; and (ii) highlights comprehensive strategies for agencies to identify and remove barriers to equal employment opportunity that may exist in recruitment, hiring, promotion, retention, professional development, and training policies and practices; (B) review applicable directives to agencies related to the development or submission of Executive agency human capital and other workforce plans and reports in connection with recruitment, hiring, promotion, retention, professional development, and training policies and practices, and develop a strategy for consolidating such agency plans and reports where appropriate and permitted by law; and (C) provide guidance to agencies concerning formulation of agency-specific plans under section 15403 to carry out the Diversity Plan; (3) identify appropriate practices to improve the effectiveness of each agency’s efforts to recruit, hire, promote, retain, develop, and train a diverse and inclusive workforce, consistent with merit system principles; and (4) establish a system for regular reporting on agencies’ progress in implementing any Executive agency-specific plan to carry out the Diversity Plan. (b) Application For purposes of carrying out this section— (1) the term diversity includes characteristics such as national origin, language, race, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and family structures