving,” one senior official told NBC News. “Not in high numbers, but they add up over time and they harm our pipeline.”

However, Carr Johnson's appointment has raised concerns due to her views on race and sex. In a video expressing her views, she claimed that the US has a culture of misogyny, stating that, "The culture of misogyny has allowed men to act without consequence." 

After stating this, Carr Johnson went on to argue that to make a change, “We've got to be about the work of dismantling that traditional structure at every juncture.”

Carr Johnson also referred to herself as a feminist, complaining that, “For some reason, there’s also this very negative stereotype of feminists being very angry people who just don’t smile and don’t know how to have a good time.” 

“Unfortunately guess what? We have great times,” Carr Johnson concluded.