Our DEI group I think is a way to account for some money going to certain projects- and give structure to the whole endeavor. There isn’t someone drawing a salary to be DEI coordinator or anything else, but there are different groups (ECG or something- employee community groups or a similar term) like black employee group, lgbtq, Asian and Pacific Islander, etc.
it’s all voluntary and not restricted to actually being a member of the group, I could join any of them if I felt compelled.
they get budgets for education and outreach, might raise funds for things, and generally try to help their group.
and that is internal stuff, aside from the goal of recruiting talent from all over to build the best teams. Those groups probably help with this aspect as well. If you have a science day at a mostly tribal school, for instance, it probably helps to have NA folks there participating and sharing their experience.
so yes, the government should absolutely be taking part in DEI activities. Or put another way, why would someone not want to be diverse, equitable, and inclusive- or not want their government or employer to be such?