The Foreign Service Journal, May 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2013 27 in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, explained the chang- ing approaches to women in the work force by the U.S. mili- tary at a standing-room-only EW@S event. She described how women in the military loved what they did, but felt they had to leave to improve their personal lives—an observation that struck a chord with many. The Navy realized that its costly investment in training people was walking out the door when employees left, and it took action. It created an exit survey to probe the reasons for departures, evaluated the responses received and developed solutions to address each of the barriers cited. For instance, the Navy now has a pilot program that allows all employees to take up to three years off to focus on family care, education or anything else they wish, without being penalized in the promotion process—essentially “stopping the clock.” While exit interviews exist for Foreign Service members, it is not clear what happens to the responses. There is no comparable process for Civil Service employees. Consequently, one EW@S objective is to replicate the Navy’s success in understanding the reasons employees leave. We currently have only anecdotal infor- mation, so we are interested in creating and using exit surveys from all departing employees to identify challenges and solutions to the issues faced by our employees so we can work with the department to address barriers to employee retention. Ongoing EW@S objectives reflect the long road ahead of us. These include continuing to expand our reach to ever-increasing numbers of employees, exploring ways to prepare more women for senior leadership positions, and moving the needle ever closer toward gender parity for senior career women at the department. While the numbers of career women in senior positions are at their highest levels ever, parity is still not within reach. Paying It Forward EW@S has three membership tiers, each of which focuses on a specific career level and mentors the level below. The Execu- tives, consisting of women at senior leadership levels, sponsor and mentor the mid-level Associates, who, in turn, sponsor and mentor the women of the Entry- and Junior-Level Program (affec- tionately known as the EJs, pronounced “edges”). And the EJs, not to be outdone, have expanded the organization’s reach beyond the walls of State by mentoring interns and students interested in beginning a career at the department. Our approach combines informal, situational, speed and reverse-mentoring opportuni- ties. As Jennifer Carter, presi- dent of the EJs, recently noted, “The appetite for mentoring seems insatiable.” Chief Diversity Officer and Office of Civil Rights Director JohnM. Robinson has described EW@S’s tiered career develop- ment andmentoringmodel as “a best practice for the federal government.” In addition to programs for each career level, the three groups collaborate in hosting monthly programs, formal and informal networking and idea-sharing opportunities, and social events where women with shared interests can come together. Please Join Us! While women at State have made real progress in recent years, we still have a long way to go to achieve full representation in the department’s top ranks. We welcome all interested colleagues to join us in this important work. Volunteers to serve on committees and assist with programs and events are always welcome. Membership in EW@S (and attendance at its events) is open to Department of State women, and men who support women’s advancement, at all grade levels. Membership is also open to political appointees, When Actually Employed personnel and contractors who hold or previously held an equivalent rank. Since there are no dues, all you need to do to join is to sign up for the appropriate mailing list: 1. Executive Women at State–Executive Level (Senior Foreign Service, Senior Executive Service, FS-1, and GS-15 levels): EWS@ state.gov 2. Executive Women at State–Associates (FS-2 through tenured FS-4 and GS-12 through GS-14): ewsassociates@state.gov 3. Executive Women at State–Entry and Junior Level (unten- ured FS-4 through FS-6, GS-5 through GS-11, and interns): ewsej@state.gov 4. Friends of EW@S (male and female supporters at all levels who do not wish to be full members): ewsfriends@state.gov. If you’d like to learn more about EW@S, please contact any of these e-mail addresses. Or visit our SharePoint site (http://shared. state.sbu/sites/ews/default.aspx ), which has numerous resources including program and meeting notes, events calendars, and membership and contact information. EW@S also has a managed group on the department’s Corridor site: http://corridor.state.gov/groups/executive-women-at-state- ews. n EW@S has also learned from other federal agencies’ practices.