The Foreign Service Journal, February 2010

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 13 $60,000. But female spouses also take salary hits; 58 percent have peak salaries over $40,000, and 26 percent have made more than $60,000. If State and other foreign affairs agencies are truly interested in finding good jobs for EFMs in overseas posts, they should reassess the spousal job bank in light of improved professional capacity and salary history. The in- credible interest of spousal applicants in positions within State’s Professional Associates Program — which enables qualified family members to occupy “hard to fill” positions in embassies — should be a wake-up call that the de- partment is not matching available re- sources (i.e., employable spouses) with workload at posts overseas. I would also note that, with a few notable exceptions, most Community Liaison Officers are simply unable to help spouses find employment outside of embassies. The CLOs don’t have the requisite experience, local connec- tions or language ability to successfully match interested candidates with good jobs. The Family Liasion Office’s Global Employment Initiative, which provides regional support for spouses seeking employment, also falls short on local connections and sector-specific expertise. It would be more efficient to link spouses with headhunters (ei- ther local or international) who spe- cialize in fields such as education, international organizations, nonprofits, health care, law, etc., on a commission basis. Many spouses would probably be happy to pay, or at least cost-share, for this sort of job-placement service. Flouting Federal Policy At many posts, either out of igno- rance or a lack of consequences, Eligi- ble Family Members are not being fairly considered for local-hire posi- tions (jobs advertised at U.S. embassies not exclusively reserved for them). This happens in spite of a federal pol- icy designating EFMs for preferential hiring when they meet the qualifica- tions for the position. Some Foreign Service officers may cite cost, longevity in employment and the importance of maintaining institu- tional knowledge as justifications for bypassing federal regulations to hire Foreign Service Nationals in lieu of equally-qualified EFMs. Such temp- tations to disregard employment pro- cedures or enforce equal employment opportunity policy (like refusing to hire pregnant women or only appointing male ambassadors to serve in more tra- ditional societies) will always exist. Yet these situations would never be toler- ated by Foreign Service members. Similar consideration in maintaining federal employment policy should be provided to everyone on diplomatic as- signment abroad. At one post where I applied for a job in the cultural affairs office and met all the position requirements, I called the Human Resources Office in the embassy to follow up. HRO urged me to apply for an EFM-exclusive job in the consulate instead, a position I was uninterested in. I never received an interview for the cultural affairs job, and was later informed that the job was “reserved” for an FSN who had previ- ously worked at the embassy. If spousal employment is indeed a high priority for the department, it must take a more serious approach to educating its employees on policies governing such hiring, and ensuring that there are consequences when they are not enforced. At a minimum, EFM hiring policy guidelines should be posted alongside job descriptions (as EEO guidelines are), so that spouses are aware of the rules before applying for jobs and possible recourse if things go wrong. And because many embassies do enforce EFM job poli- cies, State can share these “best prac- tices” globally, targeting the posts that are the subjects of complaint. As it is, the EFM hiring process in many embassies is handled casually at best, and in some cases, downright un- professionally. I’ve found that appli- cants are subjected to interview questions that are not relevant to their qualifications, and are asked questions that are not consistent across the board. Confidentiality in the process is non-existent; nor is there any formal notification to applicants who have not been selected for positions. These practices undermine State’s credibility as an institution that cares about spousal employment, as well as its abil- ity to attract talented employees. Carrots and Sticks State can learn a valuable lesson from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which does a much bet- ter job of enforcing federal procure- ment regulations. I once worked in a S P E A K I N G O U T As part of her efforts to improve the lives of women and girls around the world, Sec. Clinton needs to begin in Foggy Bottom.