The Foreign Service Journal, October 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2020 43 tor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Vice President for Foreign Ser- vice Annika Betancourt is a political officer currently serving as acting deputy director of the Office of Andean Affairs. Secretary Camelia Valldejuly is a contractor in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Treasurer Rosalina Wackford is a budget analyst in the Bureau of Information Resource Management. DAG: Victories and New Initiatives By Heather M. Pishko T he Disability Action Group (DAG) is an employee affinity group that advocates for the full and equal participation of people with disabilities at the U.S. Department of State. We focus on career enhancement, accommodation and inclu- sion. Most importantly, we provide a safe space for employees to share their stories, frustrations and fears. Our membership includes people who have lived with disabilities for a long time and others who have recently become disabled, as well as advo- cates and allies. This spring DAG spoke with the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee about the GAO’s recent report on diversity and inclusion at State. We took the opportunity to raise the depart- ment’s 2018 decision to remove the “gap memo” from the Foreign Service promotion process. Gap memos were used to explain a long-term absence from work, including for medical treatment. Without this memo, promo- tion panels were left to interpret such absences in any way they wished, which often resulted in speculation about per- formance issues. After the meeting on Capitol Hill, the depart- ment released a cable reinstating the gap memo, specifically mentioning medical issues as a valid reason for filing one. The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is now prepar- ing an amendment to the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (with our input) requiring that the gap memo remain available. As this year’s bidding season kicks off, DAG has already attended a number of bureau-hosted recruiting events in coordination with other EAGs. Unfortunately, at several of these gatherings, disabilities weren’t even mentioned; or if they were, it was only in the context of family members who may have spe- cial needs and require accommodation. Thus, we are appealing to bureau and department leaders to remember: Recruiting employees that represent the diversity of the United States also means recruiting employees with disabilities. We are aware that many employees are reluctant to disclose their disabilities while job searching for fear of disadvantaging themselves, either because of straight-up bias or because of an office or post’s known preference to avoid making necessary accommodations. However, DAG has heard from several of our members that posts are eager to hire a diverse range of employ- ees and are willing to take every step needed to accommodate all disabilities. Even special incentive posts are workable for some disabilities! We are hopeful that our outreach efforts will encourage employees to have the confidence to work with posts in explor- ing options for accommodation at the beginning of the job search process. This is the best way to get a clear picture of what is needed and allows the department the time needed to complete accom- modations prior to employee arrival. We also remind colleagues that there are legal recourses that can be sought if they have been discriminated against in the hiring process. One way State can advance diversity and inclusion as it applies to employees with disabilities is to remove all barriers in the workspace before anyone needs to ask. Posts, especially, would be smart to retain at least one accessible residence in their housing pool and proactively work toward ensuring accessible workplaces even in the absence of a current employee need. State has committed itself to hiring more employees with disabilities; thus, the need for accommodation will only increase in the future, and offices and posts that are prepared will benefit by attracting the best and brightest talent. To support posts overseas in their attempts to become more welcoming to employees with disabilities, DAG has created a Post Representative program. We are currently recruiting individuals serving at posts worldwide to help us form and refine this effort. People interested in this leadership opportunity should reach out to Post Representative Coordi- nator Elizabeth Daugharty and follow the Post Representative channel on the DAG Microsoft Teams site (information on how to join is below). This fall, DAG plans to send out a survey asking both Civil Service and Foreign Service employees about their experiences with promotions, because there is no data on this topic. We hope that employees with disabilities will participate so that we can obtain data to launch conversations on the promotion of people with disabilities at the department. A final note: Membership in DAG is free and simple. You can join by visiting our SharePoint site at https://bit.ly/2D6j8JY. You can also join the DAG Microsoft Team by selecting “join team”