The Foreign Service Journal, April 2022

36 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Making engagement a requirement will help move support for diversity and equity beyond words. BY K I M M c CLURE KimMcClure is a senior policy adviser in the Secretary of State’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She has been in the Foreign Service for 19 years and has served overseas in India, Afghanistan and South Africa, in addition to assignments at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, the State Department Operations Center, the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and in the bureaus of East Asia and Pacific Affairs and Global Talent Management. I n announcing the appointment of the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Offi- cer, Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized that advancing diver- sity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) must be the work of every single State Department employee, regardless of rank or background. In fact, Secretary Blinken was rather emphatic about it: “This is not just the work of the CDIO—or any other individual with ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’ in their title. I want to be crystal clear about this: Promoting diversity and inclu- sion is the job of every single member of this department. It’s mission critical. It demands each and every one of us reflect on our actions and ask: What more could I have done in the past to make this place more inclusive and respectful toward people who are different fromme? What more can I do now?” Many employees heralded this new commitment to supporting the potential of every employee and to ensuring equitable career outcomes for all. For those of us working in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, however, we realized that the only way to ensure the Secretary’s admirable sentiment went beyond words was to hold employees accountable for achieving results by pursuing DEIA through concrete action and in a sustained manner. To succeed, everyone from entry-level officers to section and division chiefs and office directors, as well as those leading front offices, will need to engage. FOCUS ON NEW CORE PRECEPTS The Case for a Foreign Service Core Precept on DEIA