The Foreign Service Journal, March 2016

30 MARCH 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL the FWP, based on the commission’s recommendation to make the status of women an integral part of the larger equal employment opportu- nity (EEO) effort. He also signed an executive order prohibiting discrim- ination on the basis of gender. At the State Department, the FWP helps ensure that women receive equal opportunity in recruitment, selection, training and advancement in the Foreign and Civil Services. Posts with six or more female U.S. citizen employees are required to designate a coordinator and notify the Office of Civil Rights (S/OCR). Yet very few posts seem to be aware of the program, much less use it as an empowerment platform for women. When the department sent out a cable asking FWP coordinators to sign up for a website containing resources to use at post and a space to share best practices, advice and concerns with other coordina- tors and with S/OCR, for example, Ms. Tran found that she was the sole coordinator to have done so! The FWP initiative in Panama includes personnel frommany different agencies at post, as well as eligible family members (EFMs)—many of whom are potential future members of the Foreign Service. The group meets monthly for the purposes of: (1) providing women at post a safe forum in which to express their career concerns and goals, and bring related issues to the attention of the front office, as necessary; (2) mentoring women starting out in federal government service; and (3) reaching beyond post, when possible, to serve girls and women in the local Panamanian community. Issues to Address Embassy Panama City currently has female section heads for the consular, management, public affairs, regional affairs, Trans- portation Security Agency, Customs and Border Protection, and Peace Corps offices. Until recently, the political counselor and Department of Justice attaché were also female. While it is encouraging to have seven senior females at post, this represen- tation falls well below the ideal 50 percent, given that Panama, as a regional hub, has 28 different sections and agencies repre- sented on the country team. Furthermore, this summer’s transfer cycle will replace the management and public affairs heads with male officers, leaving only four women on the country team, two of whom travel exten- Ultimately, the FWP is what you make of it at the post level. Kristin Stewart, second from left, engages with Panamanian leaders during the political counselor’s welcome reception in October. From left, activist Irasema de Ahumada; Ileana Molo, former IVLP grantee and president of Afro-Panameña Soy; Paliwitur Sapibe, director of indigenous affairs; and Gladys de Fossati, director of the Panamanian Institute of Labor Studies. Our group has found that there is a unique synergy created when senior women share their experiences with those just starting out. COURTESYOFPUBLICAFFAIRS/U.S.EMBASSY INPANAMA