The Foreign Service Journal, March 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2017 21 because of their sexual orientation as far back as the 1940s. Secretary Kerry acknowledged that the “Department of State had discrimi- nated against employees and job appli- cants on the basis of perceived sexual orientation,” adding that “these actions were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today.” In November Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) had requested that the depart- ment apologize to the victims of the so-called “Lavender Scare” during the 1950s, stating: “There is little we can do to undo the hurts and wrongs of the past. But we can take steps to assure that the lessons of these episodes are learned and remembered, and in so doing make a contribution to assuring that such injus- tice will never transpire again.” In early January the Washington, D.C.- based Human Rights Campaign made a similar request. David Stacy, HRC’s government affairs director, welcomed the apology, stating that it “sets the righ t tone for the State Department as it enters a new and uncertain time in our country under a new administration.” —Gemma Dvorak, Associate Editor W orldWideWomen, a new website designed to be the “first-ever” global resource center for women, is the product of a social enterprise company dedicated to building a global movement for women’s and girls’ equality through technology, philanthropy and advo- cacy. TheWorldWideWomen Founda- tion behind this new resource aims to build various philanthropic efforts to support women and girls, and to advocate legislative changes that improve the civil and human rights of women around the world. The global platform connects women around the world, providing resources to support women and girls and encouraging collaboration between women to solve issues that affect the global community. Founder and CEO Maureen Brod- erick says that the foundation’s goal is for WorldWideWomen “to become the primary source of information and community for women around the world.” The website currently offers an online global directory of thousands of organizations, programs and ser- vices offered exclusively for women. The directory is broken down into categories including education, health and wellness, career resources and women’s rights. Users can search for global organi- zations, as well as for groups in their local area. The site also encourages users to submit their own recommen- dations for female-focused organiza- tions. —Gemma Dvorak, Associate Editor SITE OF THE MONTH: www.worldwidewomen.co