The Foreign Service Journal, March 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2014 21 has gone into the pull factor: the process by which senior officials and officers recruit, mentor and promote junior offi- cers, giving them good opportunities and encouraging them to stay at USAID. During the 1990s, USAID began to promote more women into the Senior Foreign Service, which in turn changed the agency’s culture and gradually increased the numbers of women in the Foreign Service. But the number of Hispanics in the Senior Foreign Service between 2009 and 2012 can literally be counted on one hand: four out of 176. OCRD identifies just two Hispanics out of 33 in the Senior Executive Service. And that is actually an improvement over 2009 and 2010. This illustrates a more serious discon- nect, between stated diversity goals and the goals of the people who make the actual selections—those at the top of the agency. I really believe USAID’s leadership is conceptually committed to diversity. But it has many other priorities, which crowd out diversity as a goal. During the Cold War, fighting commu- nism in Latin America was the agency’s priority, and that led to a major upsurge in Hispanic recruitment. Today, priorities such as USAID Forward, Feed the Future and Resilience draw executive attention When hiring large numbers of Hispanics was linked to a national priority, as in the 1960s, USAID made it happen. A time of service…a time of need Help for Seniors May Be Just a Phone Call Away— Home Health Care Adult Day Care & Respite Care Prescription Drug Copayments Transportation to Medical Appointments Durable Medical Equipment For more information, please contact the SENIOR LIVING FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE 1716 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20036-2902 Phone: (202) 887-8170 Fax: (202) 872-9320 E-Mail: info@SLFoundation.org Web Site: www.SLFoundation.org The Senior Living Foundation may be able to help you or someone you know. Some examples of assistance are: SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION