Biden State Department creates 'diversity and inclusion' position

President Biden's State Department announced Wednesday the creation of a new diversity officer position along with a council of deputy assistant secretaries from each of its bureaus devoted to the issue.

"I am committed to bringing the diversity and inclusion work already underway at the State Department to the next level," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Wednesday. "To make that happen, I am pleased to announce the creation of a new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer position at State."

The new officer will ‘hold senior leadership accountable’ for implementing new diversity and inclusion programs and report directly to Blinken, he said.

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"Our diversity gives us a significant competitive advantage on the world stage," he said. "This is something that the President, the Vice President, and I firmly believe."

Each State Department bureau has been asked to designate one of its deputy assistant secretaries to oversee their respective diversity and inclusion efforts.

"Each one of us has the power and the opportunity to help create a stronger, fairer workplace, where everyone can contribute their talents and ideas and everyone is treated with dignity and respect," Blinken said. "That’s what this work is all about, and why we’re making it an early priority."

The State Department had reinstated diversity training in late January, after the Trump administration shut down "critical race theory" training in September 2020.

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The former administration had criticized programs that suggested the U.S. is an "inherently racist or evil country" as "divisive, anti-American propaganda" and a waste of taxpayers’ money.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.