The Foreign Service Journal, March 2023

22 MARCH 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL and individuals who have championed me and nurtured inclusive environments. I don’t know where my career goes from here, but my light within the State Depart- ment continues to dim. Despite this, the new DEIA initiatives taken by the State Department give me some hope. What DEIA Means for Corridor Reputation The State Department struggles to support colleagues and fails to confront areas for improvement and to problem- solve. Supervisors are let off the hook of accountability, as bad behaviors are excused as character flaws. We avoid dealing with conflict and settle into our biases and comfort zone. Concern over corridor reputation leads to a culture of silence—silence on discrimination, bul- lying, mental health, bad employees and supervisors, and just about every issue DEIA is meant to address. As noted in the Foreign Service Institute catalog, the course Mitigating Unconscious Bias “is a prerequisite for all of the mandatory leadership courses for all civil and foreign service employ- ees.” If DEIA is a priority, we shouldn’t wait until later in our careers to learn about mitigating unconscious bias—and certainly not when corridor reputation is introduced in orientation. In the unconscious bias course, we see that the ladder of inference shows how we come to conclusions on limited informa- tion, based on previous experiences and knowledge, even if it is not true. Uncon- sciously, we seek out confirmation of that story we created to validate it. When we learn about corridor reputation, we aren’t advised on how to counter it or how to address possible bias presented in our observations of oth- ers and vice versa. Why should corridor reputation, often based on half-truths and rumors, and holding people against noninclusive standards, be a thing? We should be questioning our observations against reality. Whether unconscious bias is there or not, we should address it. Let’s hold each other accountable for all things, including our biases that are deeply embedded in our personal experiences and State Department culture (Civil Service vs. Foreign Service, officers vs. specialists, locally employed staff vs. direct-hire American, etc.). While we push forward with new DEIA initia- tives, it is time to critique, transform, and, if necessary, tear down historical components within the State Department where discrimination lives. The criteria for assessing corridor reputation must include DEIA as a fundamental value. Corridor reputation should no longer be a priority; it should only be discussed in the context of mitigating unconscious bias. It would be profound to introduce mitigating unconscious bias in orienta- tion as a declaration of the State Depart- ment’s true commitment to DEIA. It should be essential for new hires to know how to recognize and counteract biases prior to being dispatched into countries with cultural complexities of their own. It would be powerful to teach and empower future diplomats to ask ques- tions and challenge themselves and their colleagues. If we could do this for each other, imagine how much more effective we could be in American diplomacy and the world. n Speaking Out is the Journal ’s opinion forum, a place for lively discussion of issues affecting the U.S. Foreign Service and American diplomacy. The views expressed are those of the author; their publication here does not imply endorsement by the American Foreign Service Association. Responses are welcome; send them to journal@afsa.org .