The Foreign Service Journal, January 2011

16 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 1 many of the problems faced by the dis- abled in terms of career advancement in the Foreign Service: the 360 review in the bidding process. Unlike tradi- tional Foreign Service evaluations, which are vetted by a group of people to ensure that inappropriate comments are not included, the 360 reviewhas no such safeguards; co-workers can write about colleagues without any restriction. During one bidding cycle, I bid on eight overseas assignments, with only one hardship post in the 20- to 25-per- cent differential range; all the others were non-hardship posts. I received expressions of interest in my candidacy for every assignment except the hard- ship post — which normally would have been especially quick to respond. Only later did I discover that in my 360 review to that hardship post, someone had written something to the effect that “Michael is quite deaf and needs assis- tance at meetings.” Twice I have asked S/OCR to inves- tigate the inherent unfairness of the 360 review. While this office truly at- tempts to improve the situation for dis- abled employees, its authority is constrained by the fact that it is part of the State Department rather than an independent watchdog agency. Al- though the office has created a Dis- abledWorking Group, it is limited in its functioning in a manner analogous to the management of an auto company creating its own workers’ union. In 1998, I helped formed an em- ployee association in the State Depart- ment, Disabled in the Foreign Affairs Agencies. After a useful meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Tal- bott, we sent a follow-up letter asking for the appointment of a special liaison on the seventh floor to assist with dis- ability problems, so that EEO com- plaints would be a last resort. We also sought recognition of Amer- ican Sign Language and its teaching at the Foreign Service Institute, to ensure that a deaf American who requires assistance in an embassy would be able to communicate, and such mundane things as ensuring hallways are kept free of clutter and posting tactile signs in the hallways (in Braille) during construc- tion for blind employees. Every item on our list was flatly turned down and, needless to say, the organization fell apart soon thereafter. S P E A K I N G O U T