Where we need the most diverse team of advisers for US safety

Political Reform Fellow Camille Stewart co-wrote a piece for CNN about diversity in national security policymaking.

From the board room to the Situation Room, bringing more diverse views to the table is proven to enhance the quality of decision-making and organizational performance. Organizations with more diverse boards of directors and leadership teams tend to outperform those with less diverse leaders. For example, a 2015 McKinsey report on 366 public companies found that those in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity in management were 35% more likely to have financial returns above their industry mean, and those in the top quartile for gender diversity were 15% more likely to have returns above the industry mean. Diversity allows for greater innovation, improved outcomes and an enhanced understanding of threats and vulnerabilities. We must bring our biggest asset to bear on the tough challenges ahead in an ever-evolving threat landscape by harnessing the diversity of the American people.

We witnessed a comparable dynamic firsthand in former President Barack Obama's Situation Room. The advantageous diversity of people and views around the table that resulted from Obama's dogged emphasis on cultivating a national security workforce that looked more like the American people it served ensured that the President had the benefit of a variety of perspectives and dissenting voices before he made tough decisions. This reduced the risk of group think when making consequential decisions like whether and how to launch the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Diversity begat a more fulsome examination of assumptions and options, a richer debate, more innovative response options and ultimately produced better presidential decision making.

Then-Vice President Biden was at that table, too. His commitment to diversity and inclusion stems both from the fact that it is a moral imperative to ensure the doors of our Constitutional democracy are open to every American and from his years witnessing the tremendous value that more diverse teams bring to government and the citizens it serves.