THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2023 25 Avis Bohlen awards. These are temporary, one-off lump sum payments. The second is through a within-grade increase (WGI), which occurs annually on your date of entry for steps 1 to 9 and every other year once you reach step 10. The latter is a nice feature of employment overseas but can be problematic for EFMs because of the erratic nature of our employment and the varied grades and positions we can encumber throughout our careers. This isn’t true for our officer spouses, who are enticed by full-grade promotions, tenure, MSI, and much more. For us, it is a nonlinear, asymmetrical process. Just because I’m a Grade 6 Step 6 now does not guarantee that I will always be a Grade 6. If I were to remain employed in my current position, I could look forward to an annual step increase that would take me to Step 7. However, when we move to a new post and I take a job that is a Grade 7 and Highest Previous Rate puts me at Step 10, I must now wait two years to see the next step increase. Access to MSI could help to alleviate this issue for highperforming EFMs. Ultimately, this is less an argument about money, and more about EFMs’ value to the State Department. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been very vocal about departmentwide diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. In fact, there’s even a guiding question about our career advancement opportunities in cable 21 STATE 109880 of Oct. 29, 2021, “Guidance on Integrating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility into Integrated Country Strategy Management Objective and Sub-Objectives”: “Are all employees, including LE Staff and EFMs, equitably offered career advancement and training opportunities?” DEIA is a worthy endeavor that should be embraced by the Foreign Service community. The issue of EFM value should be part of this. In my view, access to merit-based pay increases would fall very squarely in the equity and inclusion buckets. A more equitable, inclusive, and just Department of State is one that offers hardworking EFMs a merit-based opportunity to improve our own financial station. Our Compensation I have heard the argument that spouses/EFMs don’t really need higher salaries because of the other benefits we receive such as U.S. government–paid housing, access to Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) participation, annual and sick leave, health benefits, life insurance, and the opportunity to earn noncompetitive eligibility status. But let’s not also pretend that all personal finance situations are created equal. There are mortgages, college, elder care, childcare, a rising cost of living due to inflation, and much more to pay for, which higher salaries would alleviate. I’ve also heard the unsettling argument that EFMs are coming in with lower skills and lower education. I don’t think that was ever true of spouses, but the skill sets of today’s EFMs are truly remarkable. Look no further than right here in Chisinau. We have multiple spouses with Ph.D. and master’s degrees. I, myself, hold two master’s degrees and come from an international development–related background. But when I hear officers say (as a point of pride), “I treat my EFM employee just like any other officer,” I’m concerned that there is a structural inequity in that one is being paid for that value while the other is not. In fact, the idea of keeping pay low based on “other benefits” is a strawman argument at best, outright spurious at worst. The family member appointment (FMA) system—created 35 years ago, in 1988—already precludes us from benefits that officers receive, including hardship differential and COLA. When EFMs are under FMA appointment, we are not given the same benefits or differentials. A brilliant discussion of FMA and its limitations can be found in Debra Blome’s 2016 FSJ article, “Taking On Family Member Employment. Really!” The Expanded Professional Associates Program (EPAP) has leveled the field to a degree. EFMs with the requisite education and work background who are eligible for those positions will see a substantial increase in their starting grade. The trouble comes when that EFM who is holding an EPAP position heads to a new post and finds that the same or similar EPAP position is not available. The positions that are available are lower grades (sometimes two or three grades lower). This EFM cannot be paid less than their previous high salary (Highest Previous Rate), except when the highest step for that graded position is still below what they were making as an EPAP. This is less an argument about money, and more about EFMs’ value to the State Department.
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