Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Brookings

For the past seven years, Brookings employees have shared their experiences, skills, and connections through the Brookings Mentoring Program. The program is a nine-month experience where a mid- or late-career mentor is matched with one to three early or mid-career mentees. Every year, there is wide and varied participation; over 70 employees took part in 2025, which is more than 15% of Brookings’ total employee population. Mentor groups meet monthly to discuss topics like career development and feedback and enjoy all-group programming like networking events and expert panels. The Brookings Mentoring Program provides support and guidance while also fostering inclusivity by building relationships between staff at all levels across the Institution.

Coordinated by the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, the Echidna Global Scholars Alumni Network (EGSAN), now in its 13th year, is a diverse, intersectional community of educators, activists, researchers, and policy leaders who transform education systems to advance gender equality in and through education. Grounded in lived experiences across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, EGSAN implements a collaborative research and action approach that centers the voices and leadership of girls, young women, and marginalized communities, ensuring they are not only included but actively shape the systems that affect their lives. From influencing women’s labor policy in Jordan, to transforming policy for senior women teachers in Uganda, to supporting adolescent mothers’ schooling in Jamaica, to working with local policymakers to center the agency of ethnic minority girls in Vietnam, EGSAN members have shaped policies that expand opportunities for women and girls worldwide. Their work also seeks to dismantle exclusionary practices and narratives, replacing them with equitable structures, community-driven solutions, and cultures of care.   

Each year, the Brookings DEI Committee sponsors programming for nine Heritage Months and four employee-led Affinity groups—bringing people together around shared interests and topics. In 2025, we came together and learned through lectures, a poetry reading, walking tours, and more—with food-related events as particular highlights. For example, in celebration of Arab American Heritage Month, Brookings hosted a Levantine cooking class. The guest chef led participants through the hands-on steps for making kunafe while sharing stories about her Damascene Lebanese family recipes. During Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Brookings welcomed a group of prominent local chefs and leaders from Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate to participate in a film screening, panel discussion, and tasting on campus. Facilitated by former Brookings Interim President Amy Liu, the panel discussion covered everything from myths about Asian food to struggles of modern Chinatowns to allyship in the restaurant industry.

The Workplace Norms Working Group (WNWG) is a collaborative, culture-building project that examines how employees “do the work” across the organization. Prompted by an adjustment to Brookings’ hybrid work practice, the working group—intentionally composed of members from every department, with a wide range of roles, tenures, and experiences—embarked on a six-week journey to examine questions related to Brookings’ internal culture. What is working well? What could change? What needs to be adjusted? What best practices can be shared across departments? The WNWG focused on high level topics including understanding the Institution, fostering strong managers and leaders, and employee wellbeing. The pilot concluded with a written proposal and recommendations, which the group shared with Brookings leadership. Over the coming year, many of the recommendations will be woven into Institution-wide planning. Key focus areas are already in the works, such as creating a leadership development program, building a culture of feedback, developing more tools for managers, and hosting trainings on the workplace misconduct reporting process.   

From all-staff events to small-group trips around D.C., to skill-building workshops, building community and making connections across a wide range of interests remain a consistent focus of our employee engagement efforts. Some examples of the many ways Brookings employees engaged throughout 2025 include: small monthly lunches with President Cecilia Rouse to get to know employees across Brookings; an on-site “carnival” to give staff the chance to spend time together, enjoy the warm weather, and have fun with games, a cookout, raffles, and a live DJ; and monthly project management sessions where staff could connect on templates, tools, and techniques with the Project Management Community of Practice. In addition, throughout the year the Brookings Network sponsored clubs for running, soccer, kickball, and softball. Employee- led group programming included women’s history-themed walking tours, an afternoon Diwali celebration, a variety of donation drives, a career panel focused on the value of attending law school, a visit to the Middle East Institute, and much more.