Enhancing DIVERSITY Data Act

Clarke, Yvette D.

Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion by Verifying and Ensuring the Reporting required by Statute Is Transpiring and Yielding Data Act or the Enhancing DIVERSITY Data Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to carry out rulemaking, data collection, and reporting about the demographic composition of the broadcast industry workforce. Specifically, the FCC must complete a specified rulemaking process related to equal employment opportunity rules and policies that apply to broadcast stations and multichannel video programming distributors (e.g., cable operators). Part of this rulemaking addresses reporting of workforce demographics by broadcast license holders. Within one year of completing the rulemaking, the FCC must begin collecting demographic data pertaining to the broadcast industry workforce. The FCC may not use the collected data in its reviews of broadcast license applications or renewals or to assess compliance with applicable equal employment opportunity rules. Further, the FCC must (1) include analyses of the demographic composition of the broadcast industry workforce in certain reports, and (2) maintain a database that includes publicly available ownership data of broadcast licensees.