The Foreign Service Journal, September 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 71 AFSA NEWS AFSA ON THE HILL Panel Discusses Diversity in the Foreign Service AFSA joined with the Con- gressional Black Associates to host a panel discussion, “Diversity in the Foreign Service,” at the U.S. Capitol Building on June 12. Designed to increase the participation of minority groups in the U.S. Foreign Service, five Foreign Service members from State and USAID spoke about their own experiences and then took questions. AFSA State Vice Presi- dent Matthew Asada, who is a fourth-generation Japa- nese-American, keynoted the event. “The diversity conversation is not hap- pening in isolation,” he said. “The Foreign Service is more diverse than ever.” Former Ambassador to Argentina Lino Gutierrez drew on his Cuban-American heritage to discuss the For- eign Service’s need for more diversity. “Racial, ethnic, geo- graphic. It needs people from off the beaten path [because] the Foreign Service represents the U.S., and the U.S. is all of those things,” he told an audience of mostly young people from diverse backgrounds. Each panelist pointed out the importance of remem- bering that the term “diver- sity” does not solely apply to racial classifications, but includes geographic and religious diversity, gender equality, and age and linguis- tic diversity. “Foreign policy has to represent all of us,” said State Department FS member Rob- ert Bacon, citing the diversity of the United States that should be present in the For- eign Service. Susan Reichle, USAID agency counselor, discussed the growing num- ber of women in the Foreign Service. “Women have come a long way, but we’ve got a long way to go,” she stated. Asada declared that diversity would allow the Foreign Service to be taken seriously; a group of individu- als with varying perspectives and experiences will be more effective in implementing foreign policy. “We have to tell people who we are as Americans,” said Croshelle Harris- Hussein, a division chief in USAID’s Office of Strategic Planning and Operations. “And a diverse set of Foreign Service officers is the way to do that.” —Aishwarya Raje, Editorial Intern