The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2021

26 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL We recommend that: (1) The Secretary commit to all employees and to the public that he or she will not permit discrimination of any type any- where at any time and is committed to ending it at the State Department. (2) The Secretary include in his or her regularly scheduled staff meetings discussions with the assistant secretaries regarding their progress in addressing diversity and inclusion issues such as the racial and gender composition of their bureaus. Particular attention should be placed on the number of deputy assistant secretaries, desk officers and ambassadors. (3) The State Department and USAID establish clearly defined and measurable ways to financially reward senior personnel for their achievement in reaching the department’s diversity goals. (4) The State Department and USAID appoint a Senate- confirmed Chief Diversity Officer who reports directly to the Deputy Secretary and the Deputy Administrator to be a resource for dealing with diversity issues and coordinating with the agencies’ affinity groups. RECRUITMENT. The State Department and USAID should continue support of the Pickering, Payne and Rangel Programs, and make known the rigid selection process that these Fellows undergo, in order to dispel negative perceptions about their qual- ifications to be in the Service. They should support and expand Pathways Student Internships, including Presidential Manage- ment Fellowships, and assist in their noncompetitive conversion into an FTE [full-time equivalent] at the end of their program. Recruitment outreach should be strengthened. We recommend that: (1) The State Department increase the number of Diplomats in Residence (at least 10) at historically Black colleges and uni- versities (HBCUs), Hispanic serving institutions (HSI), and other institutions serving significant numbers of minority students, as well as at public land grant and private colleges. They should focus on recruiting African Americans, LatinX, Asian- and Pacific Islander-Americans, Native Americans, Arab Americans, disabled Americans, LGBTQIA and any other historically underrepre- sented Americans. (2) The State Department examine the process of security clearances for Fellows, taking into account that people with eco- nomic disadvantages might have encountered problems related to debt repayment. (3) The State Department double its recruiting programs and set a goal to increase the annual intake to an established goal within three to five years. (4) The State Department increase the number of paid intern- ships for members of underrepresented communities, especially for those demonstrating financial need. ASSIGNMENTS. Underrepresented Foreign Service officers and specialists can advance America’s foreign interests at all posts, and their assignments should reflect this from their entry into the Foreign Service throughout their careers. We recommend that: (1) The State Department and USAID cease the practice of assigning African Americans predominantly to the Africa Bureau, especially in ambassadorial and other high-level positions. (2) The State Department and USAID end similar de facto practices with LatinX and Asian Americans in the Western Hemi- sphere, East Asian and South and Central Asian Affairs Bureaus. (3) The Director General of the Foreign Service recruit officers from underrepresented groups to bid on chief of mission (COM); deputy chief of mission (DCM), principal officer (PO), office director, deputy assistant secretary (DAS), and principal deputy assistant secretary (PDAS) positions. (4) The Director General of the Foreign Service ensure DCM/ PO committees and COM committees are diverse, and provide feedback to those not selected. TRAINING. We recommend that all senior personnel, Foreign Service and Civil Service, including noncareer officials, especially those serving as ambassadors, be required to take training on hiring and leadership principles, subject to executive order and State Department policy. Such training might be organized into one or more short mandatory courses to enable the maximum number of participants. Missions should also develop training for all employees to ensure that locally employed staff hiring practices do not reinforce host country’s values that contravene U.S. principles and values. MENTORING. We recommend that the State Department and USAID institutionalize a robust mentoring program for individu- als at all grade levels. PROMOTIONS. We recommend that the State Department: (1) With the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees, rework the 13 Dimensions skill set to support and implement equal employ- ment opportunity (EEO) principles in a more prominent place in the performance evaluation process.