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July 2, 2020
Diversity in the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service:
Background and Issues for Congress
Members of Congress, U.S. Department of State (DOS)
officials, and other stakeholders have maintained a long-
standing interest in ensuring that the U.S. Departmentof
State Foreign Service workforce (hereinafter, the Foreign
Service) is representative of the American people, as called
for in the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-465,
hereinafter, the Foreign Service Act).
Beyond adherence to statutory requirements, some DOS
officials and other observers have asserted that a diverse
Foreign Service workforce adds more perspectives to the
development of U.S. foreign policy and contributes to better
policymaking. While many observers note that the State
Department has made substantial gains in bringing about a
more diverse Foreign Service workforce, high-ranking DOS
officials have said that more workis needed tobuild on
existing progress, including with respect to fostering greater
diversity in seniorpositions.
B a 'akg k -o u,
The Foreign Service has faced criticism for not being
representativeofthe American people andhas often been
characterized as a bastionof white males with Ivy League
educations. According to testimony DOS submitted to
Congress during consideration of the Foreign Service Act,
it began addressing this issue in the 1960s. For example, an
affirmative action programwas first established in 1967 and
a prohibition on married women serving in the Foreign
Service was lifted in 1971. At hearings held during this
period, some witnesses and Members of Congress attributed
the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the
Foreign Service to causes including a lackofrecruiting
efforts specifically targeting underrepresented groups;
concerns thatthe selection process disproportionately
screened out minority candidates; and limited
representationofwomen and minorities on the selection
boards tasked with evaluating performance and
recommending officers for promotion.
The Foreign Service Act sought to address suchconcems
through s everalprovis ions. For example, Section 105
requires the Secretary of State to ensure that members of
and applicants to the Foreign Service are free from
discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, age, handicapping condition, marital status,
geographic or educational affiliation within the United
States, orpolitical affiliation. This section also requires that
all pers onnel actions for career members and career
candidates shallbe made in accordance with merit
principles. Section 211 establishes a Board o fExaminers
for the Foreign Service tasked with developing
examinations given to those applying for appointment in the
Foreign Service and periodically reviewing whether any
such examination has an adverse impact on employment
opportunities for members of any race, sex, or ethnic group.
Section 602 requires the Secretary ofStateto assurethata
substantialnumber of women and members of minority
groups are appointed tothe s election boards responsible
for personnel actions including recommending officers for
promotion.
Congress conducted oversight of these matters in the years
following enactment of the Foreign Service Act. It included
a finding in the Foreign Relations AuthorizationAct for
FY1988 and FY1989 (P.L. 100-204) stating that DOS had
not been successful in diversifying the Foreign Service and
requiring it to substantially increaseits efforts. In 1990,
Congress amended the State Department Basic Authorities
Act of 1956 (P.L. 84-885) to authorize the Secretary of
State to make grants to postsecondary educational
institutions or students to increaseknowledgeof and
interest in employment with the Foreign Service, with a
specialfocus on minority students. Pursuant to these
authorities, DOS launched the Thomas R. Pickering
Foreign Affairs Fellowship and the Charles B. Rangel
International Affairs Programin 1992 and 2002,
respectively. These fellowships encourage applications
from women and members of minority groups and provide
financial support for graduate study, internships, and
professional development activities leading to Foreign
Service appointments. According to DOS, these two
programs [increased] the representation of diverse groups
in the Foreign Service bynearly 21 percent ... between
1993 and 2013. Figure 1 illustrates progress DOS has
made increasing Foreign Service diversity from 1988 to
2018.
Figure I. Foreign Service Personnel Diversity
FY2018 H -,-aniUL 3 no7
Ot 'e 2%
Asian A.me, .SacdficL 2%,
FY1988 HwnVc 4%
B tk b% :4
@
Asia An'-,e:.i~cfifc sL sa Amc~lcan/PaCtw~ stamde,,
Source: CRS. Data from DOS and the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO).
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