The Foreign Service Journal, October 2020

68 OCTOBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSAMember Survey on Bias in the Foreign Affairs Agencies As part of AFSA’s effort to play a constructive role in advanc- ing diversity and inclusion in the Foreign Service, we need to better understand our members’ experiences with racial bias in the workplace. To that end, AFSA devel- oped a survey to explore the breadth of bias experiences and to uncover ideas on how best the foreign affairs agencies can combat these biases. The survey ran from July 23 to Aug. 3. Out of approximately 13,000 active-duty AFSA members, 1,630 responded to the survey. That 12.5 per- cent response rate is broadly similar to the response rate we received with our previous member survey, on COVID-19. We received responses from members in all the foreign affairs agencies: from State, 1,424 respondents or 87 percent; from USAID, 170 or 10 percent; from the Foreign Commercial Service and the Foreign Agricultural Service, 1 percent each, with 16 respondents apiece; and one response each from APHIS and USAGM. The survey covered four areas of inquiry. The first section asked respondents to describe their perceived experiences with bias, using categories such as not being promoted, not receiv- ing preferred assignments, not being included in work projects, being included but being substantively ignored, and being the target of inten- tional microaggressions. The next section focused on what possible measures would mitigate or help elimi- nate bias in the workplace. We then asked white mem- bers, the overwhelmingly majority in the Foreign Ser- vice and the majority of our respondents, how they could better contribute to fighting bias in the workplace. Finally, we asked what pol- icies AFSA should promote on behalf of our members. Bias in the Workplace. Of all the forms of bias, inten- tional microaggressions was the most common category of complaints. In aggregate, 27 percent of respondents reported experiencing what they perceived as intentional microaggressions. The spectrum was wide, however, when race and gen- der were compared: 14 per- cent of women, 63 percent of Black males and 72 percent of Black female respondents reported being the target of intentional microaggres- sions, while 6 percent of white males reported the same. Other examples of bias had broad-ranging results as well. For example, the next highest category of reported bias was “being included but my opinion was not valued,” which was chosen by 15 percent of all respondents but by 35 percent of Black respondents. Overall, 51 percent of respondents reported experiencing no bias in the workplace. However, when that numbers is broken down, the picture varied greatly depending on the demographic group of the respondent. For example, 73 percent of all white males who took the survey reported no experience of bias, as did 64 percent of all white women of all demographic groups. However, only 11 percent of Black females and 20 per- cent of Black male FS mem- bers reported experiencing no bias in the workplace. Of those members who wrote an alternate answer to the question on the types of bias that were experienced, several reported gender discrimination, a significant number reported having wit- nessed bias in the workplace, and a small number reported reverse discrimination. Improving the Situation. Of the choices for actions that would help eliminate bias, members focused on three priorities: (1) increas- ing awareness in agencies of white privilege and the lived experience of Foreign Service members of color (20 percent); (2) commit- ted leadership support for diversity and inclusion (19 percent); and (3) a recog- nition of the assumptions white colleagues might have of Foreign Service colleagues of color (18 percent). On the question to white respondents on how they could better contribute to the fight against bias, members prioritized leader- ship support as a necessary component in helping them be better allies in the fight against bias (37 percent). Behind leadership sup- port, they ranked having more information on the lived experience of non-white Foreign Service members (21 percent) and having opportu- nities for honest discussions (13 percent). AFSA Advocacy. It is clear from the survey that our members believe name- and gender-blind employee evaluation reports have merit: 29 percent of respon- dents listed EERs as their number one choice for AFSA Continued on next column As Congress introduces legislation to help bring about a more inclusive Foreign Service, AFSA will use the results to shape our input.