The Foreign Service Journal, October 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2020 51 of the fellowship program itself. A common, yet false, impression of these programs is they are an easy way into the Foreign Service for minority candidates. However, becoming a Pickering or Ran- gel Fellow is a highly competitive process, and the fellows must fulfill all requirements, including the written and oral examina- tions, to officially join the Foreign Service. Such misperceptions hinder prospects for officers of color to ascend to the senior-most ranks in the Foreign Service. PRFA continues to regularly engage senior department leaders to develop accountability measures, advocate for an equitable assignments process to ensure selected candidates reflect our diverse and exceptionally talented workforce, and work with key parts of our institution to pilot innovative approaches to change how senior leaders tackle these issues at missions overseas. Foreign affairs agencies must recognize that America’s greatest strength is our diversity and create a cadre of foreign affairs professionals truly representative of our country. This also requires agencies to actively address systemic disparities by ensuring diversity and inclusion efforts are well resourced, allocating ample staff and a sizeable operational budget. Most importantly, any entity within a foreign affairs agency explicitly responsible for diversity and inclusion issues should possess the full authority to implement such initiatives in order to effectively shift organizational culture and foster an inclusive, diverse work- force. PRFA can be reached at PRFABoard@state.gov. n Christina Tilghman is president of the Pickering and Rangel Fellows Association. She joined the Foreign Service in 2010 and has served in Canada and South Africa, as well as in several assignments in Wash- ington, D.C. Foreign affairs agencies must recognize that America’s greatest strength is our diversity and create a cadre of foreign affairs professionals truly representative of our country.