The Foreign Service Journal, May 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2013 41 words, these employers have created a map to allow women to find their way through what some experts have called “the labyrinth of leadership.” Guides, Not Quotas Employee groups also have an important role to play. For example, Executive Women at State has played a key role in providing career guidance to women through various pro- grams, including mentoring workshops. A recent program about the deputy chief of mission/chief of mission selection process led one female attendee to apply for a DCM position she had not considered because she’d assumed she wouldn’t be selected. She went on to secure the position and is thriv- ing in the assignment—proving that targeted programs of this nature are both needed and effective. Importantly, these policies do not in any way resemble quotas. Moreover, even though this article is focused on gender diversity, it should be clear that all groups would benefit from the establishment of a more diverse and inclusive organizational culture. Although the scope of this article does not allow me to review the policies in detail, they are outlined in full in my end-of-year report, along with a list of specific recommendations for State to consider (please see the sidebar on pp. 42-43). Broadly, these policies fall into the categories of profes- sional and talent development, work-life integration, and networking and mentoring. Leading organizations provide training to help women hone their communication, negotia- tion and self-advocacy skills to overcome the gendered norms of leadership that research has shown continue to favor male leaders. Women’s career development is then carefully charted. A strong mentoring program is established to overcome the tendency for male leaders to expend political capital to help male mentees get ahead, in spite of the fact that they may also be mentoring women. After all the care we take to recruit minority candidates, I can’t help but feel we then leave them to fend for themselves in a complex system of bidding rules and programs, like the Career Development Plan, that put the onus on employees to chart their own way to the Senior Foreign Service. It’s easy to see why those outside established networks will be at a disad- vantage in such a system, and why they need a guide through the labyrinth. Equal emphasis should be placed on raising awareness among managers of the ways unconscious biases can dis- advantage women—to ensure that their work performance is rated on purely objective criteria—and building metrics related to diversity and inclusion goals into performance evaluation. Some organizations rate managers and executives on their involvement and performance as mentors, thereby ensuring that this key executive responsibility receives its due. Many organizations include the establishment of a more flexible work environment as a specific goal for managers. Parallel with that effort, however, they put measures in place to ensure that those who avail themselves of flexible work arrangements do not put their career advancement at risk, thereby avoiding the dead end of a “mommy track.” As things currently stand, our system is set up in such a way that FSOs (female and male) are discouraged by the bidding and promo- tion process from seeking out flexible arrangements. For employers of choice, inclusiveness is intrinsic, and pol- icies are developed in close consultation with women in the organization and the employee groups that represent them. Frequent opinion surveys and the convening of focus group discussions are the norm, with collected data used to calibrate ongoing programs in areas that range from training and career development to work-life programs. The proportion of women in the senior ranks took until 2005 to break the 30-percent mark, and has hovered there ever since.