    [Senate Hearing 117-619]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 117-619

                         DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION,
                      AND ACCESSIBILITY IN U.S. DIPLOMACY
                                AND DEVELOPMENT

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                         COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                   __________

                                 JULY 26, 2022

                                   __________

           Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations

          [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                      Available via http://www.govinfo.gov

                             ______

                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
     51-523PDF             WASHINGTON : 2023

                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

                 ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey, Chairman
    BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
    JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire        MARCO RUBIO, Florida
    CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware       RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
    CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut      MITT ROMNEY, Utah
    TIM KAINE, Virginia                  ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
    EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts      RAND PAUL, Kentucky
    JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 TODD YOUNG, Indiana
    CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey           JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
    BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 TED CRUZ, Texas
    CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland           MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota
                                         BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
                     Damian Murphy, Staff Director
            Christopher M. Socha, Republican Staff Director
                        John Dutton, Chief Clerk

                                  (ii)

                             C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

    Menendez, Hon. Robert, U.S. Senator From New Jersey..............     1

    Risch, Hon. James E., U.S. Senator From Idaho....................     3

    Abercrombie-Winstanley, Hon. Gina K., Chief Diversity and
      Inclusion Officer, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC....     5
        Prepared Statement...........................................     7

    Diallo, Neneh, Chief Diversity Officer, U.S. Agency for
      International Development, Washington, DC......................     9
        Prepared Statement...........................................    11

                  Additional Material Submitted for the Record

    Responses of Hon. Gina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley to Questions
      Submitted by Senator Robert Menendez...........................    38

    Responses of Ms. Neneh Diallo to Questions Submitted by Senator
      Robert Menendez................................................    42

    Responses of Hon. Gina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley to Questions
      Submitted by Senator James E. Risch............................    47

    Responses of Ms. Neneh Diallo to Questions Submitted by Senator
      James E. Risch.................................................    49

    Responses of Hon. Gina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley to Questions
      Submitted by Senator Benjamin L. Cardin........................    51

    Responses of Ms. Neneh Diallo to Questions Submitted by Senator
      Benjamin L. Cardin.............................................    52

    Responses of Hon. Gina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley to Questions
      Submitted by Senator Cory Booker...............................    54

    Responses of Ms. Neneh Diallo to Questions Submitted by Senator
      Chris Van Hollen...............................................    54

    Statement for the Record, Government Accountability Office,
      Dated July 26, 2022............................................    55

                                     (iii)

                         DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION,

                      AND ACCESSIBILITY IN U.S. DIPLOMACY

                                AND DEVELOPMENT

                                  ----------

                             TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2022

                                           U.S. Senate,
                                Committee on Foreign Relations,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m., in
    room SD-419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Robert
    Menendez presiding.
        Present: Senators Menendez [presiding], Cardin, Shaheen,
    Coons, Murphy, Kaine, Markey, Booker, Risch, Rubio, and Cruz.

              OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ,
                      U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY

        The Chairman. This hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations
    Committee will come to order.
        Let me first thank Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley,
    the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the Department of
    State, as well as Chief Diversity Officer at USAID Neneh Diallo
    for appearing before our committee today.
        I believe this is the first time the committee has held a
    hearing on this topic with senior department leadership
    dedicated to this issue.
        Our premier American foreign policy institutions must set
    the bar for others to follow, and harnessing the incredible
    diversity of the American people on different points of view,
    backgrounds, and languages is crucial to not only our nation's
    security, but also our global, economic, and other interests.
        I have been working on efforts to promote diversity at the
    State Department and USAID now for more than two decades, and
    while I am disappointed to say progress has been slow, I am
    pleased to see both of you here today.
        Only last year, the head of the American Foreign Service
    Association said, ``The State Department was more diverse in
    1986, literally, than it is now.'' In the last 20 years, there
    has been a 2 percent decrease in the proportion of Black
    employees at the State Department with the majority still in
    the civil service and Latino numbers have barely budged. USAID
    is no better with 6 percent of its workforce Latino while the
    Latino population of the United States overall is almost 19
    percent.
        This year, we are commemorating the Pickering program's
    30th, Rangel program's 20th, and Payne program's 10th
    anniversary, all programs created to increase diversity at our
    agencies, but as we commemorate we need to know if these
    programs are actually accomplishing their goals. I can count on
    my fingers the number of ambassadors and mission directors who
    are people of color.
        We have got a lot of work to do. Not fully utilizing the
    strategic advantage of America's diverse talent pool to engage
    our allies and counter our competitors and adversaries on the
    global stage is a vital error.
        Let me just give one example. I know some of our colleagues
    will probably be unhappy about today's hearing, but the reality
    is that when I was in China, our chief in China in charge of
    democracy and human rights programs was an African American who
    was an active participant in the civil rights struggle.
        His personal history, his personal eyewitness to the
    accounts of trying to change the course of events in our
    country, were a powerful voice to those in China seeking to
    create an opportunity for themselves in terms of greater
    openings for democracy and human rights.
        I can recount easily over the course of 30 years of doing
    foreign policy dozens of moments in different parts of the
    world where the few people that we have had who come from
    diverse backgrounds had been able to make a powerful case and
    liaison with the peoples of those countries where we are being
    represented.
        That cannot be purchased. That cannot be bought. While it
    is an error in terms of where we have been at, I am pleased to
    say this Administration is trying to fix. It is also one that
    nations like Russia and China continue to exploit by using
    their propaganda tools to highlight the gap between our
    promises and rhetoric when it comes to racial justice and our
    actions.
        They paint us as hypocrites who talk a big game on equality
    and human rights, the very foundation of democracy, but say we
    do not deliver. Our diplomats are on the front lines of
    countering their narratives.
        We must modernize our diplomacy and development efforts to
    meet the demands of the 21st century. That means recruiting
    from all across America, from the cities and coasts of New
    Jersey to the border towns of Texas and Idaho. It means
    cultivating and retaining a diverse workforce that can take
    advantage of our nation's technology advances and keep up with
    other industries.
        It means ensuring workstations and foreign mission
    buildings are accessible for those with disabilities and it
    means committing to increasing morale so that people are not
    leaving mid-career after years of investment in extensive
    language and diplomatic skills.
        Let me be clear. As chief diversity officers, you not only
    have the full weight of the White House and your leadership
    supporting you, I want you to know that many of us support you
    as well. I certainly do.
        That is why I am launching a series of initiatives to
    advance the diversity, legislation, resources, and recruitment
    pipelines. We need to keep our nation competitive in global
    affairs for years to come.
        This is also an economic imperative. I often tell when I
    speak to the corporate leadership in our country about
    diversity, not for diversity's sake, but for the bottom line.
    Study after study shows that more diverse corporate boards and
    senior executive management means more profitability, and these
    are studies done by private entities.
        Also, as I tell groups as a simple example of the past,
    Chevrolet found out what diversity means when they tried to
    sell the Chevy Nova in Latin America. For those of you who do
    not know Spanish, when you pronounce Nova in Spanish it means
    it will not move. It will not go.
        That is just a simple example. I do not care what type of
    marketing program you have. A car that says it is not going to
    move, it is not going to go, is not going to sell.
        That is just one of many simple examples where in terms of
    the economics of how to do business and get greater market
    share for our country is incredibly important.
        Today, I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on how
    they are advancing these goals at their agency. I also want to
    know what is needed to do your jobs effectively, and if you are
    not getting what you need, I want to know why. The clock is
    ticking. It has been a year and a half since these efforts
    began and I want to see progress.
        Finally, to those who might be reticent to support these
    efforts, I want to point out that one of our other great
    institutions, the United States military, has long been a place
    where people of all backgrounds fight alongside each other and
    where they can rise and an opportunity is given including to
    the highest levels of our military.
        As a result, our military is the greatest fighting force in
    the world. Our diplomatic corps and our development program
    should be strengthened in the same way. We must, as diplomat
    and Nobel Laureate Ralph Bunche once said, ``Adhere staunchly
    to the basic principle that anything less than full equality is
    not enough.''
        With that, let me turn to the ranking member for his
    opening statement.

                   STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES E. RISCH,
                        U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO

        Senator Risch. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and kudos
    to you for pursuing this issue. I know you have been on the
    forefront of this and certainly deserve credit for the progress
    that has been made and I know you will keep up those efforts.
        I, too, am interested in diversity, although I come at it
    from a little different viewpoint than you do, but diversity of
    all sorts is important in our agencies.
        Our foreign affairs agencies in the Department of State in
    particular have wrestled with issues of diversity in the
    civilian national security workforce for generations.
        For years, we have heard the Department say that its
    workforce was going to ``look like America.''
        However, its workforce still does not look like America.
    Employees from urban and especially coastal areas are still
    heavily over represented while noncoastal, suburban, and
    especially rural areas and interior areas of America are barely
    represented.
        This is at least partially and substantially the result of
    the fact that the Department only offers Foreign Service oral
    exams in Washington, DC, dozens of times a year and twice a
    year in San Francisco, both coastal cities and two of America's
    most expensive.
        Let us take my state, Idaho, for example. An Idahoan would
    have to buy an airline ticket to either of these cities, taking
    multiple legs each way to DC, then pay for multiple nights at a
    hotel.
        A trip like this would cost more than $1,000. For a
    professional already in the workforce, they would also need to
    take vacation days and also find someone to look after their
    children if they were single with children while they travel
    across the country, all for the privilege of applying for a job
    at the State Department.
        This burden comes only after they have already decided they
    want to try and join the Foreign Service. What about
    recruitment to join its special ranks? The Department uses
    diplomats in residence scattered across the country to help
    highlight how great a career in diplomacy can be.
        Yet, only a handful of these people exist. There is only
    one diplomat in residence for all of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah,
    Colorado, and Montana, and that person is based in Denver.
        So if a University of Idaho student wanted to meet with the
    local diplomat in residence, he or she would have to drive 17
    hours to Denver. In fact, it would actually be faster to drive
    to the Pacific Northwest diplomat who is based in Berkeley,
    California. That drive is only 14 hours.
        The truth is State Department's continued promise to
    develop a workforce that looks like America is not centered and
    representing all of America based on things like geographic
    diversity.
        It seems devoted to representing the ideas and opinions of
    coastal views and philosophy, which does not highlight
    diversity of all of America with its broad and stunning
    greatness.
        Similarly, at USAID there are so many hiring mechanisms
    that the agency cannot even provide credible data on the
    success or failure of its own efforts to enhance diversity.
        Our foreign affairs agencies must be serious about all
    forms--all forms--of diversity, to include participation from
    our veterans. They have sacrificed a lot to protect our nation
    and freedom, and their perspective and experience brings
    diversity of thought to solving tough diplomatic challenges.
        We need more and better from the Department and USAID on
    these issues and I look forward to hearing how the Department
    intends to do a much better job of developing a workforce that
    represents all of America and especially its interior.
        Again, kudos to the chairman for his efforts in this
    regard.
        Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        The Chairman. Thank you.
        It is an honor to introduce our two witnesses today, our
    privilege to welcome Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley,
    the State Department's first Chief Diversity and Inclusion
    Officer charged with ``advancing national security by building
    a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible department
    to handle the foreign policy challenges of the 21st century.''
        A consummate diplomat, Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley
    has served her country for over three decades as the longest
    serving U.S. Ambassador to Malta, the first woman to lead a
    diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia, and as chair of the Middle
    East Area Studies at the Foreign Service Institute.
        In addition to serving at the National Security Council,
    she also served as a fellow on this very committee under then
    Ranking Member Biden.
        We are also joined by Chief Diversity Officer Neneh Diallo,
    whose remit is to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and
    accessibility among USAID's people, partners, and programs at
    home and abroad as part of USAID's international development
    and humanitarian efforts around the globe.
        Her public service career has included work as the Director
    of Diversity and Inclusion at the Millennium Challenge
    Corporation. She has also led diversity efforts in the private
    sector as a senior vice president for marketing and
    communications in global media.
        Welcome to you both. Your full statements will be included
    in the record without objection, and I would ask you both to
    try to summarize your statements in about 5 minutes or so so
    that then we can have a conversation.
        Ambassador Winstanley.

      STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE GINA K. ABERCROMBIE-WINSTANLEY,
       CHIEF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION OFFICER, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
                         STATE, WASHINGTON, DC

        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Chairman Menendez,
    Ranking Member Risch, members of the committee, I am delighted
    to speak with you today about the State Department's efforts to
    advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility--DEIA.
        I am pleased to be joined by my counterpart from USAID,
    Neneh Diallo.
        Secretary Blinken appointed me as the Department's first
    standalone Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer 15 months ago.
    Since that time, the Department has made significant strides to
    advance DEIA within our organization and build the foundation
    for sustained success.
        We have done this by increasing transparency and
    accountability for processes and personnel. Our goal is to
    improve our entire organization. Any business wants a highly
    productive workforce that operates maximally.
        It is not enough to recruit a representative workforce. We
    have to keep them. We must leverage the strength of our
    diversity to ensure we have the strongest foreign policy to
    meet 21st century challenges.
        We are focused on examining our organization holistically,
    to identify where inequities exist, not just in whom we hire,
    but among who stays and who advances.
        The Department is committed to using evidence-based
    approaches to identify barriers to equitable merit-based hiring
    and career outcomes. By analyzing disaggregated data we can
    identify where potential inequities exist and recommend
    specific actions to address them.
        This is why my first priority was to create a DEIA data
    working group. Since its formation, we have compiled a
    demographic baseline of the entire Department of State by rank,
    job category, and bureau. With this established baseline we can
    evaluate the effectiveness of our initiatives and track our
    progress.
        In this way, we will remain unified in opportunity, unified
    in earned recognition and support. Data analysis is key to
    guiding, measuring, and sustaining an effective DEIA program,
    which is why I respectfully ask for your support to continue
    providing my office with the funding and staffing resources
    needed for this important work.
        Another change I am proud to tell you about is that
    advancing DEIA is now tied to the Foreign Service promotions
    and civil service performance evaluations. Everyone must play a
    part to advance DEIA as an organizational culture.
        Why? Because it will improve the quality of our foreign
    policy, model the values that we promote abroad, and ensure the
    best rise to the top because of merit.
        To hold employees accountable for this, the Department has
    created a dedicated DEIA core precept for the Foreign Service
    and a DEIA work element for the civil service.
        While the dedicated core precept provides a way to
    recognize and reward positive contributions to the DEIA
    mission, we must also improve accountability and uproot toxic
    workplace behavior.
        As the Department has made significant strides to educate
    employees on how to address toxic behavior, reports of
    harassment have increased. Staffing to investigate and respond
    has not.
        The Department's fiscal year 2023 budget includes a request
    for new positions and funding to create an anti-bullying
    program and to properly staff our anti-harassment program.
        We can correct toxic behaviors and eliminate the resulting
    distractions in the workplace that impede our best work in
    service to the American people.
        The Department's 5-year DEIA strategic plan has been
    released to the workforce. It is the most forward leaning,
    ambitious, robust DEIA strategic plan the Department has ever
    created.
        My office will oversee the plan's implementation and has
    already formed an implementation team. It is made up of
    representatives from bureaus and offices with responsibility
    for action items in the plan. We are already taking steps to
    reconfirm our commitment to make a truly merit-based
    organization.
        Lastly, I applaud the Department's recent changes to the
    Foreign Service generalist exam process. The Foreign Service
    Officer Test served as a distorted barrier to entry for the
    Foreign Service and has never been a predictor of future job
    performance.
        Let us be clear, there are many highly successful Foreign
    Service Officers and career ambassadors serving today whose
    entry requirements did not include taking or passing the FSOT.
        Starting last month, the Department now takes a more
    holistic approach by evaluating a candidate's FSOT performance
    along with their skills and experience when deciding who will
    advance to the Foreign Service oral assessment.
        For candidates who miss the FSOT cut off by a few points,
    but have valuable relevant skills and experience, this change
    allows their other strengths to be considered. This levels the
    playing field and allows the Department to examine more
    candidates from a wider variety of backgrounds.
        I am grateful to this committee for its attention to this
    decades-long problem within the Department of State. With your
    support we will continue to work until we have a workforce that
    does truly reflect and leverage the diverse talents of the
    nation we represent.
        Thank you for providing me with this opportunity to speak
    today and I look forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Ambassador Abercrombie-
    Winstanley follows:]

        Prepared Statement of Ambassador Gina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley

        Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Risch, Members of the Committee,
    I am delighted to speak with you today about the State Department's
    progress--and challenges--on diversity, equity, inclusion, and
    accessibility (DEIA). I am thrilled to be joined by my counterpart,
    Neneh Diallo, from USAID.
        Secretary Blinken appointed me as the Department's first stand-
    alone Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer 15 months ago. Since that
    time, the Department has made significant strides to advance DEIA
    within our organization and build the foundation for future success.
    This foundation will ensure the Department's DEIA initiatives get
    implemented in a sustainable way. Our steadfast goal is to support
    equity and inclusivity across our entire workforce and ensure our
    workforce knows and understands what we are doing and why.
        It is not enough to recruit and support a workforce that draws from
    the diversity of our nation. We must also leverage the strength of our
    diverse talents to make certain we have the strongest foreign policy to
    meet 21st century challenges. This is how we best serve the American
    people. Therefore, we must examine our organization holistically to
    identify where inequities exist not only in terms of whom we hire, but
    also in terms of who stays and who advances.
        Our approach is two-pronged: first, focus on structural changes to
    policy, practice, and procedures so that opportunities are no longer
    based on ``who you know'' but what you bring to the table. We do this
    work by identifying and removing barriers to a truly merit-based system
    for every employee. Second, we are focused on changing the culture so
    that employees feel truly included, seen, and encouraged to speak up
    when they have ideas to offer or want to flag concerns.
        The Department is committed to using an evidence-based approach to
    identify barriers to equitable, merit-based hiring and career outcomes.
    By examining red flags in our data, we can identify where potential
    inequities exist and recommend specific actions to improve how we do
    business. This is why my first priority as Chief Diversity and
    Inclusion Officer was to create a DEIA Data Working Group. This team of
    analysts and subject matter experts from multiple offices coordinate
    the Department's vital barrier analysis work.
        Since standing up this unprecedented group a year ago, we've
    compiled a demographic baseline of the Department of State, by rank,
    job category, and bureau. As a result, we now have a more accurate
    picture of who and where we are as an organization. And we can now
    better identify where we have work to do to keep us unified in terms of
    opportunity, earned recognition and support. With this established
    baseline we can also evaluate the effectiveness of our initiatives and
    track our progress. Data analysis is key to guiding, measuring, and
    sustaining an effective DEIA program, and I want to thank Congress for
    providing the resources needed for this important work.
        Another change I am excited to tell you about is our work to ensure
    that advancing DEIA is now tied to Foreign Service promotions and Civil
    Service performance evaluations. Secretary Blinken has made clear his
    expectation that DEIA work is not just on me, my office, or for
    employees working in human resources. It must not be limited to
    employees from historically underrepresented groups or the most junior
    among our ranks. Everyone must play a part in advancing DEIA as an
    organizational culture. Why? Because it will make the Department of
    State stronger, improve the quality of our foreign policy, model the
    values we promote abroad, and ensure the best rise to the top because
    of their merit.
        To hold employees accountable for this, the Department has created
    a dedicated DEIA core precept for the Foreign Service and DEIA work
    elements for the Civil Service. This was necessary, because while the
    Department has always valued and included DEIA principles as an element
    of earlier core precepts and work elements, if employees demonstrated
    achievements in other areas within the precept, their lack of attention
    to DEIA could be overlooked. By tying promotions more strongly to
    advancing DEIA, we have now increased the incentive for every
    Department employee to forward this vital work.
        While the dedicated core precept provides a way to recognize
    positive contributions to the DEIA mission, we must also do more to
    improve accountability and transparency, and root out toxic workplace
    behavior such as discrimination, including harassment and bullying. As
    the Department has made significant strides to educate employees on how
    to address toxic behavior, and reports of harassment have increased,
    staffing to investigate and respond has not. The Department's FY23
    budget includes a request for new positions and funding to create an
    Anti-Bullying Program and to properly staff our Anti-Harassment Program
    so that we can correct toxic behaviors and address situations before
    they reach the level of a formal complaint. It is imperative that our
    workplaces eliminate toxic behavior so that everyone has the same
    opportunity to do their best work in service to the American people.
        I am pleased to report the Department completed development of its
    5-year DEIA Strategic Plan. It is the most forward-leaning, ambitious,
    and robust DEIA Strategic Plan the Department has ever created. It
    includes input from dozens of offices and hundreds of employees from
    every segment of the workforce. This includes local DEIA Councils,
    Employee Organizations, Locally Employed Staff, Eligible Family Member
    staff, contract staff, the Civil Service, and Foreign Service
    Specialists and Generalists. My office will oversee the Plan's
    implementation and has formed an Implementation Team, made up of
    representatives from bureaus and offices with responsibility for action
    items in the Plan. The Team's first meeting was in June, and it will
    meet quarterly to ensure goals and objectives are being met within the
    outlined timeframes and ensure the Plan is properly resourced. In
    addition, the State-USAID Joint Strategic Plan includes a strategic
    objective on promoting DEIA as a component of revitalizing our
    workforce.
        Lastly, I would also like to mention the Department's recent
    changes to the Foreign Service generalist exam process. The Foreign
    Service Officer Test (FSOT) served as a distorted barrier of entry into
    the Foreign Service because it favored candidates who had the resources
    to hone their standardized testing skills on niche topics. Further, the
    FSOT has never been a predictor of future job performance. There are
    many successful Foreign Service Officers and career ambassadors serving
    today whose entry requirements did not include taking the FSOT. In
    essence, our analysis showed that the FSOT served as an initial stage
    to reduce the volume of candidates to a more manageable number to
    determine who to advance to the Foreign Service Oral Assessment (FSOA).
    The Oral Assessment has always been the true method of evaluating a
    candidate's skills and abilities to succeed in the Foreign Service.
        I am pleased the Department made changes to the Foreign Service
    generalist selection process. Starting last month, the Department now
    takes a more holistic approach by factoring a candidate's FSOT test
    performance along with their skills and experience when deciding who
    will advance to the FSOA. For those candidates with valuable and
    relevant skills and experience but less practice at taking standardized
    tests, this change allows the Department to look at all of a
    candidate's strengths. No amount of skill or experience will cancel out
    a low FSOT score. Likewise, candidates with high FSOT scores, but
    inadequate experience or skills, are also unlikely to advance to the
    FSOA. This change takes a comprehensive view of all candidates, levels
    the playing field and allows the Department to examine more candidates
    from a wider variety of backgrounds, using better and more predictive
    assessment information and criteria.
        While the changes we have implemented in this short amount of time
    exceeded my expectations, we have much more work to do. The findings in
    the recently released GAO report ``Additional Actions Needed to Improve
    Workplace Diversity and Inclusion'' are consistent with the initiatives
    my staff and I lead, as we rally more Department employees to join us
    in this work.
        I am grateful to this Committee for its attention to this decades-
    long issue at the State Department. We will continue the work until we
    have a workforce that truly reflects and leverages the diverse talents
    of the nation we represent. Thank you for providing me with this
    opportunity to speak today. I look forward to your questions.

        The Chairman. Thank you.
        Ms. Diallo.

    STATEMENT OF NENEH DIALLO, CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER, U.S. AGENCY
             FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, WASHINGTON, DC

        Ms. Diallo. Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Risch,
    members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to
    speak about the progress USAID has made to date and the
    remaining opportunities to do more on diversity, equity,
    inclusion, and accessibility--or DEIA--within our agency.
        Thank you for your leadership in this space. I also want to
    acknowledge Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley and her work
    at the Department of State. Our agencies are working together
    to ensure we maximize and accelerate efforts toward our shared
    interests.
        With the leadership and support of President Joe Biden,
    Administrator Samantha Power, and a strong bipartisan coalition
    in Congress, USAID is uniting its DEIA efforts, an ambitious
    undertaking I have been privileged to lead since being sworn in
    this past March.
        As the agency's first chief DEIA officer, I oversee our
    DEIA efforts not only in our workforce and workplace, but also
    in how we deliver assistance, design programs, and partner. My
    office does not undertake this work alone, but together with
    DEIA advisors who are hired within bureaus and independent
    offices as well as the diversity councils across the agency.
        I would also like to take this time to thank the committee
    and your colleagues for providing this office with a dedicated
    budget to realize our DEIA objectives.
        My office oversees USAID's DEIA strategic plan. This seeks
    to reduce potential barriers to accessing benefits and
    services, procurement and contracting opportunities, and agency
    actions and programs.
        We work collectively to recruit, retain, and promote the
    agency's talent. This work is not without its challenges when
    it comes to underrepresented populations. My submitted
    testimony goes into the details of how we are addressing these
    challenges, but let me highlight three ways we are making
    progress on our agenda.
        First, recruitment. We have expanded our Affirmative
    Employment Division within the Office of Civil Rights to
    include the establishment of a robust Special Emphasis Program
    to identify and remove any potential barriers to equal
    employment opportunity in agency policies, programs, processes,
    and practices for all persons, including members of groups that
    are traditionally underrepresented or have been historically
    subjected to discrimination in the workforce.
        We are working to ensure USAID is an employer of choice for
    all individuals with disabilities. Thus, we are prioritizing
    the use of Schedule A hiring authority for individuals with
    disabilities and disabled veterans on competitive hiring
    authorities.
        We are also working to diversify our candidate pool through
    new and renewed partnerships with historically Black colleges
    and universities, tribal and indigenous colleges and
    universities, and institutions serving Hispanic, Asian
    American, and Native American/Pacific Islander communities.
        These partnerships help diversify our talent pipelines and
    provide opportunities to collaborate with USAID as thought
    leaders in global development and expand our partner base to
    ensure minority-serving institutions play a meaningful role in
    our humanitarian and development work.
        Second, we continue to invest in the career advancement and
    professional development of our current workforce. For staff
    from underrepresented groups, we are expanding our support for
    the International Career Advancement Program and the Donald M.
    Payne International Development Fellowship Program.
        These programs provide highly qualified candidates with
    leadership development and valuable firsthand experience both
    in Congress and in the agency.
        Since arriving at USAID we have doubled our support in both
    programs and will look to continue building off that success.
        As a learning organization, we are committed to capacity
    building for a global workforce. That is why we have expanded
    access to DEIA-related training through our Respectful,
    Inclusive, and Safe Environments' learning and engagement
    platform.
        USAID's RISE training has reached more than 6,000
    individual staff members globally since June of 2020. USAID has
    developed our first ever DEIA survey, which, when completed,
    will establish a baseline for DEIA-related metrics and enable
    longitudinal evaluation across USAID's entire workforce.
        I am also working to ensure that DEIA competencies and
    objectives are included into annual civil service performance
    evaluations and Foreign Service precepts across all work
    levels, including senior leaders.
        This is a clear step forward in ensuring leadership
    accountability for creating an inclusive work environment.
        Third, USAID is committed to expanding the universe of
    implementing partners. Last November, we launched the Work With
    USAID platform, a free online resource hub to support new and
    existing partners with the knowledge, tools, and networks to
    navigate how to work with us.
        We are streamlining acquisition and assistance practices to
    enhance equity and inclusion for both our domestic and
    international partners.
        We are updating and enhancing our policies to ensure that
    our programming is inclusive, equitable, and reaches
    marginalized and underserved populations, including persons
    with disabilities, LGBTQI+ people, indigenous peoples, and
    nondominant racial, ethnic, and religious groups.
        Our inclusive development approach ensures we do no harm to
    those who are vulnerable and marginalized and that we
    intentionally and proactively include them.
        We believe all these efforts at USAID will help us bring
    diverse perspectives and talents into our workforce and across
    our humanitarian assistance and development programming, and
    provide opportunity and equitable access in a deliberate way.
        In closing, echoing testimony from Ambassador Abercrombie-
    Winstanley, I am grateful to the members of this committee for
    your support of our ongoing efforts to strengthen and improve
    development outcomes for the communities where we work through
    a comprehensive and unified DEIA strategy. With your support,
    we will continue to ensure that USAID reflects the values we
    strive to live up to as Americans.
        Thank you again for the opportunity to be here and I look
    forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Diallo follows:]

                     Prepared Statement of Ms. Neneh Diallo

        Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Risch, Members of the Committee,
    thank you for the opportunity to speak today about the progress USAID
    has made to date--and the remaining opportunities to do more--on
    diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) within our
    Agency.
        In the span of USAID's 60 years of global development work, the
    Agency has relied on the dynamism and fresh perspectives of a uniquely
    talented workforce, always aiming to improve policies and outcomes to
    better reflect our values and bring to bear the best of what America
    has to offer. With the leadership and support of President Biden,
    Administrator Power, and a strong bipartisan coalition in Congress,
    USAID is finally able to unite its disparate diversity, equity,
    inclusion, and accessibility efforts, an ambitious undertaking I have
    been privileged to lead since being sworn in in March of this year. As
    the Agency's first ever Chief Diversity Officer, I lead an office of
    outstanding and committed individuals who are working tirelessly to
    ensure USAID is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible
    throughout its practices, programs, policies, and partnerships. I
    oversee our DEIA efforts across the Agency, not only in our workforce
    and workplace, but also in how we deliver assistance, design programs,
    and form partnerships. I want to acknowledge Ambassador Gina
    Abercrombie-Winstanley and her work at the Department of State and let
    the Committee know that the Department and USAID are working together
    to ensure we maximize and accelerate efforts where we have mutual
    interests.
        Administrator Samantha Power has prioritized a comprehensive
    approach to DEIA from her first day in office when she signed USAID's
    2021 DEIA Strategic Plan. Since then, she has continued to demonstrate
    that DEIA is a priority by establishing the DEIA Office within the
    Office of the Administrator, creating the Agency's first Chief
    Diversity Officer position, and ensuring the Agency has dedicated staff
    to support this important work. I would like to thank the Committee and
    your colleagues in Congress for providing the office with a dedicated
    budget to support the programs and activities that will help increase
    diversity in our workforce, expand opportunity to the organizations
    with which we partner, and ensure equity is incorporated across our
    employment lifecycle, our partner base and in the communities we serve.
        This new office is now staffed by a team of 18 dedicated DEIA
    experts that reflects the diversity we expect to see across the Agency:
    a mix of civil service, foreign service, and institutional support
    contractors with a variety of talents and abilities. USAID has also
    hired 13 full-time DEIA Advisors, roles created in specific Bureaus and
    Independent Offices to work in collaboration with my team to advance
    USAID's unified DEIA strategy.
        As mentioned, I oversee USAID's 2021 DEIA Strategic Plan, an
    updated version of USAID's DEI strategy, which contains 10 goals to
    enhance diversity, and promote an equitable and safe workplace. My
    office also supports the implementation of USAID's Equity Action Plan,
    which seeks to reduce potential barriers to accessing benefits and
    services, procurement and contracting opportunities, and Agency actions
    and programs. To achieve continuity across our efforts, we routinely
    engage with USAID Bureaus and Independent Offices, including the Bureau
    for Policy, Planning, and Learning (PPL), the Bureau for Human Capital
    and Talent Management (HCTM), the Bureau for Democracy, Development,
    and Innovation (DDI), and the Bureau for Management, as well as the
    Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of the General Counsel,
    regional and functional bureaus and our overseas Missions.
        On the diversity front, the Agency strives to remove any potential
    barriers to equal employment opportunity in a bid to build a workforce
    that reflects the diversity of our nation. We work collectively to
    recruit, retain and promote the Agency's talent, yet we still have more
    progress to make with communities of color, veterans, persons with
    disabilities, persons of different religions, persons of different
    sexes and gender identities, and persons in rural areas. To address
    these challenges, we have expanded our Affirmative Employment Division
    within the Office of Civil Rights to include the establishment of a
    robust Special Emphasis Program--to identify and remove any potential
    barriers to equal employment opportunity in Agency policies, programs,
    processes, and practices for groups that are traditionally
    underrepresented or have been historically subjected to discrimination
    in the workforce. We are adding posts with work-study opportunities and
    increasing paid internships; those managed by USAID and with third
    parties such as the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities,
    and the Urban League.
        As we prioritize the diversification of our talent pool, we are
    actively working to ensure USAID is an employer of choice for
    individuals with disabilities, including disabled veterans. As such, we
    are prioritizing the use of the Schedule A hiring authority for
    individuals with disabilities and Disabled Veteran non-competitive
    hiring authorities. These non-competitive authorities are invaluable in
    ensuring we achieve our goals of reaching 12 percent of our employees
    be Persons with Disabilities and 2 percent be Persons with Targeted
    Disabilities or Serious Health Conditions within the next 2 years.
        We are also actively working to diversify our candidate pool
    through new and renewed partnerships and engagements with Minority
    Serving Institutions (MSIs) such as Historically Black Colleges and
    Universities (HBCUs), Tribal and Indigenous Colleges and Universities
    (TCUs), and institutions serving the Hispanic, Asian American (AA), and
    Native American Pacific Islander communities. Last year, we held the
    first conferences for HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs)
    with a total of over 3,000 registered students, faculty, and partners.
    This fall we will host our second annual HSI and HBCU Conferences and
    will be expanding conference outreach to AA and Native American Pacific
    Islander Serving Institutions (NAPISI) and planning the Agency's first
    TCU symposium in the spring. Our partnerships with MSIs are intended to
    do more than diversify our talent pipelines, however; we hope that
    these institutions can also collaborate with USAID as thought leaders
    in global development, and also ultimately join our cadre of
    implementing partners and sub-partners. On top of the Memoranda of
    Understanding we have signed with Delaware State University, Tuskegee
    University, Florida International University, and Alcorn State
    University, we are teeing up new partnerships to be announced this fall
    and exploring new partnerships with HSIs and TCUs.
        We also plan to leverage our Development Diplomats in Residency
    (DDIRs) Program, through which talented Foreign Service Officers are
    embedded within higher education institutions in the U.S. to strengthen
    our partnerships, enhance regional outreach and recruitment activities,
    and allow for development concepts to be incorporated into the
    educational curriculum of institutions.
        The elevation and unification of these efforts in USAID's Front
    Office is about more than just changing what this Agency looks like.
    It's about changing how it feels to work here, to partner with us, and
    how we deliver results, elevating a far more inclusive array of voices,
    making sure they have seats at the table, and grappling with the
    legacies of racism and sexism that plague all our country's
    institutions. It's about overcoming a history of gatekeeping that
    prevents underrepresented groups both in the United States and abroad
    from having a meaningful say in our humanitarian and development work.
        To minimize biases during the hiring process as more diverse
    candidates apply for employment, USAID is piloting masked hiring, a
    process that promotes the mitigation of bias by masking information
    such as demographics and focuses on objective criteria for positions.
    This process is currently being piloted within the civil service and
    within some of our non-direct hire mechanisms.
        We continue to invest in the career advancement and professional
    development of our current workforce, including staff based in
    Washington and around the world. For staff from underrepresented
    groups, we are expanding our support for the International Career
    Advancement Program (ICAP), which provides leadership development to
    mid-level professionals from underrepresented backgrounds. Over the
    past year USAID has doubled the number of ICAP participants, and we aim
    to further expand participation in the program 50 percent next year. We
    have also increased our support for the Donald M. Payne International
    Development Fellowship Program, which recruits highly competitive
    candidates from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds to join
    USAID's Foreign Service and intend to expand the Payne Fellowship
    Program from 15 to 30 Fellows in the coming year. I appreciate that
    many Members of Congress have hosted Payne Fellows for summer
    placements. I hope you will continue to support our Payne Fellows who
    gain invaluable first-hand experience on the legislative process.
        In my role as CDO, I engage with staff across the Agency and serve
    as a standing member of USAID's Senior Leadership Group Panel, which
    selects key Foreign Service leadership assignments. And we will be
    including DEIA competencies and objectives into annual civil service
    performance evaluations, and foreign service precepts across all
    workforce levels, including senior leaders, a clear step forward in
    ensuring leadership accountability for creating an inclusive and
    diverse work environment.
        As a learning organization, we are committed to capacity-building
    for our global workforce. USAID has expanded access to a wide range of
    DEIA-related training through our Respectful, Inclusive, and Safe
    Environments (RISE) learning and engagement platform. USAID's RISE
    training has reached more than 6,100 individual staff since June 2020
    and is a gold standard for the Federal Government. Over a third of our
    workforce, including over half of USAID leadership, has participated in
    at least one of the 660 RISE trainings or events held since June 2020.
        USAID has also developed our first-ever DEIA climate survey, which,
    when complete, will establish a baseline for DEIA related metrics and
    enable longitudinal evaluation across the workforce. The survey will
    expand our insights into the diversity of USAID's workforce through the
    collection of expanded demographic and sexual orientation and gender
    identity data and will help us better understand staff perceptions on
    USAID DEIA efforts.
        USAID's DEIA efforts go beyond building a diverse workforce and an
    equitable and inclusive workplace, we are also committed to expanding
    the universe of USAID implementing partners by reducing potential
    barriers for underrepresented groups and organizations from the U.S. or
    overseas. In November, we launched the WorkwithUSAID.org platform, a
    free online resource hub built to support new and existing partners
    with the knowledge, tools and networks to navigate how to work with us.
    Since its launch, we have hosted 37 external events to promote the
    platform, reaching over 10,000 people with 2,373 approved partner
    profiles uploaded to date, of which 390 are U.S. companies.
        As we grow and expand our partnership base, our localization
    initiative is critical to diversifying the Agency's implementing
    partners. Localization encompasses a range of processes and actions
    that USAID is undertaking to ensure our work puts local actors in the
    lead, strengthens local systems, and is responsive to local
    communities. USAID's localization efforts include streamlining the
    Agency's internal processes to facilitate partnerships with vetted
    local organizations and expand our stable of non-traditional partners.
    One important way USAID approaches localization is through our New
    Partnerships Initiative (NPI). For NPI, Missions and Operating Units
    must specifically outline plans for enhancing equity and inclusion
    through their acquisition and assistance practices and program
    implementation in the countries in which USAID operates.
        As we provide development and humanitarian assistance, we are also
    tapping into the expertise of U.S. small and disadvantaged businesses
    through the work of USAID's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
    Utilization (OSDBU). To expand our work with these small and
    disadvantaged businesses we have included the businesses in the
    Agency's draft 2022 Acquisition and Assistance Strategy, provided
    training to Agency staff on how to work with small and disadvantaged
    businesses, and are doing targeted outreach to the small business
    community throughout the U.S.
        Finally, we are updating and enhancing our policies to ensure that
    our programming is inclusive, equitable, and reaches marginalized and
    underserved populations. Our inclusive development approach is rooted
    in a both a ``below the line'' principle, ensuring we do no harm to
    those who are vulnerable and marginalized, and an ``above the line''
    principle that intentionally and proactively includes these groups,
    including persons with disabilities, LGBTQI+ people, Indigenous
    Peoples, and non-dominant racial, ethnic, and religious groups. USAID
    is also enhancing implementation of its nondiscrimination for
    beneficiaries' policy, including by making ``Inclusive Development''
    training mandatory for all staff and developing an accountability
    mechanism that can help stakeholders provide feedback to the Agency on
    its programs.
        We believe all our efforts at USAID will help us bring diverse
    perspectives and talents into the national security workforce and
    provide opportunity and equitable access in an intentional and
    deliberate way. In closing, echoing testimony from my colleague
    Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley, I am grateful to the Members of this
    Committee for your attention to and support of our efforts to
    strengthen our work and improve development outcomes for the
    communities where we work through a comprehensive and unified DEIA
    strategy. With your support, we will continue to ensure that USAID is
    reflective of the values we strive to live up to as Americans. Thank
    you for the opportunity to speak today. I look forward to your
    questions.

        The Chairman. Thank you. Thank you both.
        We will start a round of 5-minute questions.
        Ambassador Winstanley, let us start off with the answer to
    this question. Why diversity?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Diversity is at the
    foundational level of our nation. We come from everywhere and
    we should be represented by everyone who is part of this great
    nation.
        We have talked about human rights, the opportunity in the
    United States, and we have to show it. Great ideas come from
    every background of Americans and we know the Department of
    State benefits from having us all there. So, in short, we have
    to represent our nation with representatives from every part of
    our nation.
        The Chairman. So we do this not for the sake of diversity
    itself, not because it is the nice or right thing to do,
    because it is the empowering thing to do on behalf of our
    nation.
        It is clear to me that we look for an array of skills. We,
    certainly, at USAID do not send a rocket scientist to help
    countries in terms of agriculture. We look for different
    experiences.
        At the end of the day, those different experiences are also
    manifested in the diversity of our people and their experiences
    as well.
        We were able to obtain--can we get those charts?
        We were able to obtain demographic trends data from GAO,
    OPM, and the Department that I would like to share that is
    quite concerning.

    [Editor's note.--Chart being presented.]

        The Chairman. The red bars on this graph that we are about
    to put up represent white employees at the Department. It shows
    that in the 1980s the State Department was much more successful
    in its diversity efforts than in recent times. From 1981 to
    2002, you can see the percent of nonwhite employees--the blue
    and other colored bars--more than doubled from 13 to 28
    percent, but over the last 20 years, racial diversity at State
    barely budged at all, even as the Latino population has
    substantially grown across the country. From 2002 to 2021, the
    percent of nonwhite employees only rose from 28 to 34 percent
    and African Americans actually decreased from 17 to 15 percent.
        When we look--may we have the other chart?

    [Editor's note.--Chart being presented.]

        The Chairman. When we look at the red sections on this
    second figure we see that the senior ranks of the State
    Department remain largely white in both the Foreign Service and
    civil service with the Senior Foreign Service and Senior
    Executive Services almost 85 percent white.
        It comes as little surprise then that only, roughly, 12
    percent of U.S. ambassadors come from underrepresented
    communities and only 40 percent of ambassadors are women.
        While this committee plays a critical role in confirming
    ambassadors, we also need more diverse candidates to consider.
        As I noted in my opening statement, the State Department
    sets the stage for what happens in our other agencies. So if we
    get this right at State, we get it right at USAID, at DFC, Ex-
    Im, Peace Corps, MCC, and the entire foreign affairs
    infrastructure.
        The first graph demonstrates change is possible and we all
    know change comes most quickly when it comes from the top. We
    are living in historic times. For close to two decades I have
    called for diversity initiatives to address under-
    representation in our foreign affairs infrastructure.
        Last year, Ambassador, you were appointed as the State
    Department's first standalone Chief Diversity and Inclusion
    Officer in April of 2021 by Secretary Blinken, and Chief
    Diversity Officer Diallo, you were appointed by the
    administrator earlier this year in March.
        We also passed the 1-year anniversary of the President's
    June 2021 Executive Order 14035--Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
    and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce--and the February
    2021 President's National Security Memorandum prioritizing
    diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as a national
    security imperative.
        So I applaud these efforts, but I am concerned that the
    White House has yet to allow you to release the diversity and
    inclusion strategic plans you are required to draft by
    Executive Order 14035 a year ago and what signal that sends.
        I have a couple of questions. When do you anticipate the
    plan being released to State Department and USAID personnel,
    the public, and Congress?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you, Senator, for
    the question, Mr. Chairman.
        We released the report to the workforce, yesterday. We got
    permission yesterday afternoon or the night before and we
    released it immediately. It is on our SharePoint site and
    released to our employee organization so that people can see
    it.
        We will have what I believe is going to be a more user-
    friendly version up in a couple of weeks as well so that people
    can interact with it, but we have released it.
        The Chairman. When will Congress get that?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. I would say at least a
    couple of weeks that we get a version that you will actually be
    able to understand.
        The Chairman. I look forward to knowing when that is going
    to happen and to receiving it.
        How is the White House supporting you and your efforts to
    change these worrying demographic trends, especially in the
    senior ranks?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you.
        It has been a strong cheerleader for our efforts. The
    demand signal, as you noted, comes from the top from the
    President, from the Secretary, and I have the opportunity to
    continue that demand signal within our organization.
        We are very serious about this now. The statistics that you
    put up there are deeply troubling for all of us, but we
    recognize that and we have put resources and personnel and
    leadership from the top to this problem.
        So we have put in place accountability factors with the
    core precept. That is a way that we are communicating to the
    entire organization that this counts, that we are taking it
    seriously, and we are holding people accountable. If you want
    to be promoted you will help the organization be better, more
    diverse, more inclusive, taking steps with regard to
    accessibility.
        We are in the midst of conversations, reviewing options on
    how to increase transparency and accessibility with regard to
    senior positions from the Deputy Assistant Secretary on up.
        We have changes that I am sure are going to be very
    impactful for the entire organization in the next several
    months. We have changed how we are doing our Foreign Service
    oral exam with regard to using the technology that we have all
    come to know and, perhaps, not love, with remote interviews and
    that is going to help us expand our reach throughout the
    nation.
        So we have taken several steps, but most importantly,
    ensuring that the entire organization understands it counts. We
    are holding people accountable. If you want to be promoted, we
    are holding people accountable for their behavior if they are
    not supportive and making us the best organization that we can
    be.
        The Chairman. Well, I have many other questions, but in
    deference to my colleagues, let me turn to the ranking member.
        Senator Risch.
        Senator Risch. Thank you.
        I heard your statements and I think everything that has
    been said, certainly, is laudable.
        What I would like to hear a little more is about the
    details of recruiting. Could both of you touch on that a bit?
    How do you go out and recruit specifically for the agencies and
    then, specifically, how do you focus on diversity recruitment,
    in detail?
        Either way. Jump ball.
        Ms. Diallo. Thank you, Senator, for your question.
        Through the Global Development Partnership Initiative,
    USAID will build a responsive and resourceful and resilient
    workforce by increasing the size and diversity of our permanent
    career workforce and providing flexibility to hire noncareer
    direct staff.
        Senator Risch. How did you do that specifically? Did you
    run ads in magazines? Did you go on TV? Did you do it on--how
    did you do that, mechanically?
        Ms. Diallo. It is a current program that we are running
    right now and so what we are doing is through those methods,
    sir, and through nontraditional means as well, including
    outreach to minority-serving institutions.
        USAID held its first HBCU conference last year and the
    first Hispanic-serving institution conference as well where we
    had about 3,000 attending.
        Senator Risch. Where were those held?
        Ms. Diallo. It was virtual, sir.
        Senator Risch. I see.
        Ms. Diallo. So in addition to that outreach, it increases
    the awareness of USAID and our jobs. We have also developed a
    new recruitment video that promotes the careers in Foreign and
    Civil service and it features USAID employees who represent the
    agency's diversity.
        Senator Risch. What about personal interviews when you are
    hiring someone? What does a person have to do if they, say,
    live in Idaho and they want to go to work at the State
    Department?
        Ms. Diallo. I would have to get the details exactly from
    our HR colleagues, sir, but my understanding is that we hold
    virtual interviews with people all across the world.
        Senator Risch. So a person does not have to appear
    personally?
        Ms. Diallo. Currently, no.
        Senator Risch. Go ahead.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you for the
    question.
        We also do remote interviews at this point that I mentioned
    earlier, and so we have been able to increase our reach across
    the nation, the middle parts as well. I am from Ohio so I think
    this is very important.
        We have expanded our diplomats in residence so we are going
    to be sending them to more college campuses. We hold
    recruitment events across the country and overseas as well
    because there are Americans studying abroad.
        We use our hometown diplomat program that I have
    participated in many times over my 30-plus career when I have
    gone home to the Midwest, to Ohio, and to neighboring states,
    reaching out to colleges and universities and community
    colleges in states that are not on either coast.
        We have informal diplomats in residence. I started one
    myself when I left the State Department in 2017. I reached out
    to colleges in Ohio to offer my services to support students
    who did not have access to those Washington, DC, universities
    to talk to them about the Foreign Service exam, to help them
    prepare for it, to look at internships in the Washington, DC
    area if they were going to be studying here or virtual ones
    that would help give them a leg up.
        I have had conversations with other retirees who are doing
    that in different parts of the country as well.
        Finally, we have started a collaboration with the
    Association of Community Colleges because, as we all know, you
    do not even need a college degree to join the Department of
    State. You have to pass our entry procedures.
        So you do not have to go to a 4-year college on either
    coast or in the middle of the country. Community colleges have
    an amazing array of Americans who would bring background
    experience and knowledge that we need, and so we are doing
    additional outreach in that area as well.
        Also, community colleges have a wide array of Americans,
    extremely diverse, whether it is geographic, racial, ethnic,
    background, et cetera, that we want to reach and tap and we are
    taking strides to do so.
        Senator Risch. What percent of college campuses do you
    think that the State Department visits recruiting each year?
        Probably not exact, but can you give me a general sense of
    that?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. I would ask you to take
    the question back to see if our full time talent management
    colleagues have an idea of that, but it is only going to be an
    idea because people like me go out because we love to work for
    the Department of State. So we are going to be reaching college
    campuses and the Department will not even know it.
        Senator Risch. Thank you. My time is up, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Thank you.
        Senator Cardin.
        Senator Cardin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me thank both
    of our witnesses for your service to our country. We thank you
    for taking on this challenge.
        Diversity at the State Department is critically important,
    as both of you have said. America's strength is in our values
    and we should be judged by our actions. So diversity is a very
    important goal that we need to obtain. We also have so many
    challenges in international diplomacy. We need all the talent
    of all of Americans in our State Department.
        Then for effectiveness of our foreign policy we need a
    workforce that represents this nation. So for all those
    reasons, it is critically important that we achieve the goals
    that you have expressed.
        So the chairman's numbers are extremely disappointing. We
    have lost over a decade of progress in diversity at the State
    Department. That is difficult to make up. It takes time for us
    to achieve these objectives.
        Yes, Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for holding this
    hearing. This hearing is solely focused on this issue, but I
    want to tell you, we have raised these issues with senior
    representatives at the State Department in many hearings on
    oversight of the Department, generally, and I am going to tell
    you I have heard some of the same replies from those officials
    that I am hearing today.
        I am concerned that we really are not going to see
    progress, and I point out the GAO report that was issued in
    2020 that showed the deficiencies in regards to what we needed
    to do on diversity, and then last week they issued the report,
    ``State Department Additional Actions Needed to Improve
    Workplace Diversity and Inclusion,'' and it points out the
    deficiencies in performance measures and accountability.
        I have heard you mention, Madam Ambassador, that you are
    dealing with performance and accountability, but we have not
    seen the specifics.
        So how can you reassure this committee that you have
    listened to the challenges we have had for a long time at State
    Department, not having adequate performance measures and not
    having adequate accountability to make sure we achieve our
    objectives? What is different under your leadership?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you. Thank you,
    Senator, for the question.
        It was important from the very beginning when we started
    this mission that it be clear this time is different. Our
    credibility with our workforce demanded it. Our credibility
    with you and the American people demanded it, and so we have
    taken concrete steps with regard to accountability for actually
    moving this forward in addition to putting the need for support
    for DEIA in our performance evaluations.
        Again, this was a clear signal to all of our workforce from
    top to bottom that this work is important, that we are taking
    it seriously, that it is going to count with regard to your
    ability to be promoted in the Foreign Service, and it is for
    senior leaders down to the entry level. Everyone has to address
    this. It is part of the civil service job performance element
    for those who supervise. So we are sending a clear signal
    there.
        We have released guidance on integrating DEIA into our
    post-integrated country strategies. So this is not Washington-
    focused. This is around the world.
        We have strengthened our policy on vetting. We get back to
    that accountability. People can talk the talk, but are they
    doing their best to ensure that we have the best representing
    our nation.
        One of the ways that we have done this is to ensure that I
    am on the committees that select senior positions--chiefs of
    mission, deputy chiefs of mission, deputy assistant
    secretaries, and principal officers.
        So everyone heading up the ladder understands that this
    issue and their support, participation, impactful work on this
    issue is going to count with regard to whether they are going
    to be tapped for leadership positions.
        So those are things that we have done with regard to
    accountability so that people understand that we are serious,
    and we continue to make the point in our actions and in our
    words because we know that we have a credibility gap. We know
    what those numbers are.
        Senator Cardin. Let me just conclude by--you started by
    saying that you have invested a lot of resources in getting the
    specific demographic information about the workforce broken
    down by Department, et cetera. Will you make that information
    available to this committee on a regular basis?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Yes.
        Senator Cardin. Thank you.
        The Chairman. Senator Cruz.
        Senator Cruz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley, the Biden
    administration, I believe, is staffed by radicals. The State
    Department has consistently alienated our friends and appeased
    our enemies.
        You are empowered as the State Department's first
    standalone Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Your mandate
    is to promote a concept on the left called equity, which, I
    think, is nothing more than brazen discrimination.
        You were appointed in April 2021, and as you extensively
    testified this morning, you introduced fundamental changes to
    the State Department hiring practices in line with the mandate
    of equity to affirmatively and aggressively discriminate.
        A year after your appointment in April 2022, the State
    Department released its ``equity action plan'' to integrate
    these so-called equity principles into ``all aspects of State
    Department foreign affairs.''
        That very week, just days after you published the equity
    action plan and 1 year after you began your tenure, a senior
    State Department official broadly distributed what I consider
    to be a very troubling email. I have a copy of that email next
    to me. Let me read from a part of the email.
        The email says that hiring practices have developed inside
    the State Department so that, and I will quote, ``that certain
    candidates could not be hired because they have a disability--
    they are white men. They are straight white men. They are not
    of the `right religion.''' All of these are verbatim quotes
    from the email of a senior State Department official.
        My first question to you is did you clear this guidance?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you for the
    question, Senator.
        I have never seen that before.
        Senator Cruz. You have never seen the email before?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. I have never seen it.
        Senator Cruz. You did not know it had been sent?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. This is the first time I
    am seeing it, sir.
        Senator Cruz. Do you know that it is happening, that the
    State Department perceives--and this is, I believe, as a result
    of your work--that they have a mandate to discriminate
    against--as the email says, to discriminate against people with
    disabilities, to discriminate against white men, to
    discriminate against straight white men, and to discriminate
    against people that are not of the ``right religion.''
        I am not sure what that meant, but I suspect it meant that
    if someone is a Christian. I do not know that because that is
    not what the email says.
        Are you aware these practices are happening at the State
    Department?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Again, thank you for the
    question. I am definite and certain that they are not happening
    at the State Department, but again----
        Senator Cruz. So do you believe the senior State Department
    official who sent this email was lying?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Senator, I cannot
    comment. I do not know who that is from. I do not know if it
    is--I have never seen it before.
        Senator Cruz. So you are the Chief Diversity Officer and
    you are arguing you are certain discrimination is not happening
    at the State Department.
        Is that right? Is that what you are testifying? It is what
    you just said.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. I am saying that it is
    against the law and we certainly are not overtly or on purpose
    breaking the law in the Department of State.
        Certainly, there are members of our organization who do
    discriminate, who do harass, who do bully, which is why we are
    trying to put in place programs to address it and to strengthen
    accountability for those who do break the law.
        Senator Cruz. So you did not clear this guidance, and after
    it was sent you are testifying now that you remained unaware of
    it. So no one showed it to you.
        You were in the State Department for a year. You were
    empowered in your position in an unprecedented way. In your
    testimony, you talked about creating a DEIA data working group
    about hiring practices and a dedicated DEIA core precept, and
    your testimony is you did not know that this discrimination was
    happening. My staff can transmit to you the exact header and
    the details of this email.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Okay.
        Senator Cruz. I have to say, Ambassador, I find it a little
    bit amazing that this discrimination is being reported to be
    ongoing in the Administration and you are professing to be
    unaware of it.
        I am reminded from a line from the movie ``Office Space''--
    what would you say you do around here? What is your job if not
    to stop discrimination? Unfortunately, I believe what your job
    in practice is, is encouraging this discrimination.
        This is a manifestation. You just said a minute ago in
    testimony your hiring and promotion in the State Department
    will depend on complying with the edicts from your office.
        Is it good for the State Department and good for the United
    States Government to be actively discriminating based on
    disability, based on race, based on being a straight white man,
    or based on not being the right religion? Is that good or bad?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Senator, as I am looking
    at the email it does appear to me--and my eyesight is not
    great--that people have reported comments. That is certain
    candidates.
        Senator Cruz. So what it says is, unfortunately, over the
    past several months, a number of people have reported comments
    that certain candidates could not be hired because.
        So these are employees at the State Department saying we
    cannot hire someone because, and here is what the email lists.
    They have a disability. They are white men. They are straight
    white men or they are not of the right religion.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Indeed. So I would say
    comments does not at all say it is, indeed, happening.
        Senator Cruz. Comments from hiring people saying we cannot
    hire them because of it.
        The Chairman. The time of the senator has well expired.
        I would ask the senator to submit copies for the rest of
    the committee so we could see it, and if there is an
    attribution, which I do not understand if there is or is not
    one--if there is an attribution then that person should come
    forward and it should be fully investigated what he has to say.
    Otherwise, we have an anonymous entity.
        The next person is Senator Booker.
        Senator Booker. I want to thank the chairman, who has been
    championing this issue not just in the State Department, but
    throughout our society for a long time.
        I also think that I state the obvious when I say that all
    through the private sector, through companies that are run by
    people all across the political spectrum, they see diversity as
    a strength.
        We know this from Harvard Business School studies to big
    consulting firms like McKinsey. Companies do better when they
    have diverse teams at the table.
        My mom, having been an HR officer for IBM focusing on these
    issues way back in the seventies and the eighties, understands
    that their competitive edge was improved by making their
    workforce more reflect the population of the United States.
        As someone who has traveled around the world now in the
    privileged office that I hold, I have to say it is always
    disappointing when I sit in a State Department team in a
    foreign country and see very little diversity, not because I
    just like to see diverse folks, but because I know diverse
    teams are better teams.
        That is why I am extraordinarily grateful for the mission
    that you both hold and the work that you both do. Again, having
    grown up at a kitchen table listening to a mother that was
    trying to help serve the bottom line of IBM by making more
    diverse teams, I know how difficult it is on everything from
    pipeline issues to even retention issues because often when you
    promote diverse candidates, because there is such a paucity of
    them, they have a lot of demands for other opportunities.
        So I just want to say thank you, first and foremost. I know
    your dedication to your mission. I know the hill that you have
    to climb.
        I know, as the chairman put forth, we have a lot of really
    urgent work to do. Again, this is not just a radical agenda of
    some left-wing politician. This is an agenda that I see from
    the tech industry, from manufacturing across the board in the
    United States of America. We know when we draw from the full
    talent of this country we are so much better.
        Tim Scott and I--again, in a bipartisan way--both
    understood that one of the biggest barriers to often getting
    folks in is just the experiences they start having as young as
    college students and for paid internship programs.
        We put forth a bipartisan bill for paid internships. I was
    very happy to see, even though the bill has yet to pass, that
    there was $10 million put in the last budget in the State
    Department.
        I would just love to hear how that is going and if there
    are some things that you might be able to tell me that we
    should be thinking about as we look forward to trying to create
    that pipeline of people seeing this as an experience and a
    possible profession.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you, Senator, for
    the question.
        I must take the question back for details to my colleagues
    in GTM, but I know that people are hard at work getting ready
    the program to start our paid internship program.
        One of the most important things is to have the money to
    continue it. We do not want to have it for one round of young
    people who need the money, who deserve the money. It is going
    to allow us to reach a wider array of Americans and bring them
    in to our organization and we do not want it for just a limited
    time. We need a steady, full pipeline. So that would be my
    request on that, but as additional information, I know, we are
    planning for the fall and people are hard at work.

    [Editor's note.--The requested information referred to above
    follows:]

        We thank the Senate for the continued support for the Paid
    Internship program. We are excited to welcome the first cohort of paid
    interns this Fall after launching the program in the Spring of 2022. We
    received over 2,000 applications in less than a week after the
    application period was open for the initial pilot of 200 interns. The
    Department released the Spring 2023 vacancy announcement for the Paid
    Internship program at the beginning of July and we expect to welcome
    300 interns for that cycle. Our goal is to provide students
    opportunities to gain experience and insight into the business of
    diplomacy to advance U.S. interests worldwide. Providing interns
    meaningful assignments and mentoring are essential for a successful
    internship. Offering paid internships broadens the pool of participants
    to include those that may not be able to afford to travel and support
    themselves in Washington, DC or abroad for an unpaid internship,
    thereby reaching previously underserved populations of students. All
    internship and fellowship programs are, first and foremost, a
    recruiting tool and are not meant to fill staffing gaps. We work with
    each of our bureaus to reflect recruitment and policy priorities for
    the Department.

        Senator Booker. Yes. No, it is extraordinary. I know when
    the CBC started offering--the Congressional Black Caucus--
    started offering paid internship programs here in the Capitol
    it made such a big difference because so many students do not
    apply for internships because they are not paid. So I
    appreciate you affirming that.
        Can I also ask you, one of the things that GAO's 1989 and
    2020 reports indicated is the State Department has not really
    been successful in identifying some of the barriers towards
    hiring when it comes to hiring and advancing women and
    minorities in the Department?
        The recent 2022 report acknowledged significant
    improvement, but that there is still a lot of work to be done.
    The recommendation from the Government Accountability Office is
    that the Department create a plan to improve its barrier
    analysis process.
        That is the challenge and, in your view, what has hindered
    the State Department with regard to identifying the barriers to
    hiring a diverse workforce in the first place?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you, Senator.
        Being diplomatic, I will say more resources and focus on
    actually doing it was necessary. It is one of the main tools
    that my office used.
        So we have four barrier analyses underway as we speak, and
    so we are going to take a hard look because that is how we find
    out what we need to do. We have got to have that. So my office
    focuses very much on barrier analysis.
        Senator Booker. Well, listen, I will submit some other
    questions for the record. I just want to say you all are great
    patriots.
        If this country is going to compete on the playing field
    that is an international global playing field right now, we
    cannot leave our best talent--some of our best talent on the
    sidelines or on the bench.
        So what you all are doing is making our country stronger
    and better in a more increasingly complex and challenging
    global world and I am deeply, deeply grateful for your work.
        I celebrate you both, and my office is here to help in any
    way we can.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Thank you.
        Before I call on Senator Rubio, I was just struck. Our
    colleague made the declaration that equity is discrimination.
        So I thought that maybe I had in my schooling lost the
    concept of what equity was so I looked up--according to Oxford
    Dictionary, equity is defined as the quality of being fair and
    impartial, the freedom from bias or favoritism. So if equity is
    discrimination, then I assume justice, under that view, is
    inequality.
        Senator Rubio.
        Senator Rubio. Thank you.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley, the President's
    executive order--I think it is 13985--it provides a list of
    underserved communities and it mandates that executive agencies
    seek to promote equitable, fair, and impartial outcomes for
    those communities.
        I, too, believe not only is diversity our strength as a
    country, but if, in fact, our workforce does not reflect our
    population then it merits an inquiry into what are the
    impediments--are there any artificial impediments that are
    leading to that outcome.
        In the list of the underserved communities are groups that
    have historically faced discrimination in this country on the
    basis of their race, their religion, their gender, but it also
    includes a list of other groups: first-generation college
    students, which I happen to be; people with limited English
    speaking ability; immigrants; the elderly; former convicts;
    people from rural areas; military spouses; single parents. All
    good groups.
        I am just curious. If we include all the people that have
    been discriminated against historically plus all these other
    groups, who is not an underserved community?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you for your
    question, Senator.
        I can tell you that my office looks at this two ways: a)
    that our responsibility is focused on those groups who have
    been historically underrepresented in the Department of State
    who are protected classes, and so that is a more narrow list of
    people than the first group that you mentioned.
        The reality is as we work to remove barriers to those
    groups we are, in fact, leveling the playing field for every
    group. We are focused on making merit-based decisions, so
    removing those artificial barriers.
        When we do things like ensure that people can interview for
    the Department of State via a virtual technique, while it
    might, indeed, help groups that are in the center of the
    country or from families that cannot afford a $1,000 plane
    ticket to fly to San Francisco or Washington, DC, it is also
    going to touch on other groups of people who also have that
    problem.
        In that way, we are able to hit that wide variety of----
        Senator Rubio. No, and I understand, but when you add to
    the--and I know you did not write the executive order, but what
    I am saying is that when underserved communities expands to
    include all these other groups, which are all--there is
    nothing--I understand the struggles or the challenges of each
    of these groups individually--it just seems like we have really
    narrowed the pool of people who we do not consider underserved
    to a very narrow category of people, which obviously begs the
    question what information--do we keep a list of, for example,
    the religious affiliations of all the employees? Do we keep a
    list of everybody's ethnicity?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. We collect limited
    information on demographic information and we have a number of
    employee organizations that group around many of these other
    characteristics that you have mentioned.
        Whether it be singles at State, working parents at State,
    veterans, none of those are protected classes per se, but they
    do have issues that employees talk about, work with our HR or
    global talent management to ensure that they have a level
    playing field and the ability to serve to the best of their
    ability when they are in the Department.
        Senator Rubio. I guess my point is I do not know how we can
    possibly make these efforts to help these groups--a broad array
    of individual groups that have been defined as underserved
    without collecting information about all these topics.
        Are they the first to go to college in their family? What
    is their religion? What is their race? How well do they speak
    English? Are they immigrants?
        I mean, that is the point I am trying to make. We are
    collecting a lot of information.
        My time is short. I did want to ask you, I am curious how
    U.S. interests were advanced by promoting a film festival in
    Portugal that highlighted ``Minyan'' which is a film about a
    17-year-old boy who has sexual relations with an adult
    bartender, and ``Saint-Narcisse,'' which is a film about
    incestuous twins.
        How would promoting--which was part of some sort of drag
    queen film festival in Portugal--how does that advance our
    national interest and how much taxpayer money was spent putting
    on this film festival?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you for the
    question, Senator.
        I will take it back to get an answer for you. I do not
    know.
        Senator Rubio. You are not familiar with this----
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. I am not familiar.
        Senator Rubio. So you do not know how much we spend or how
    many State Department employees work--you are just not familiar
    with the topic?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. I am not familiar with
    those films or that festival, Senator.
        Senator Rubio. Okay. Thank you.
        The Chairman. Do you handle festivals as part of your
    portfolio?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. I do not.
        The Chairman. Okay.
        Senator----
        Senator Rubio. Well, does she handle--no, no, Mr. Chairman.
    That is not the point. The point is it is part of the
    diversity----
        The Chairman. The point is I just want to clarify for the
    record that she does not handle festivals. It is a legitimate
    question and I look forward for her to get back with the
    answer.
        Senator Rubio. She handles diversity and equity issues,
    which this was part of the diversity and equity initiative.
        The Chairman. But that initiative is not necessarily one
    that is diversity and equity. It may have been part of a State
    Department program----
        Senator Rubio. Actually, it was advertised as such, Mr.
    Chairman. It was advertised as such.
        The Chairman. Okay. Then I look forward to seeing the
    answer to that as well.

    [Editor's note.--The requested information referred to above
    follows:]

        The United States strongly supports protecting and promoting the
    human rights of LGBTQI+ persons. We support freedom of expression and
    do not censor our grantee's content or products.
        In September 2021, through its competitive small grants program,
    U.S. Embassy Lisbon issued a $10,000 grant to the Queer Lisboa group in
    charge of running one of the most popular LGBTQI+ film festivals in
    Europe since 1997. The grant supported the screening of the iconic 1991
    LGBTQI+ film ``My Own Private Idaho'' amongst other films by Gus Van
    Sant and influential American LGBTQI+ filmmakers, bringing an American
    perspective and talent to the festival.
        This award made up one part of our overall Public Diplomacy
    engagement between the United States and Portugal, supporting our
    shared values on human rights and social inclusion of LGBTQI+ persons,
    while advancing our overall diversity, equity, inclusion and
    accessibility efforts.

        The Chairman. Senator Coons.
        Senator Coons. Thank you, Chairman Menendez and Ranking
    Member Risch, and thank you to our two witnesses today.
        I am so pleased that you are here. I think this shows
    intentionality and leadership by this Administration.
        I do not often make a practice of responding to comments by
    my colleague, the junior senator from Texas. It is not often
    productive, necessary, or even relevant to the conduct of
    hearings before this committee.
        Today, I feel I have to. He launched into a diatribe
    against the Administration, announcing that, in his view, the
    Biden administration is run by radicals and he cited as
    evidence for that directly your job roles, the fact that there
    is now a Chief Diversity Officer at the State Department and
    USAID.
        I have a little experience with this field from my time in
    the private sector. I actually spent 8 years at a global
    manufacturing company and a global manufacturing company that
    is a profit making enterprise, not a social service
    organization.
        Over several years, in consultation with McKinsey, its
    leadership concluded that the demonstrable lack of diversity in
    our company in who was being recruited and trained and hired
    and promoted and who made the key leadership decisions was
    having a demonstrably negative impact on outcomes.
        This was not some woke agenda. This is something that the
    vast majority of America's highest performing most profitable
    companies have also concluded.
        I just took a quick look here in the last few minutes
    online and I will tell you that the following corporations have
    chief diversity officers: 3M, Dell, Hilton, Nationwide, Wal-
    Mart.
        The list can and should go on because a chief diversity
    officer is someone who is at the table in a C Suite in a
    company making recommendations, suggesting strategies for how
    to make sure that the most talented possible people end up
    working for that company.
        It requires intentionality, it requires strategic
    investment, if we are going to have the best possible Americans
    serving us overseas as diplomats and development professionals.
        Now, in the dozen years I have been blessed to have the
    chance to serve here in the Senate, I have also had the
    incredible opportunity to meet Foreign Service Officers and
    USAID development professionals overseas.
        These are very tough jobs. They are very demanding, and it
    requires our very best.
        So I simply wanted to ask both of you: How important is
    sustained effort at making progress in ensuring that the two
    agencies you help serve and lead are, in fact, recruiting and
    retaining and promoting our very best, which requires diversity
    in terms of the recruitment pool and inclusion in terms of how
    the cultures of the entities work and equity in terms of the
    opportunities in your workplaces.
        How important is it that we sustain our investment in paid
    interns, something that we in the Senate have seen in our own
    offices makes a critical difference in who we are able to
    recruit and retain in our offices?
        How important is it that we sustain the Rangel and
    Pickering and Payne Fellowships? How important is it that we
    have a chief diversity officer for State and USAID, not just in
    this Administration, but in the next and the next and the next?
        If I could ask one question of the two of you today, it
    would be how important is sustained effort around diversity,
    equity, and inclusion.
        Madam Ambassador.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you so much for
    the question.
        It is key, and the statistics that the chairman put up
    earlier about how minimal our progress has been over past years
    makes the case for me. That is why putting resources, personnel
    dedicated, experienced, knowledgeable to the issue and having
    the support from you with regard to continuing the paid
    internships is absolutely crucial.
        We are going to change those statistics, but it is going to
    come from sustained effort from the leaders, from the workforce
    itself, and I am certain that we can continue because we have
    done a climate survey. We know that the vast majority of our
    employees understand what we are doing and support it. We have
    got that knowledge already.
        We are going to change our organization, but sustaining it
    is absolutely key.
        Senator Coons. Ms. Diallo.
        Ms. Diallo. Thank you very much, Senator, for that
    question.
        At USAID, I believe that we have actually put in place a
    lot of initiatives and programs that will ensure that our DEIA
    efforts are sustained.
        For years DEIA has been critical to the workforce there and
    I do believe that beyond my tenure it will continue. We have a
    Respectful, Inclusive, and Safe Environments training, trained
    over 6,000 staff members across the agency and in our missions,
    and offered over 650 RISE training events and seminars.
        We are happy to say that our 2022 FS--Foreign Service
    Officer cohort was the most diverse to date with a breakdown of
    52 percent making up racial and ethnic minorities. This
    includes a higher percentage of Black, or African Americans, at
    18 percent, Hispanics at 18 percent, and Asians at 14 percent.
        Senator Coons. Thank you. Thank you both.
        I just, in quick closing, want to commend Administrator
    Power for coming to Delaware and signing an MOU with our HBCU
    Delaware State for research and also to open that opportunity
    channel and, frankly, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and I,
    and Secretary Blinken and I, have spoken about this repeatedly.
    It is important we sustain this effort.
        Mr. Chairman, thank you for today's hearing.
        The Chairman. Senator Kaine.
        Senator Kaine. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the
    witnesses for the important work that you do.
        I hate it when people act as if there was no history before
    we walked into a room and pretend that the reality of
    discrimination against groups of people did not actually
    happen.
        Many groups of people--Irish--faced discrimination, but
    others have faced much more serious discrimination that still
    needs to be repaired and remedied. The discrimination was not
    accidental. It was intentional, and the discrimination was
    perpetrated by the State Department and by Congress.
        The actions that you are undertaking are not just about
    fairness, but they are also about something very fundamental,
    which is atonement for past problems that have dramatically
    reduced the diversity of the federal workforce.
        The federal workforce was integrated in the years after the
    Civil War, but when Woodrow Wilson became president in 1913, he
    issued orders to his cabinet secretaries requiring that the
    federal civil workforce be resegregated in ways that were
    directly contrary to African-American employees, and that
    turned the federal workforce from a model at the time into one
    that was one of the most harshly segregated at the time.
        That executive order hurt African Americans, and African
    American under-representation in federal employment persisted
    for decades as a result of an action of the President of the
    United States.
        What about the United States Senate? Joe McCarthy led a set
    of hearings in the 1950s attacking LGBTQ employees from this
    chamber, the greatest deliberative body in the world.
        Hearings were held, one of which was titled ``The
    Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in
    Government.'' Those hearings led to the issuance of a widely
    read report that falsely asserted that gay people posed a
    security risk. The report of the Senate found that gay people
    were unsuitable employees because, ``One homosexual can pollute
    an entire government office.''
        In response to the Senate hearings and Senator McCarthy's
    allegations, the Department of State increased persecution of
    LGBTQ people and more than a thousand Department of State
    employees were dismissed because of their sexual orientation.
        Now, I think it is important that we think about people who
    are not represented for any reason. If they are from rural
    America, if they are from a minority religion, it is all
    incredibly important, but when this body and this government
    has intentionally perpetrated policies that were hostile to
    African Americans or hostile to LGBTQ or hostile to anyone
    else, how dare--how dare--someone come and question your
    efforts to create an equitable and fair workplace where people
    who have been historically kicked around by the Federal
    Government can see progress moving forward that will make them
    have confidence that they will be reviewed fairly and on their
    merit, should they want to work for us?
        That is why the work that you are doing is so very
    important, to my way of thinking.
        Now, the GAO reports that have been done about the State
    Department, I want to just focus on one piece of it. Surveys of
    State Department employees tend to be more favorable about the
    State Department's recruiting efforts than about the State
    Department's retention efforts, and as you move further up in
    the hierarchy at the State Department, the challenges of
    representation of communities that have been discriminated
    against in the past tends to dwindle.
        Tell us about what you are doing on the retention side to
    make sure that high-quality diverse individuals who get over
    that tough hurdle and come into the State Department stay and
    make a career out of it.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Senator, thank you for
    the question.
        This is a very important aspect of it. You are right, we do
    better with recruiting than retaining. So we have stood up a
    retention unit. My office works very closely with them. They
    have begun exit interviews and we are getting qualitative
    interviews. So if someone says they are intending to leave, we
    are also delving in to the why.
        They are also going to be doing stay interviews, and I was
    just speaking this last evening about habitually doing it at
    year 19 because year 20 is when you are vested and can leave if
    you are age 50.
        So we are looking to ensure we understand what keeps people
    going and what is making them think about leaving so that we
    can correct it before they go.
        So a lot of attention is going to retention.
        Senator Kaine. Ms. Diallo, do you have any anything
    additional to add to that?
        Ms. Diallo. Thank you, Senator.
        Just to say that USAID has a very robust coaching program
    where we are providing executive coaching to our career staff
    and our retention data in 2022 actually shows that we are at a
    low at 4.2 percent, which is down from 7.7 in 2021. I believe
    that the efforts that we are doing to provide professional
    development and training is actually proving and serving that
    benefit.
        Senator Kaine. Thank you. Thank you.
        Chair Shaheen.
        Senator Shaheen [presiding]. Thank you, Senator Kaine. I am
    filling in for Senator Menendez. It just happens that I get to
    question next.
        Probably even more concerning, Senator Kaine, than the
    restrictions that you cited that the Federal Government has
    done over our history is the fact that there are some who want
    to return to those restrictive policies and they want to return
    to them not just in terms of the Federal Government, but across
    our society, and that is particularly concerning.
        Thank you both very much for being here and for what you
    continue to do on an ongoing basis.
        Last December, more than 200 Foreign Service Officers sent
    a letter to the Department expressing concern about access to
    reproductive services for women serving the country abroad as
    an FSO or their family members.
        Can you talk about the impact of that access to
    comprehensive reproductive services is having on women who--and
    their families who are interested in working for the State
    Department or USAID?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you for the
    question, Senator.
        I know that this is an issue. I know about the letter that
    was written and that our leadership has sent out reassuring
    messages to the workforce about the importance, and that our
    medical bureau is looking to provide details about what is
    available and how support will be provided, and I will ask to
    take the question back so that I can get you a fully informed
    response to what steps are being taken.
        Senator Shaheen. Thank you, because my second question was
    going to be is this something that your office is working to
    address. So I would be very interested in hearing that, and one
    of the things that I understand is that nearly 80 percent of
    medical officers at the Bureau of Medical Services are men--
    predominantly white men.
        So that lack of diversity, obviously, has an impact on
    those people that are being served by that agency.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. I would not disagree.
        Senator Shaheen. You do not need to respond to that. That
    is a declarative statement.
        In that same letter from last December, the FSOs also
    expressed concern about the inconsistent availability of rape
    kits, and the IG has previously noted that sexual harassment is
    likely underreported in the Department, that a key reason is
    the lack of confidence in the Department's ability to resolve
    complaints and that this inconsistent access to rape kits and
    lack of training by staff fundamentally undermines the ability
    of those who are assaulted to seek justice and accountability
    for any crimes committed against them.
        Can you talk about how you are responding to that kind of
    concern?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you for the
    question, Senator.
        It is extremely important. We are working, of course, with
    the Office of Civil Rights where our anti-harassment program
    currently sits.
        In my formal remarks, and I will repeat now, we need more
    funding because we need investigators to move the
    investigations open because we have informed our employees
    about the importance of reporting, of the importance of
    eliminating the behavior, but reports of harassment have gone
    up so there is increased credibility that we are serious about
    this. We need the money to increase the investigators so that
    we can get to the bottom and end the behavior. So yes.
        Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you. I am glad to hear that
    that is a focus of what you are looking at.
        One of the initiatives that I know is not directly under
    either of your portfolios, but that I think is important and
    helps address the gender aspect of what we are trying to do
    when we talk about inclusion is the Women, Peace, and Security
    Act, which was signed in 2017, and it asks us to prioritize
    policymaking through a gender lens, particularly when it comes
    to national security.
        Can either of you speak to whether your offices are looking
    at the WPS initiative and how that is being integrated in the
    State Department and USAID?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you for the
    question, Senator.
        I can say that my office does not specifically look at it.
    It is in the Office of Global Women's Issues, a wonderful
    office, and we have our new Special Representative for Racial
    Equity, who is taking over the agency equity plan.
        So that is where those issues lie, but of course we are
    cooperative and supportive because it is inside our
    organization as well as outside our organization.
        So I will leave it there.
        Neneh.
        Senator Shaheen. Ms. Diallo.
        Ms. Diallo. Thank you, Senator.
        We actually also, like the Ambassador, do not manage the
    gender program. However, we do have a senior gender coordinator
    and advisor who also reports to the administrator, and I will
    be happy to take your question back and--the question for the
    record.
        Senator Shaheen. Thank you. Thank you both.
        Senator Markey.
        Senator Markey. I yield to Senator Murphy.
        Senator Shaheen. Senator Murphy.
        Senator Murphy. Thank you, Senator Markey.
        Senator Markey is next. I have yet to vote. So I was just
    going to sneak in one quick question, not take my full time.
        I appreciate it, Senator Markey.
        Ambassador Winstanley, I appreciate our work together. You
    and I, along with Representative Castro, chaired a task force
    put together by the Truman Center to make recommendations about
    innovation at the State Department and fostering diversity and
    inclusion, and enjoyed doing that work together.
        One of the recommendations that we made as part of that
    report was to revitalize the Office of Subnational Diplomacy at
    the Department of State. This is a capacity that the State
    Department had long ago. I think Secretary Blinken is committed
    to bringing it back, and we have bipartisan legislation here
    that would make it a permanent capacity at the State
    Department.
        What it, basically, does is allows an ability to organize
    state public servants, local elected officials, to represent
    the United States abroad.
        Now, that is just good diplomacy because China is doing
    that at scale. We are not, but it also is a really quick way to
    diversify the voices that are representing the United States
    abroad.
        The ability to create a more diverse permanent staffing
    pipeline can take some time, but you can very quickly make sure
    that we have a diverse set of voices representing the United
    States abroad if you have more state and local actors out
    there, even in brief bursts of diplomacy showing up around the
    world representing the United States.
        So just my only question to you is how does the effort to
    rebuild state and local diplomacy fit into this question of
    diversity and inclusion work?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you, Senator, for
    the question.
        I could not agree with you more and, certainly, having been
    in leadership positions around the world when we had state and
    local officials come to visit and sent them out where
    delegations are to speak, I know the value of those voices
    externally as well as internally.
        Not to take away anybody's thunder, so I know simply that
    we are moving forward with this and I will take your question
    back for further input from the Department, but I know we are
    moving forward.

    [Editor's note.--The requested information referred to above
    follows:]

        The Department recognizes the role of subnational diplomacy in
    advancing U.S. values and priorities on the international stage, as
    well as the fact that state and local officials are increasingly
    interacting with and collaborating with global partners. As part of the
    Secretary's modernization agenda, the Department is committed to
    engaging state and local actors on a range of national security
    priorities, and this includes building inclusive recruitment pipelines
    and advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility more
    broadly in our foreign policy.

        Senator Murphy. Great.
        Thanks, Senator Markey, for allowing me to jump in quickly.
        We have legislation that we can pass or include as part of
    an authorization bill to create this new office, but I think
    Secretary Blinken is intending to move forward, seeing it as a
    real benefit to our ability to be everywhere and anywhere
    around the world.
        Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
        Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Senator Murphy.
        Senator Markey, I am going to leave the hearing in your
    capable hands since I also have not voted and I need to go do
    that.
        Senator Markey. Would I then conclude the hearing?
        Senator Shaheen. Senator Menendez is coming back.
        Senator Markey. He is? Okay. So I would then put the
    hearing into recess, I think, at that point. Thank you.
        Senator Shaheen. Thank you.
        Senator Markey [presiding]. So you have talked about the
    importance of using an evidence-based approach to identify
    barriers to equitable merit-based hiring and career outcomes.
        How is the Department of State collecting data on
    diversity, including on LGBTQ+ persons in the Department?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you for the
    question, Senator.
        We have our employee portal where employees can voluntarily
    provide information--demographic information--about themselves.
    We are working with--we have started working with the Census
    Department. We are working with another government agency to
    put together a pilot to break down the LGBTQAI+ nomenclature to
    ensure that we get it right, but that will allow people to
    identify themselves because we have already learned from our
    employees that often they do not provide information because
    they do not see themselves in the choices available.
        We are trying to expand those choices.
        Senator Markey. Ms. Diallo, currently USAID collects
    diversity data sporadically on 70 percent of the workforce. How
    would you suggest that AID modify its data collection process
    to capture--to ensure that you are capturing a more full
    picture of your workforce?
        Ms. Diallo. Thank you, Senator. I truly appreciate that
    question and the timing.
        We have actually designed our first annual DEIA survey,
    which will capture data across all hiring mechanisms and will
    establish a baseline of DEIA metrics.
        This data will be used to evaluate the composition of our
    workforce and identify any potential barriers in hiring,
    promotion, professional development, and retention practices.
    We are hoping to complete this--well, the design has been
    completed, but we are hoping to launch it pretty soon.
        Senator Markey. Beautiful.
        Ms. Diallo, in your testimony, you talked about the number
    of partnerships USAID has with minority-serving institutions
    and how you plan to expand and deepen these partnerships.
        I am encouraged by those steps. While there are specific
    fellowships and programs targeting diversity in USAID's Foreign
    Service, similar programs do not exist for the civil service.
        Would you recommend any specific programs or steps that
    would specifically target diversity in USAID's civil service?
        Ms. Diallo. Target diversity in USAID's civil service in
    terms of programs?
        Senator Markey. That is right.
        Ms. Diallo. I believe that we are very intentional with our
    professional development programs that we have. As you know, it
    is very difficult to target hiring diverse candidates in the
    civil service.
        However, we have programs and initiatives across the
    agency. We have 13 DEIA advisors currently and are hiring more.
    They are within--across our bureaus and missions and we are--
    have over 50 DEIA councils who are working on initiatives and
    programs to actually help address that and the very, very
    robust employee resource groups as well.
        Senator Markey. Thank you.
        Thank you both for all your work. The more we can have your
    agencies look like the United States of America overseas, I
    think, the better the response we are going to get from the
    countries that we are dealing with.
        We are them and we are the product of their family members
    coming to our country and becoming citizens and, in return,
    that brings an extra level of sophistication.
        I know that being Irish, as we are on the 25th anniversary
    of the Peace Accords in Northern Ireland, I know how much
    interest Irish Americans took in trying to understand and solve
    those problems and it was, obviously, the Irish who had to
    solve them, but Americans can play a big role because they have
    a deeper understanding of the cultural, political, religious
    underpinnings of the countries from which their families came.
        I want to thank you both so much for all of your work, and
    I will just stop right here--oh, and yield back to the
    chairman.
        The Chairman [presiding]. Thank you, Senator Markey.
        Let me go through a couple of final questions.
        First of all, I just--I do not know the email that was
    exhibited, where it came from, who it is from, but I will say
    as a classification it might fall under the heading that if I
    am the one who had everything and now I have to create a more
    equitable set of circumstances, I do not like having to give up
    what I had, and there is some of that.
        I am sure that there will be some who will resent the fact
    that equity means that you do not get to keep it all, that you
    are not going to get 90 percent of the shot just because that
    you are from a certain class.
        Do you ever experience any of that?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you for the
    question, Senator.
        Yes, I am well aware that I have concerned colleagues about
    what the change may mean for them. I have been able to,
    certainly, in one-on-one conversations, town halls, and in the
    building in Washington, in Charleston, I was a couple of weeks
    ago, and around the world as I travel, I make sure that people
    can ask questions anonymously because those who have that sort
    of concern, I want them to voice it.
        We need to know it so that we can address it and reassure
    that what we are doing to increase equity is good for everyone.
    Though, as you say, some people will have to give up some of
    the marbles, as it were, there is no one in my organization
    that says, I want something that I did not earn. I want
    something that I did not get because I am the right person,
    that I am the best candidate for it, et cetera.
        Nobody admits to that. So once you put that out there and
    say then we are going to make this merit based, recognizing
    that that old boy and girls club that is so popular in the
    Department of State does not include a lot of people from a lot
    of different backgrounds.
        So increasing transparency, increasing accountability,
    helps everyone. It is not just underrepresented groups that get
    bullied in the Department.
        The Chairman. Let me ask you, if you are Black, Hispanic,
    woman, LGBTQ, and unqualified, will this help you get a
    position?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. It will not. It will
    not.
        The Chairman. Let me ask you a couple more specific
    questions so we understand and then we will bring this to a
    conclusion.
        What, if any, technical assistance or other support are you
    receiving to execute your plans from OPM's recently created
    government-wide Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,
    Accessibility led by Dr. Janice Underwood?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Yes. I have a texting
    relationship with OPM on these issues. She has been a great
    supporter. We are talking about what makes a highly effective
    Chief Diversity Inclusion Office, what are the resources that
    are needed.
        We are in those discussions and I think eventually OPM will
    come out with a plan of what--if you are going to be serious
    about this work what do you need with regard to staff, with
    regard to resources, with regard to counsel, information that
    way, where it should sit, et cetera.
        OPM has been very supportive and clear and exchanging
    information with us. It has been very helpful.
        The Chairman. Let me ask you, are you working, if at all,
    with NSC's Interagency Working Group on the national security
    workforce on addressing biases in security clearance processes,
    accommodating individuals with disabilities, among other issues
    the working group was charged with in the President's
    memorandum?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Yes. I will say at the
    beginning of my tenure I was having conversations with the NSC.
    I have not had discussions on that specifically. They just told
    me to get to work.
        The Chairman. I hope you will, and you have a very broad
    mandate, but very often not being able to have prolonged
    periods of time to get a security clearance is a hindrance to
    our success.
        We have some committee staff that we have the challenges of
    getting them up a security clearance so that they can be in the
    appropriate setting to help their member guide them through
    some of the issues that may exist.
        I can only imagine at State or at USAID that, in fact, if
    you cannot--I mean, if you cannot get a security clearance
    because there is something in your background that is
    different. Obviously, you cannot get it, but if it is because
    it is taking inordinate amounts of time to get it, it creates
    barriers to positions. I hope you will look at that.
        Given the series of concerning media stories on the
    experience of diverse political appointees, what role does your
    office play in working with the White House to support those
    willing to serve in this capacity at our government's highest
    levels to advance our country's global interests?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Yes. I work with
    colleagues in the Secretary's office to provide support to
    those political appointees within the Department of State.
        We are taking steps to make sure they understand how valued
    and supported and what the resources are within the Department,
    so I can speak for the State Department.
        The Chairman. Sometimes diverse appointees, ultimately,
    face the type of pressures from colleagues that others do not
    because they are viewed as less than even though they are
    eminently qualified, and so that is a unique challenge as well.
        Let me turn to budgets and resources. State's DMR McKeon
    noted that there was substantial funding in the Department's
    budget to support your efforts and implementation efforts
    throughout the agency at our budget hearing earlier this year.
    Administrator Power also indicated strong support for DEIA
    efforts at her hearing before the committee.
        This is a question to both of you. Have you been able to
    onboard permanent staff with the proper expertise to complete
    your mandate, including data analysts and legal counsel to
    assist in identifying, investigating, and eliminating barriers
    to workforce diversity?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Thank you for the
    question, Senator.
        We started off with nine and then moved it up to 12 full
    time equivalents. We, I believe, are filling our last position
    shortly of that 12, but we also have detailees.
        I can say with great gratitude that there are a number of
    people in the Department who are able to do details or ``Y''
    tours who are interested in the mission of this office.
        We have very strong staff. Everybody is overworked. We are
    looking very much to bring on additional data scientists, and
    so I think in my formal remarks I did ask for continued support
    because the barrier analysis is our main tool. We cannot
    convince anybody of anything if we do not have the data.
        The Chairman. So is the budget--I am asking you. This is a
    direct question and in hearing.
        So is the budget as has been presented to the Congress as
    it relates to your mission going to allow you to do that? Or
    would you not be able to do that under the existing budget that
    is being proposed?
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. Understood. I certainly
    would say that we are going to make significant progress with
    the budget that we have, but recognizing that the Secretary is
    one who decides, and OMB and the White House, where the money
    goes. We make our case and we are going to do great work with
    the budget that we get.
        The Chairman. I appreciate you are going to do great work
    with whatever you get. I am sure you will do that. The question
    is, is what you will get necessary to meet the mission and I am
    not clear that that answer is yes.
        How about at USAID?
        Ms. Diallo. Thank you, Senator, and we thank you for the
    $9.5 million that we have currently for fiscal year 2022 and we
    have made a request for $20 million for fiscal year 2023 for an
    increase.
        As we have just launched the DEIA strategic plan, as we are
    moving forward into implementation, we will be better able to
    assess the appropriate funding level and we will be glad to
    come back to you.
        The Chairman. Okay. We would be glad to hear from you.
        Let me ask you how, in your capacity as CDIO, are you
    working to increase transparency, fairness, and accountability
    around promotions--particularly, you mentioned that you now sit
    in on those--and other processes, given findings just this
    May--May 2022--of the Inspector General report that friends and
    family members of State Department personnel were selected to
    serve on Foreign Service selection boards, in addition to long-
    standing reports of bias in hiring, overseas assignments, and
    promotion. This is May 2022.
        Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley. I am going to ask to
    take that question back for GTM to provide a detailed response.
    I will say that the Department accepted the recommendations of
    the Inspector General and that we are making changes as a
    result. The specifics, I would like to make sure I do not
    misspeak. I will take that question back.
        The Chairman. I would like a detailed answer to that
    because it is May 2022. We established a year ago a chief
    diversity officer. In May of 2022, I do not expect to read a
    GAO Inspector General's report that suggests that.
        I look forward to seeing how that, ultimately, shakes out
    and we will be looking for your written response.
        Ms. Diallo, USAID's workforce comprises more than 10,000
    people, approximately 70 percent of whom are not direct hires,
    e.g., example, Foreign Service nationals, personal services
    contractors, institutional support contractors, just to mention
    some.
        Diversity data are not consistently collected on nondirect
    hire personnel, which, in my mind, leaves us with an incomplete
    understanding of USAID's workforce.
        Given that persons who serve as contractors make up such a
    large portion of the agency and often have an advantage in
    their knowledge of the agency when applying for direct hire
    positions, is it important to understand the demographic makeup
    of the nondirect hire population?
        Ms. Diallo. Thank you, Senator.
        You are absolutely correct. It is definitely important to
    understand the demographic makeup of our nondirect hires and
    through this DEIA survey, which we hope to launch very soon, we
    hope to capture that data of our nondirect hire staff.
        The Chairman. So are you beginning to collect data related
    to DEIA issues related to nondirect hires?
        Ms. Diallo. Yes, that is what we hope to collect in this
    survey.
        The Chairman. Lastly, my understanding--well, two final
    questions.
        USAID has highlighted four agency programs over the years--
    the Donald Payne International Development Fellowship,
    Development Diplomats and Residents, the Pathways Internship
    Program, and Partnerships with Minority Serving Institutions--
    aimed at increasing workforce diversity primarily within the
    agency's Foreign Service.
        However, the Payne Fellowship is relatively small and the
    only program that guarantees a position at the conclusion of
    the program, and it also does not target the civil service
    where Latinos are notably underrepresented.
        How might these programs be strengthened and what other
    initiatives are needed to expand diverse recruitment and
    retention efforts, especially to address under representation
    in USAID's senior ranks?
        Ms. Diallo. Thank you for that question.
        Since I began in March, we have doubled the candidates and
    participation of our--or at least the goal is to increase the
    participation of the Donald M. Payne Fellowship Program. So I
    believe we currently have 15 and we are hoping to double that
    to 30 in the next coming fiscal year.
        As I mentioned earlier, we are working considerably with
    minority-serving institutions. Since I began, we have actually
    moved the coordination of all minority-serving institutions
    under my office where I will be overseeing with my team the
    coordination efforts on establishing MOUs, partnerships with
    these minority-serving institutions, as well as holding four
    conferences this year, where we will--are expanding it beyond
    the HBCU and HSI, but also to include tribal colleges and
    universities as well as Hispanic-serving institutions.
        The Chairman. One final question to you.
        USAID reportedly is in a legal battle with a group of women
    that alleges they were hired at salaries lower than those of
    their male peers. According to reports, and I will quote, ``The
    specific goal of their suit is to have their salaries adjusted
    retroactively with back pay from 3 years before they made the
    complaint, which is the legal limit. If they win, the women
    could receive the back pay as well as related adjustment to
    their retirement packages.''
        Now, has USAID--I am not going to ask you about that
    specific case, but has USAID studied pay equity related to both
    sex and to race and ethnicity? If so, what conclusions have you
    drawn?
        Ms. Diallo. Thank you, Senator.
        USAID takes very seriously the issue of pay equity, and I
    was made aware of the issue you are discussing and I believe
    that they--our HR colleagues have undertaken a robust pay
    equity analysis, and I believe I will be presented with that--
    the initial findings this week and will be happy to come back
    and report back to this committee.
        The Chairman. Yes, I would like to know, but I assume that
    while HR may be, let us say, taking the lead on that that it is
    a legitimate question of equity, at the end of the day, and
    that it should be reviewed to determine whether there are
    institutional biases.
        I am not saying that they are. I am just saying that it is
    something worthy of being looked at to determine whether there
    are institutional biases in which women are being paid less
    than other counterparts in the same field.
        Okay. With the thanks of the committee for your work and
    your testimony, I will have a few other questions that I will
    follow up for the record. I want to get your ideas about DFC
    and other entities that do not have something in this regard.
        We thank you for coming before the committee to give this
    testimony, tremendous insights, and an opportunity for us to
    build upon the work that we collectively want to see happen.
        Without objection, I would like to introduce a statement
    for the record from the Government Accountability Office.
        So ordered.

    [Editor's note.--The information referred to above can be found
    in the ``Additional Material Submitted for the Record'' section
    at the end of this hearing.]

        The record for the hearing will remain open until close of
    business on Wednesday, July 27. Please ensure that questions
    for the record are submitted no later than that date.
        With that, this hearing is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 11:47 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
                                  ----------

                  Additional Material Submitted for the Record

         Responses of Hon. Gina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley to Questions
                      Submitted by Senator Robert Menendez

        Question. What, if any, technical assistance or other support are
    you receiving to execute your plans from OPM's recently created
    government-wide Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and
    Accessibility (ODEIA) led by Dr. Janice Underwood?

        Answer. The Department complied with all technical specifications
    from OPM on drafting its DEIA Strategic Plan and submitted the plan on
    OPM's due date of March 23, 2023. OPM has not provided agency-specific
    technical assistance on the execution of the Department's DEIA
    Strategic Plan, given that it was under review until July 25.

        Question. In addition to the State Department and USAID, several of
    our smaller international affairs agencies are implementing DEIA
    practices and addressing inequities. For instance, close to 40 percent
    of the Peace Corps and Millennium Challenge Corporation workforces are
    made up of diverse racial and ethnic groups, and they have also
    introduced diversity plans. How, if at all, are Chief Diversity
    Officers from other agencies exchanging best practices to strengthen
    efforts?

        Answer. The Department's Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
    (CDIO) leads bimonthly meetings with counterpart CDIOs from the other
    foreign affairs agencies covered by the Foreign Affairs Act of 1980--
    USAID, Agriculture, and Commerce--to discuss efforts and exchange best
    practices. The CDIO's staff maintain relationships and contact with
    counterparts from other agencies to discuss policies, practices, and
    procedures that affect employees from other agencies serving overseas,
    such as the Department of Defense.

        Question. How, if at all, are you working with the NSC's
    Interagency Working Group on the National Security Workforce on
    addressing biases in security clearance processes, accommodating
    individuals with disabilities, and employee retention, among other
    issues the working group was charged with in the President's
    memorandum?

        Answer. The Department of State is an active participant in the
    National Security Memorandum on Revitalizing America's Foreign Policy
    and National Security Workforce, Institutions, and Partnerships (NSM-3)
    Working Group. The Department has required those involved in the
    security clearance process to take training to reduce potential bias
    and improve equity in assessments/evaluations. Foreign Service
    Recruitment has improved accessibility through implementation of
    virtual Oral Assessments for Foreign Service Specialists and launched a
    Volunteer Recruiter Corps comprised of nearly 500 employees, with
    representation from a number of employee organizations which
    participated in almost 150 recruitment events. Our Access Center
    provides state-of-the-art resources, support, and accommodations for
    applicants and employees with disabilities. In addition, the Department
    launched a Retention Unit that has already begun conducting in-depth
    exit interviews in addition to existing exit surveys, will conduct
    surveys of why employees choose to stay in the Department, and will
    develop the Department's first ever Retention Strategy. The Department
    also developed, published, and has begun implementing our comprehensive
    Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Strategic Plan.

        Question. Given the series of concerning media stories on the
    experiences of diverse political appointees, what role does your office
    play in working with the White House to support those willing to serve
    in appointments at our government's highest levels to advance our
    countries' global interests?

        Answer. The Secretary's Office of Diversity and Inclusion works to
    ensure every office in the Department of State contributes to a
    welcoming, inclusive environment. Political appointees add to the
    diversity and richness of our policy conversations, and it is important
    everyone feels empowered to contribute their perspective and voice to
    the policy decisions made within the Department.

        Question. What FY23 and FY24 budget needs do you have to execute
    any programming that would assist in implementing the DEIA Strategic
    Plan?

        Answer. We have an acute shortage of personnel to investigate and
    process allegations of discrimination and harassment, leading to
    unavoidable delays in the timeframe from a complaint's filing to
    resolution. We understand State's ratio of investigators to workforce
    size is among the lowest for a federal agency. For FY23, we requested
    seven additional full-time equivalencies (FTEs) to allow more timely
    processing of complaints. Based on casework needs, these FTEs would be
    apportioned between the Office of Civil Rights, the Office of the Legal
    Advisor, and the Bureau of Global Talent Management. Additional
    personnel resources in FY24 would further expedite investigations and
    ensure greater accountability.
        With the new emphasis on data and evidence-based decision-making,
    we are also seeking resources for data analyses, the development of
    outcome measures, and monitoring and program evaluation. Our goal is to
    improve how we monitor implementation of our 5-year Diversity, Equity,
    Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan and launch barrier
    analyses based on anomalies in data patterns revealed by the
    Department's first-ever Demographic Baseline Report that suggest
    possible problems in equal opportunity across our different demographic
    groups. Resources in this area would also allow us to address the
    finding in the Government Accountability Office's July 2022 Report on
    Additional Actions Needed to Improve Workplace Diversity and Inclusion,
    which noted that ``State does not have performance measures and has not
    taken sufficient actions to enhance accountability for its workplace
    DEIA goals.''

        Question. Media and others have raised concerns about transparency
    in promotions and other processes as barriers to retention.
        Are the employees responsible for violating ethics standards by
    selecting friends and family members to serve on Foreign Service
    Selection Boards (FSSBs) as reported in the May 2022 Inspector General
    report still employed at the Agency? If so, how, were they reprimanded?

        Answer. The OIG found that seven of the approximately 150 public
    members who served during the 7-year period reviewed were personally
    known to Department employees who worked in the office that manages
    Foreign Service Selection Board processes, which is inconsistent with
    the Department ethics standards. The Department is reviewing
    information regarding the OIG findings and has already begun to take
    actions to ensure accountability.

        Question. What is the Department's plan to implement the
    recommendations of the OIG report on the recruitment and selection
    process for public members of the Foreign Service Selection Boards?

        Answer. To ensure that public members selected have the skills and
    experience most appropriate for service on the Foreign Service
    Selection Boards (FSSB), the Department updated the Foreign Affairs
    Manual (FAM) criteria and implemented new procedures in the selection
    of public members for the 2022 FSSBs, including panel interviews of
    candidates, a scoring rubric for each criterion, and multi-layered
    oversight and approval of the process.
        To ensure the work of the FSSBs is conducted in a manner that is
    fair, transparent, and objective, the Department issued a new written
    policy regarding public member referrals and recusals applicable to all
    Department personnel and FSSB members beginning with the 2022 FSSBs.
        To enhance the efficacy of public member recruitment and the
    efficient use of resources, the Department updated its recruitment
    processes, effective with the current 2022 FSSBs, sending recruitment
    letters to over 90 organizations. The Department is also reviewing
    alternatives to the current procurement vehicle and payment structure
    for contracting public members to serve on the FSSBs.

        Question. What did the Department learn from its various Foreign
    Service bidding and assignments pilot programs last year and what
    efforts are now underway to centralize these programs to make sure
    application and notification timelines, job qualifications and
    selection standards, and communications to Foreign Service employees
    are coordinated, clear, and consistent?

        Answer. Various offices and bureaus have enacted pilot programs to
    address DEIA issues and to create more transparency and equity in the
    bidding process. To assess bidders' experiences with the new
    initiatives, the Bureau of Global Talent Management (GTM) conducted a
    survey in 2021 following the 2022 bid season. The survey received 1,200
    responses, from which were generated initial recommendations and best
    practices for all bureaus to implement for future bidding seasons. GTM
    provided these recommendations to bureaus to encourage more consistency
    in bidding practices across the Department. The recommendations
    included steps such as bureaus sharing interview criteria and
    timelines, using standardized interview questions and platforms for
    references, conducting panel interviews with scoring rubrics, and
    notifying candidates who made the ``short list'' for hiring. These
    recommendations enhance transparency, encourage better communication,
    and limit confusion over differing bidding requirements across bureaus.
    Following the coming 2023 bid season, GTM will conduct another
    assessment of the impact of DEIA programs for bidders and continue to
    refine its recommendations to State Department bureaus and hiring
    offices.

        Question. What are the specific activities of the recently created
    retention unit? How is it addressing retention issues for women and
    members of racial and ethnic groups at mid-career and senior levels?

        Answer. The Retention Unit (GTM/RU) in the Bureau of Global Talent
    Management is taking a holistic look at retention issues across our
    workforce at various points in careers. The RU is analyzing data from a
    variety of sources, including exit surveys, exit interviews, and
    focused discussions with the wide range of the workforce, including
    women and underrepresented employees. The Secretary's Office of
    Diversity and Inclusion is a key partner that supports this effort
    through a contract project that specifically explores retention issues
    among historically underrepresented groups of employees. The RU's
    extensive data collection and analysis effort, which includes both
    quantitative and qualitative data, will help pinpoint retention
    challenges and inform the Department's first comprehensive retention
    strategy.

        Question. In recent years, Rangel, Pickering, and other programs
    established to address racial and ethnic underrepresentation at the
    agency have been expanded to include other groups. What is being done
    to review traditional recruitment and hiring practices to better
    understand what barriers exist and are preventing different segments of
    the American population from entry through the traditional processes
    before widening the pool of participants for programs established to
    address racial and ethnic disparities?

        Answer. The Department continuously reviews and seeks to improve
    hiring procedures and methodologies, as required in the Foreign Service
    Act. On April 26, we announced a change that began with the June 2022
    Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT), which combines candidate results
    from the FSOT and Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP), providing a
    more holistic view of each candidate. We instituted these changes to
    meet the Secretary's goals to modernize American diplomacy, win the
    competition for talent, and ensure that all applicants can present a
    full picture of their qualifications. The announced changes are
    enthusiastically endorsed by me and are part of a broader package of
    reforms to accelerate and improve the hiring process. In addition to
    the Pickering and Rangel programs, the Department has other established
    Fellowships that focus on certain skill categories and enhance
    diversity, such as the Foreign Affairs IT Fellowship (FAIT) and the
    newly announced William D. Clarke Diplomatic Security Fellowship.
    Additionally, the Department is in the process of transitioning all
    student internships to paid, as part of the Department of State's
    continued efforts to diversify the ranks of its employees by
    encouraging applications from populations traditionally
    underrepresented in the Department and that reflect the diversity of
    the United States. This paid internship program will help remove
    barriers for traditionally underrepresented students who may not have
    the financial means to accept an unpaid internship.

        Question. At the hearing, discussions on improving recruitment and
    retention indicated that additional personnel in the Offices of Civil
    Rights and Global Talent Management could assist in addressing a number
    of issues, including addressing a backlog of complaints and
    investigations. What are the personnel needs of OCR and GTM? How would
    additional personnel assist in addressing DEIA issues including
    recruitment and retention?

        Answer. Within State Department, we have an acute shortage of
    personnel to investigate and process allegations of discrimination and
    harassment, which leads to unavoidable delays in the time from a
    complaint's filing to resolution. We understand State's ratio of
    investigators and processing staff to workforce size is among the
    lowest for a federal agency. For FY23, we requested seven additional
    full-time equivalencies (FTEs) to allow more timely processing of
    cases. Based on casework needs, these FTEs would be apportioned between
    the Office of Civil Rights, the Office of the Legal Advisor, and the
    Bureau of Global Talent Management. Additional personnel resources in
    FY24 would further expedite investigations and ensure greater
    accountability, which is an important retention issue.
        The Department established a Retention Unit in January 2022, within
    the Bureau of Global Talent Management, to pinpoint retention
    challenges and develop the Department's first retention strategy.
    Working in partnership with the Secretary's Office of Diversity and
    Inclusion (S/ODI), the Retention Unit is examining a broad range of
    issues that potentially affect retention, including DEIA challenges and
    accountability. The Department's DEIA Data Working Group, led by S/ODI
    with participation from the Retention Unit and GTM's recruitment team,
    is collecting and analyzing data pertaining to the life cycle of our
    employees, including in the areas of recruitment, selection and hiring,
    professional development, awards recognition, retention, and promotion.
    For FY24, we requested four FTEs to permanently staff the new Retention
    Unit.

        Question. What is the status of assignment restrictions reform?
    Will there be changes to the assignment restrictions appeals process?

        Answer. Pursuant to the passage of the Section 5311(c) of the
    National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of Fiscal Year 2022 in
    December 2021, the Department drafted revisions to the Foreign Affairs
    Manual (FAM) to implement the new assignment restriction review and
    appeals process. The new review and appeals process will mimic the
    process for those seeking an appeal of a security clearance denial or
    revocation. Following approval of the FAM revisions, the Department
    will engage employee unions to comment on the implementation of the
    updated policy. Once that process is complete, the assignment
    restriction appeals process will fully reflect the mandates of the
    NDAA. Additionally, the Department has returned to the original,
    narrower scope of assignment restrictions by decoupling them from a
    different matter, assignment preclusions. Assignment preclusions, which
    are governed by 3 FAM 2424.5 (Dual Nationality), fall under the purview
    of the Bureau of Global Talent Management and reflect the Department's
    rule that members of the Foreign Service may not be assigned to posts
    in states of which they are nationals, as host governments will
    generally not accord privileges and immunities to their own nationals.

        Question. The Department appointed its first Special Representative
    for Racial Equity and Justice, Desiree Cormier Smith, in June 2022.
    What role, if any, will Special Representative Smith have in regard to
    State's DEIA internal workforce issues? How, if at all, will your
    office coordinate with her?

        Answer. As Secretary Blinken has said, a more diverse, equitable,
    inclusive, and accessible Department leads to a stronger, smarter, and
    more creative foreign policy with a workforce better equipped to pursue
    U.S. national security interests and 21st century foreign policy
    challenges in a world that grows ever more complex. My office is
    charged with building a State Department that has a diverse and
    inclusive workforce that is equitable and accessible for all our
    employees and the American public we serve. Special Representative for
    Racial Equity and Justice (SRREJ) Cormier Smith's mandate is to ensure
    the Department's foreign affairs work advances the human rights of
    members of marginalized racial and ethnic communities, including
    indigenous communities, and combats systemic racism, discrimination,
    and xenophobia around the world. Our work will complement SRREJ Cormier
    Smith's by focusing on how State's workforce abroad, in its full
    diversity, can further the SRREJ's work to advance racial equity and
    justice in our outward-facing foreign policy, including the SRREJ's
    lead in implementing the Department's Agency Equity Plan.

        Question. What steps are you taking to institutionalize DEIA within
    the Agency's own operations to ensure it has strong support,
    leadership, and accountability at State under future Administrators?

        Answer. We are strengthening DEIA in State's internal workforce,
    which includes our internal workforce at our missions abroad. We are
    focusing on what we can put into motion that will lead to systemic
    change. Concurrently, we are working to change the culture of our
    institution so that every single employee feels invested in advancing
    DEIA work. One way to ensure that DEIA is a core part of our everyday
    work is to make it a metric for promotion and career advancement. My
    office has collaborated with GTM to launch a standalone EER precept
    that requires employees to demonstrate how they are advancing
    diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. This precept will be
    in effect for the 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025 rating cycles.
                                     ______

                  Responses of Ms. Neneh Diallo to Questions
                      Submitted by Senator Robert Menendez

        Question. Has USAID collected recent disaggregated demographic
    data? If so, how do trends for women and racial and ethnic groups
    compare to the 2020 GAO findings of disparities in senior levels in the
    civil and foreign service?

        Answer. Yes, USAID has collected disaggregated demographic data as
    recent as 2021. The latest data show that USAID has made some progress
    since the 2020 GAO report which found that promotion outcomes at USAID
    were generally lower for racial and ethnic minorities than for Whites
    in early to mid-career. When controlling for factors such as
    occupation, GAO found statistically significant odds of promotion in
    the Civil Service (CS) were 31 percent to 41 percent lower for racial
    or ethnic minorities than for Whites in early and mid career. In the
    Foreign Service (FS), average promotion rates were lower for racial or
    ethnic minorities in early to mid-career, but differences were
    generally not statistically significant when GAO controlled for various
    factors.
        The percentage of women in senior level CS at USAID increased from
    53.3 percent in 2015 to 58.9 percent as of the end of fiscal year 2021.
    Similarly, the percentage of women in mid-level CS increased from 63.9
    percent to 64.5 percent as of the end of fiscal year 2021.
        Asians, Hispanics/Latinos, and other racial and ethnic minorities
    \1\ all increased as a share of mid-level CS staff from 2015 to end of
    fiscal year 2021, with Asians increasing from 6.4 percent to 9 percent,
    Hispanics/Latinos increasing from 6.1 percent to 7.5 percent, and other
    racial and ethnic minorities increasing from 2.6 percent to 3.5
    percent. Blacks/African Americans, in contrast, declined as a
    proportion of mid-level CS staff from 43.2 percent in 2015 to 40.9
    percent in 2021.
        Trends for racial and ethnic minorities were similar in the senior
    level CS. Asians increased from 7.6 percent to 8.6 percent, Hispanics/
    Latinos increased from 4.9 percent to 6.4 percent, and other racial and
    ethnic minorities increased from 1.4 percent to 2.5 percent. African
    Americans/Blacks remained largely consistent at just over 22 percent
    (22.4 percent in 2015 and 22.2 percent in 2021).
        In the Senior Foreign Service (SFS), the overall percentage of
    females increased from 47 percent to 52 percent from 2017 to April
    2022. In the three SFS grades, females make up 65 percent in the Career
    Minister (most senior), 33 percent at the Minister Counselor grade, and
    56 percent at the Counselor (least senior) grade. In grade FS-01, the
    percentage of females has decreased slightly from 45.7 percent to 45.3
    percent.
        In the SFS Minister Counselor grade, the 2017 to 2021 5-year
    average shows the promotion rate was 26 percent for males and 24
    percent for females. In the SFS Counselor grade, while the promotion
    rate for females steadily increased from 5 percent to 19 percent, the
    promotion rate for males increased at an even higher rate of 7 percent
    to 30 percent; the 5-year average promotion rate for males was 20
    percent and for females 11 percent. In grade FS-01, the promotion rates
    for females were significantly higher than males in all years except
    2019. The 5-year average promotion rate was 20 percent for females and
    10 percent for males.
        The percentage of racial and ethnic minorities in the total FS and
    SFS count increased from 26 percent to 32 percent from 2017 to April
    2022. The diversity of the FS and SFS staff has increased over time as
    is evident in the differences in diversity between cohorts hired
    recently as compared to those hired 20 or more years ago. The current
    17 Career Ministers began their USAID careers between 1983 and 2001.
    The most recent cohorts hired have been the most diverse and over time
    are being promoted up through the ranks. The 2022 FS hires were 52
    percent racial and ethnic minorities, which includes a higher
    percentage of Black or African Americans (18 percent), Hispanic or
    Latinos (14 percent), Asians (14 percent), and Two or More (5 percent)
    than previous cohorts.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        In the SFS, the percentage of racial and ethnic minorities
    increased from 14 percent to 19 percent from 2017 to 2022. For 2022, in
    the three SFS grades, racial and ethnic minorities make up 12 percent
    in the Career Minister (most senior), 17 percent at the Minister
    Counselor grade, and 21 percent at the Counselor grade. In grade FS-01,
    the percentage of racial and ethnic minorities increased from 21
    percent to 23 percent. In the total FS and SFS, the 5-year (2017-2021)
    average promotion rate for racial and ethnic minorities and Whites is
    the same at 20 percent. The overall promotion rates for racial and
    ethnic minorities were slightly higher than Whites in 2017 and 2018 (+3
    percent) and slightly lower than Whites in 2020 and 2021 (^1 percent).
    In 2021, the overall promotion rate was 22 percent for racial and
    ethnic minorities and 23 percent for Whites.
        In 2021, racial and ethnic minorities made up 30 percent of the
    total FS and SFS workforce and received 30 percent or 62 of the 205
    promotions, while Whites made up 70 percent of the workforce and
    received 70 percent or 143 of the promotions. For the SFS in 2021, the
    promotion rate was 40 percent for racial and ethnic minorities and 19
    percent for Whites. In the SFS Minister Counselor grade, the annual
    changes in the small numbers of racial and ethnic minorities and Whites
    created big swings in promotion rates from 0 percent to 50 percent. The
    2017 to 2021 5-year average shows the promotion rate was 20 percent for
    racial and ethnic minorities and 27 percent for Whites. In the SFS
    Counselor grade, the promotion rate for racial and ethnic minorities
    varied from 0 percent in 2019 to 40 percent in 2021. In this same 5-
    year period, the average promotion rate for both racial and ethnic
    minorities and Whites was 17 percent. In grade FS-01, the promotion
    rates for racial and ethnic minorities varied from 3 percent to 19
    percent and were higher than Whites in all years except 2019. The 5-
    year average promotion rate was 13 percent for racial and ethnic
    minorities and 15 percent for Whites.
        USAID reports annually on the demographic makeup of its permanent
    and temporary U.S. Direct Hire (USDH) employees as required by the
    Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Management Directive
    (MD)-715. The USDH workforce is analyzed by race, ethnicity, sex, and
    disability status, for participation rates (and inclusion rates for
    disability status), across the employment life-cycle including grade/
    rank, salary, mission critical occupation, awards (time and money),
    separations (e.g., resignations, removals), etc.
        USAID's annual MD-715 Report and Workforce Tables are available
    here: https://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/organization/independent-
    offices/office-civil-rights/md-715-reports

        Question. Reports suggest a lack of robust competition and
    transparency around hiring of non-career PSC and FSL appointments has
    exacerbated DEIA concerns, including lack of inclusion opportunities
    due to limited solicitations and inside tracks for positions. What
    actions are being taken to ensure that the hiring processes for all of
    USAID's many mechanisms are fair, competitive, transparent, and
    inclusive? Are you collecting data on DEIA issues related to non-direct
    hires (e.g., Foreign Service Nationals, Personal Services Contractors,
    and Institutional Support Contractors), including any demographic data?
    If so, what are the demographic trends?

        Answer. USAID is taking steps to increase the competitiveness,
    fairness and transparency of hiring processes for non-career U.S.
    Personal Services Contracts (PSCs) and Foreign Service Limited (FSL)
    appointments to help achieve our goal of having a workforce that
    reflects the rich diversity of the United States population.
        USAID partnered with the Department of State on the Joint DEIA
    Agency Priority Goal for Hiring Persons with Disabilities and Persons
    with Targeted Disabilities to guide the hiring of FSLs. In pursuit of
    this goal, USAID will expand inclusive and equitable recruitment,
    hiring, and retention practices that contribute to increased diversity
    in the USAID workforce across demographic groups. USAID will increase
    recruitment, hiring, and retention in an effort, by September 30, 2023,
    to bring the number of employees with disabilities to at least 12
    percent of our workforce, with 2 percent of our workforce being persons
    with targeted disabilities.
        Updates to procedures for FSL hiring have been proposed and are
    under discussion with the American Foreign Service Association. These
    include requiring job opportunity announcements to be advertised
    externally as well as within USAID, requiring hiring offices to use
    standard position descriptions developed by USAID's Office of Human
    Capital and Talent Management (HCTM) for Foreign Service occupational
    series, requiring minimum qualifications for positions to be advertised
    and verified by an HCTM Human Resource Specialist, and for the hiring
    office to document the selection procedures in a memorandum submitted
    to HCTM when requesting an appointment letter.
        USAID has added a statement to solicitations for all types of
    personal services contracts (cooperating country national (CCN), third-
    country national (TCN) and United States National) encouraging all
    individuals, including those from disadvantaged and underrepresented
    groups, to respond to the solicitation and stating that all individuals
    will be evaluated based on the evaluation criteria in the solicitation.
        In addition, later this year, USAID will launch the Agency's first-
    ever annual DEIA Survey, which will help to establish a baseline for
    measuring longitudinal progress on the Agency's DEIA goals, while also
    contributing to government-wide data collection to both inform DEIA
    efforts across the federal workforce. The survey will provide the
    agency a more robust picture of the workforce through the collection of
    expanded demographic data, in particular sexual orientation and gender
    identity data, which is currently not collected. This survey will
    complement data USAID collects on workforce composition both
    domestically and abroad with the goal of including all hiring
    mechanisms. The survey will provide data to enable USAID to take an
    evidence-based approach to reducing any potential barriers in hiring,
    promotion, professional development, and retention practices. Responses
    from staff will be voluntary and data collected will be published on an
    Agency-wide DEIA dashboard with scorecards for Missions, Bureaus and
    Independent Offices. Over time, the annual survey will help monitor and
    report on DEIA program effectiveness, enable continuous program
    improvement, and inform DEIA policy decisions.
        HCTM's Office of Workforce Planning, Policy, and Systems Management
    (HCTM/PPSM) is working to increase transparency and improve general
    knowledge around workforce data. The office recently created and
    released to the Agency a data visualization tool to highlight the
    makeup of USAID's workforce in FY 2021. This is the first in a series
    of data visualization tools HCTM/PPSM is releasing to provide the
    latest workforce trends to staff. Future visualizations include
    highlights of a soon-to-be-released Foreign Service Promotion report
    and a Pay Equity analysis.
        While USAID voluntarily collects demographic data (race, ethnicity,
    sex, disability status) from U.S. Personal Services Contractors as well
    as from U.S. Direct Hires (USDHs), the data is analyzed on an ad-hoc
    basis. Although the Agency is mandated by the Equal Employee
    Opportunity Commission to annually produce a report analyzing the
    Agency's demographic makeup across the employment life-cycle, the data
    analysis requirements are for USDH only. As the Office of Civil Rights
    Special Emphasis Programs becomes operational, the Agency will be able
    to expand workforce demographic data analysis.

        Question. In recent years, Payne and other programs established to
    address racial and ethnic underrepresentation at the agency has been
    expanded to include other groups. What is being done to review
    traditional recruitment and hiring practices to better understand what
    barriers exist and are preventing different segments of the American
    population from entry through the traditional processes before widening
    the pool of participants for programs established to address racial and
    ethnic disparities?

        Answer. USAID's DEIA Strategic Plan was developed based on the
    results of an internal equity assessment. The Plan outlines a framework
    for envisioning, creating, and sustaining a diverse workforce and an
    inclusive workplace. The Plan includes priorities such as,
    implementation of a DEIA Agency-wide survey; creation of a monitoring,
    evaluation, and learning plan for DEIA data collection; and completion
    of a pay equity analysis meant to remove or reduce any potential
    barriers to entry for employment at USAID.
        To expand recruitment efforts and reduce any potential barriers to
    employment, USAID's Development Diplomats in Residence (DDIR) work
    closely with the recruitment and selection process and actively
    participate in webinars to advertise Agency internships and
    fellowships. DDIRs also serve as mentors to Donald M. Payne Fellows.
        The DDIRs conduct outreach to a diverse number of colleges and
    universities for career fairs and faculty consultations country-wide.
    The DDIR Program also establishes partnerships with career development
    centers in universities and colleges, primarily Historically Black
    Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions
    (HSIs).
        In addition, in August 2022 USAID began issuing guidance to
    operating units to make the contractor selection process more DEIA-
    sensitive, better aligning the process to hiring guidance for U.S.
    Direct Hires.

        Question. Has USAID studied pay equity related both to sex and to
    race and ethnicity? If so, what were the findings and how are they
    shaping agency hiring and promotion practices?

        Answer. Yes, we have studied pay equity. From 2015 to 2021, our
    data found an overall decrease in pay disparities across different
    races and gender. (The results shared below do not include the Office
    of the Inspector General.)
        In the Civil Service, the Black/African American, Hispanic, and
    Other race workforce combinations had relatively lower average salaries
    from FY 2015 to FY 2021, but had higher base pay average growth rates
    at 3.6 percent, 3.7 percent, and 3.6 percent respectively compared to
    overall civil service at 2.9 percent. This caused less variation in the
    average base pay between race groups by FY 2021, but significant pay
    inequity still existed in FY 2021 for the Black/African American,
    Hispanic, and Other race workforce. For the Foreign Service, from 2015
    to 2021, the base pay average growth rates were 2.1 percent, 3.2
    percent, and 2.1 percent, respectively for these workforce
    combinations.
        Civil Service gender base pay inequity, favoring men, also
    decreased over this period with a relatively stable downward trend
    reducing the pay gap. However, the Civil Service gender base pay gap is
    still wide enough to indicate further steps must be taken to ensure pay
    equity, especially for minority women. Foreign Service gender base pay
    inequity, favoring men, has remained consistent with some year-to-year
    pay gap volatility from FY 2015 to FY 2021.
        These findings have been reported to the Diversity, Equity,
    Inclusion, and Accessibility Office (A/DEIA). Eliminating pay inequity
    is vital to creating and maintaining a diverse workforce across race
    and gender is a priority of A/DEIA. DEIA goals are the following:

       Enhancing diversity throughout the Agency, Agency leadership
            will proactively address internal systems that potentially
            inhibit inclusive diversity efforts and access throughout the
            USAID employee life cycle; will develop, implement, and enhance
            a range of policies, programs, practices, and systems to
            improve and increase diversity; and will develop and implement
            broad outreach strategies to attract talent from diverse
            sources.

       Enhancing inclusion and equity for everyone in the
            workplace, Agency leaders will champion and enable staff
            participation in initiatives that work toward the betterment of
            the Agency's efforts in DEI and actively engage with these
            groups to operationalize their recommendations and efforts.
            Agency leadership will establish and enhance training and
            capacity-building opportunities for all staff, including
            managers and supervisors, on diversity fundamentals, bias, and
            principles of inclusion--all of which contribute to a
            respectful, safe, and inclusive work environment that enhances
            retention.

       Achieve strengthened accountability for promoting and
            sustaining a diverse workforce and an inclusive Agency culture.
            To achieve this goal, the Agency will consistently apply DEI
            principles across program and management operations; all
            leaders at the Agency will be required to show evidence of
            their support for DEI at USAID; performance management efforts
            at the Agency will promote accountability to create and sustain
            a diverse and inclusive workplace at all staff levels; and,
            finally, Agency efforts to promote DEI will be informed by
            workforce data and principles of transparency.

        Question. In addition to the State Department and USAID, several of
    our smaller international affairs agencies are implementing DEIA
    practices and addressing inequities. For instance, close to 40 percent
    of the Peace Corps and Millennium Challenge Corporation workforces are
    made up of diverse racial and ethnic groups, and they have also
    introduced diversity plans. How, if at all, do you work with Chief
    Diversity Officers from other agencies to exchange best practices and
    strengthen efforts?

        Answer. USAID, Department of State, Department of Commerce and USDA
    meet on a quarterly basis to collaborate and coordinate on issues
    affecting our workforce, share best practices and find ways to
    collaborate on major events and DEIA-related topics across the Federal
    Government. Additionally, USAID and Department of State also meet on an
    ad hoc basis to discuss matters such as the incorporation of DEIA into
    the employee performance cycle and foreign assistance programming.

        Question. In 2020, GAO made several recommendations on improving
    USAID's capacity to perform key EEO functions. These included timely
    processing of EEO complaints and investigations, regular analysis of
    workforce demographics for trends, and regular submission of required
    MD-715 reports. (GAO-20-477). What is USAID's current capacity to
    perform these key EEO functions? After USAID's reorganization and
    establishment of your position, how does your office interface with the
    Office of Civil Rights in carrying out these and other EEO
    responsibilities?

        Answer. In FY 2020, OCR established internal timeliness standards
    and procedures to process Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)complaints,
    including using a database to generate reports and conduct analyses.
    During the last two fiscal years and in FY 2022, 100 percent of
    complaints have been processed and investigated within mandated
    timelines. The EEO Complaints Team within OCR's Complaints and
    Resolution Division has three staff members. The Team manages a cadre
    of 24 EEO Collateral Counselors responsible for conducting EEO
    counseling at the pre-complaint stage. The Team also counts on the
    services of a contractor with the capacity to conduct EEO counseling,
    mediation, and EEO investigations.
        OCR's operating budget increased from less than $600,000 in FY 2017
    to almost $3.2 million in FY 2020, which allowed for increased
    staffing. In FY 2021, the Agency established an Affirmative Employment
    Division and hired staff to provide oversight and guidance on the
    Agency's EEO Affirmative Employment responsibilities. Increased staff
    enabled OCR to conduct analyses of its workforce data and undertake
    efforts to identify triggers; analyze potential barriers to EEO in
    Agency policies, practices, and processes; develop action plans to
    reduce any potential barriers; and monitor the Agency's performance to
    achieve greater EEO results. As a result, USAID was able to meet its
    obligation for timely submission of its fiscal year 2020 and 2021 MD-
    715 Reports.
        OCR and the Office of the Chief DEIA Officer work closely together
    using the data analysis conducted for the MD-715 reports to advance
    DEIA at USAID. The acting Director of OCR and the Chief Diversity
    Officer hold weekly meetings to discuss and address DEIA-related
    matters and develop proactive strategies that engage Agency leadership
    at all levels, including overseas mission leadership.

        Question. What, if any, technical assistance or other support are
    you receiving to execute your plans from OPM's recently created
    government-wide Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and
    Accessibility (ODEIA) led by Dr. Janice Underwood?
        In addition to the State Department and USAID, several of our
    smaller international affairs agencies are implementing DEIA practices
    and addressing inequities. For instance, close to 40 percent of the
    Peace Corps and Millennium Challenge Corporation workforces are made up
    of diverse racial and ethnic groups, and they have also introduced
    diversity plans. How, if at all, are Chief Diversity Officers from
    other agencies exchanging best practices to strengthen efforts?

        Answer. In March 2022, USAID's Office of the Chief DEIA Officer
    submitted the Agency's 2022 DEIA Strategic Plan and met with
    representatives of OPM to discuss implementation of the plan. Following
    the release of DEIA Strategic Plan in July, the Chief DEIA Officer will
    meet monthly with Dr. Janice Underwood, the Director of DEIA at OPM.
        In addition, USAID, Department of State, Department of Commerce and
    USDA meet on a quarterly basis to collaborate and coordinate on issues
    affecting our workforce, share best practices, and explore ways to
    collaborate on major events and DEIA-related topics across the Federal
    Government.

    ----------------
    Note

        \1\ Other REMs include Native Americans and Native Alaskans, Native
    Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and those identifying as two or more
    racial/ethnic categories.
                                     ______

         Responses of Hon. Gina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley to Questions
                      Submitted by Senator James E. Risch

        Question. Please describe the purposes of conducting remote
    interviews. Are remote interviews intended to increase geographic
    diversity at the State Department in the long-term or are they a
    temporary practice as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?

        Answer. Our overarching goal is to make the test accessible to as
    many qualified candidates as possible from across the United States,
    and we recognize that the requirement to test in-person, whether in
    Washington, DC or even many other locations across the United States,
    may be cost prohibitive to some. Therefore, the Department is moving to
    transition Foreign Service Officer assessments to fully virtual
    platforms by July 2023, and in February 2022, the Director General
    approved a permanent shift to virtual oral assessments (remote
    interviews) for all non-law enforcement Foreign Service Specialists
    (FSS). Virtual oral assessments are now possible for FSS candidates
    from most locations in the world.

        Question. Does the State Department plan to hold remote interviews
    after the President declares the end of the COVID-19 public health
    emergency?

        Answer. Yes. After successfully assessing specialist candidates
    using virtual platforms during the pandemic, the Department permanently
    transitioned all non-Diplomatic Security Service specialist assessments
    to virtual effective February 2022. We are now working to do the same
    for Foreign Service Officer candidates. In addition to making the
    hiring process more accessible, we anticipate this will shorten the
    assessment timeline from approximately 9 months to 4, as well as
    shorten the assessment day to 4 hours. We will be able to offer
    assessments both in the mornings and afternoons to accommodate for time
    zones beyond the East Coast, and we will minimize any advantage a local
    candidate might have compared to candidates from outside Washington,
    DC.

        Question. How many Diplomats-in-Residence did the State Department
    add in its recent expansion?

        Answer. The Department has added one Diplomat in Residence (DIR)
    position, which will be encumbered beginning Summer 2023. We have
    restructured and expanded our Recruitment Division to enable greater
    efficiencies and improve our strategic outreach nationwide. In our
    phased approach, we have shifted portfolios to provide additional
    support, including the Plains States and Midwest, community colleges,
    TRIO students, and Minority Serving Institutions. In Summer 2023, we
    will add greater focus on the Pacific Northwest and Allegheny regions
    with Diplomats in Residence placed in Seattle and Pittsburgh,
    respectively. We have also added a Recruiter Coordinator position for
    additional oversight and support of our frontline recruiters.

        Question. Where are the new Diplomats-in-Residence located across
    the country?

        Answer. The additional Diplomat in Residence (DIR) position and
    geographic restructuring of the DIR program allows the Department to
    better serve communities nationwide. In a phased approach over the next
    12 months, DIRs in large urban centers with high volume demand will
    have smaller territories, allowing them to better reach underserved
    urban populations and rural communities in their territories. The
    placement of Diplomats in Residence in Seattle and Pittsburgh in Summer
    2023 will enable improved support of communities in the Pacific
    Northwest (Alaska, Oregon, and Washington) and the Allegheny region
    (Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia), territories that are currently
    covered out of San Francisco, Detroit, New York City, and Washington,
    DC. Coupled with additional administrative support and outreach support
    from Retired Employee Annuitants (REA) who previously served as DIRs,
    this gives our current DIRs the ability to better focus on their
    regions and connect to various population centers.

        Question. Does the State Department believe this number is
    sufficient to recruit a geographically diverse class of Foreign Service
    Officers? Should this number be increased, especially throughout
    America's interior?

        Answer. The Department continues to recruit from geographically
    diverse communities throughout the country. This is evident from the
    last Foreign Service class that onboarded in July, which was made up of
    individuals that came from 39 out of 50 States and the District of
    Columbia. Even so, our reach can only go so far with 17 Diplomats in
    Residence, and increased support would be welcomed in order to reach
    additional candidates throughout the country, particularly those from
    traditionally underrepresented groups and geographic locations in the
    Department.

        Question. How is the State Department working to expand geographic
    recruitment beyond the Diplomat-in-Residence program?

        Answer. The pandemic has allowed the Department to change the ways
    we reach diverse audiences. In the recruitment industry, it is widely
    accepted that hybrid recruitment efforts, including virtual and in-
    person engagement, will continue because many candidates appreciate the
    flexibility and organizations are able to reach a broader pool at lower
    costs. Already, we have implemented dedicated virtual career fairs that
    offer the advantage of reaching a national audience that reflects our
    strategic priorities while avoiding competition at third-party
    organized career fairs with employers with greater brand recognition.
    We have made a specific budget request for DoS dedicated virtual career
    fairs for FY23 and FY24, which will allow the Department to expand
    geographic recruitment even further and reach a much broader and
    diverse audience.

        Question. What percentage of Universities did the State Department
    visit for recruitment purposes in 2021? Does the State Department plan
    to increase this number in 2022 and the coming years?

        Answer. In 2021, the Department was able to visit 448, or 11
    percent, of the nearly 4000 colleges and universities located in the
    United States with our small team of 16 Diplomats in Residence and five
    Washington, DC based recruiters. A review of the school affiliations of
    the 4,600+ Foreign Service Officers hired from the beginning of FY 2010
    to date indicates that they have graduated from over 745 schools
    located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. We
    expect to continue to expand this outreach as we implement additional
    methodologies such as nationwide virtual events and career fairs.

        Question. How will better geographic recruitment promote greater
    diversity of views and experience within the Foreign Service?

        Answer. Recruitment capitalizes on its network of contacts
    throughout the country to share information and ensure target
    populations know of our student program and career opportunities and
    are prepared to apply. This level of recruitment has allowed for
    greater representation within Foreign Service classes. For example, in
    the last Foreign Service class that entered service in July 2022, the
    Department welcomed 186 new Foreign Service personnel representing 39
    out of the 50 United States and District of Columbia. This provides
    greater perspectives from across the country.

        Question. Does the Department value the skills that our veterans
    have developed through years of service to our country?

        Answer. The Department values the skills of not only veterans, but
    also active military (National Guard and Reservists). In fact, veterans
    make up 18.7 percent of the Department's workforce as compared to an
    estimated 7 percent of the U.S. adult population. We believe these
    numbers show just how much the Department values the skills our
    veterans have to offer. The Department recently established a Veteran
    Support Program (VSP) to guide and support the Department's more than
    5,000 military veterans and current Reservists/National Guard. The VSP
    will assist these employees in navigating the benefits afforded to them
    by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs
    because of their status as a Federal Government employee and their
    service and sacrifice to our nation. The creation of the Department's
    VSP, only the second of its kind in the Federal Government, is a
    reflection of the Department's commitment to veterans and our
    dedication to retaining them as valued employees.

        Question. Is the State Department working to increase veterans'
    preference in the Foreign Service?

        Answer. The Department strives to recruit, retain, and sustain a
    diverse, talented, and inclusive workforce that reflects our nation,
    including those who have served in our military. In fact, 18.7 percent
    of the Department's workforce are veterans (17.1 percent of the Foreign
    Service and 20.6 percent of the Civil Service) compared to an estimated
    7 percent of the U.S. adult population. We believe these numbers show
    how strong the Department's commitment to veterans is. The Department
    dedicates one of its national recruiters to veteran recruitment in the
    Foreign Service and trains a national platform of 22 Diplomats in
    Residence and Washington, DC-based recruiters to increase the number of
    veterans hired by the Department and to provide guidance and advice to
    veterans, disabled veterans, and transitioning service members. Once on
    board, the Department of State's newly established Veteran Support
    Program (VSP) provides support for military veterans and current
    Reservists/National Guard at the Department and assists them in
    accessing the benefits afforded them by the Department of Defense (DoD)
    and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
                                     ______

                  Responses of Ms. Neneh Diallo to Questions
                      Submitted by Senator James E. Risch

        Question. USAID is badly in need of reform when it comes to hiring.
    With over 20 different hiring mechanisms, the agency doesn't even know
    how diverse it really is (or isn't).
        How are you working with Human Capital Talent Management to
    streamline USAID's opaque and arcane hiring mechanisms to ensure that
    the agency has the right skills available to it in the right place at
    the right time?

        Answer. One of the key elements to transforming USAID's workforce
    is aligning the work needs with the right staffing resources. The
    Global Development Partnership Initiative (GDPI) is one of the key ways
    USAID is transforming its workforce. The ultimate objective is for
    USAID to grow the permanent FS to 2,500 and the CS to 2,250 by FY 2025.
    GDPI also includes an increase of 206 CCN/FSN positions by FY 2025.
        The initiative seeks to change USAID's workforce composition and
    shift away from an overreliance on the use of term-limited, non-career,
    and often non-U.S. Direct Hire (NDH) mechanisms to more permanent
    staffing mechanisms that are not limited in duration.
        The GDPI initiative will strengthen USAID's organizational
    performance capacity by providing opportunities that expand talent
    acquisition offerings to broader segments of our diverse nation,
    recognizing the importance of the composition of the workforce in
    alignment with the requested staff resourcing. This 3-year initiative
    will begin in earnest in FY 2023, but was jump-started thanks to
    bipartisan support in Congress with the FY 2022 Operating Expenses (OE)
    appropriation.
        Through GDPI, USAID is prioritizing the core capacities and
    functions required for our organization to operate, which includes
    ensuring we have the human resources to support the employee's entire
    lifecycle, contracting staff to ensure the effective delivery of our
    projects, and other core functional needs for any organization to
    operate effectively. USAID's increased permanent staffing will also
    focus on gender and inclusive development, climate change, democracy
    and anti-corruption efforts, a more permanent humanitarian assistance
    workforce, and global health security.
        As USAID expands its permanent workforce, the Agency is also
    pursuing equitable benefits for contract staff. USAID is a global
    agency with staff from several dozen hiring authorities, and needs to
    invest in a permanent workforce to create more opportunities for
    positive and sustainable development outcomes, and to meet our DEIA
    goals. Through GDPI, USAID will use data and modeling to help identify
    work needs and where to optimally place the most limited resource: CS
    and FS employees.

        Question. How are you working to establish a baseline against which
    diversity can even be measured?

        Answer. The Government-wide DEIA Strategic Plan released in
    November 2021, specifically outlines a priority to ``improve the
    collection of voluntarily self-reported demographic data about the
    federal workforce by taking an evidence-based approach to reduce
    potential barriers in hiring, promotion, professional development, and
    retention practices.''
        USAID's workforce comprises various hiring categories, including
    U.S. Direct Hires (USDHs), Personal Services Contractors (PSCs), and
    Institutional Support Contractors (ISCs). Of our entire workforce of
    approximately 11,000 individuals, more than 5,500 are PSCs with almost
    1,500 ISCs, comprising around 64 percent of our entire workforce.
        This Fall, USAID will launch the Agency's first-ever annual DEIA
    Survey, which will help to establish a baseline for measuring
    longitudinal progress on the Agency's DEIA goals, while also
    contributing to government-wide data collection to both inform DEIA
    efforts across the federal workforce. The survey will provide the
    agency a more robust picture of the workforce through the collection of
    expanded demographic data, in particular sexual orientation and gender
    identity data, which is currently not collected. This survey will
    complement data USAID collects on workforce composition both
    domestically and abroad with the goal of including all hiring
    mechanisms. The survey will provide data to enable USAID to take an
    evidence-based approach to reducing any potential barriers in hiring,
    promotion, professional development, and retention practices. Responses
    from staff will be voluntary and data collected will be published on an
    Agency-wide DEIA dashboard with and scorecards for Missions, Bureaus
    and Independent Offices. Over time, the annual survey will help monitor
    and report on DEIA program effectiveness, enable continuous program
    improvement, and inform DEIA policy decisions.
        Implementation of the DEIA Survey, consistent with the Federal
    Employee Viewpoint Survey, will be conducted in accordance with
    guidance from the White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC), U.S. Equal
    Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. Office of Personnel
    Management (OPM), and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

        Question. How does USAID's ``localization'' strategy fit into the
    agency's diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility goals?

        Answer. Localization is the process and actions that USAID will
    undertake to ensure our work puts a diverse group of local actors in
    the lead, strengthens local systems, and is responsive to local
    communities. Our motto of ``Nothing about them, without them'' leads
    the way in our localization agenda and is an embodiment of our
    commitment to inclusive development and broader DEIA principles.
        As with all of USAID's initiatives, USAID approaches localization
    with a DEIA lens. It is important that USAID equitably engages a
    diverse group of local actors to ensure that our partner base and the
    stakeholders we engage are representative of the populations the Agency
    serves and supports, and that our localization efforts do not reinforce
    legacies of marginalization or exploitation in a particular country,
    region, or community.
        USAID's Equity Action Plan, which resulted from an external equity
    assessment that identified gaps in advancing equity with underserved
    communities, including racial and ethnic equity, details five
    priorities to increase equity in USAID programming and partnerships.
    One priority area focuses on lowering internal and external barriers
    for USAID awards and a second focuses on incorporating racial and
    ethnic equity and diversity into policy, planning, and learning. The
    Agency's localization initiative supports both priorities of the EAP.

        Question. USAID is a lead agency in advancing the Global Fragility
    Act and, especially when considering the work of the Bureau for
    Humanitarian Assistance and the Bureau for Global Health, a major
    logistics operator in fragile contexts.
        Would you agree that American service members have unique skill
    sets that closely align with many of USAID's core functions?

        Answer. Yes, U.S. military service members have skill sets that
    align to USAID core functions. USAID recruitment efforts are
    effectively sourcing veteran candidates eligible for employment
    consideration, including by. The Agency is committed to and
    acknowledges opportunity exists for improved selection and hiring of
    veterans for career opportunities.

        Question. Would you also agree that USAID needs to do a better job
    recruiting veterans with these specialized skill sets in order to
    enhance diversity and strengthen program execution?

        Answer. USAID continues to engage the Department of Labor's
    Workforce Recruitment Program as a resource for providing candidates
    with disabilities for employment consideration and has also prioritized
    the use of Schedule A and Disabled Veteran non-competitive hiring
    mechanisms.
        Recent outreach efforts have focused heavily on our Service
    Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) community as this is the
    area where we have faced the most challenges. We have partnered with
    the American Legion, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the
    Department of State, among others, to enhance our SDVOSB engagement.
        On August 29, 2022, USAID's OSDBU staff attended the 103rd American
    Legion National Convention in Milwaukee, WI where OSDBU participated on
    a Veteran Small Business Federal Contracting panel to discuss ongoing
    efforts to increase contracting opportunities for SDVOSBs. This event
    gathered small business owners, government leaders, and members of the
    banking industry to explore solutions to the most pressing matters for
    veteran small business development.
        Additionally, on September 6-9, 2022, USAID's OSDBU participated in
    the 34th National Defense Industrial Association's (NDIA) Annual Navy
    Gold Coast Small Business Procurement conference. NDIA's Department of
    the Navy Gold Coast Event is a premier Navy procurement conference.
    Gold Coast provides a forum to educate, guide, and assist businesses,
    large and small, in support of the warfighter mission within the
    Department of the Navy and throughout the DoD. The event provided
    relevant topics delivered by government and industry experts.
                                     ______

         Responses of Hon. Gina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley to Questions
                    Submitted by Senator Benjamin L. Cardin

        Question. In your view, do the OIG's findings indicate potential
    barriers that may make it more difficult for members of
    underrepresented groups to be recommended for promotion in the Foreign
    Service?

        Answer. The OIG found that seven of the approximately 150 public
    members who served during the 7-year period reviewed were personally
    known to members of GTM's Office of Performance Evaluation (GTM/PE)
    staff. However, the OIG did not find that the results of the Foreign
    Service Selection Boards on which those public members served, or the
    results of any other Boards for the years reviewed, were negatively
    affected or otherwise invalid, nor did the report recommend any further
    review or actions regarding past boards. In addition, earlier this
    year, the Department conducted a review of the composition of our
    Selection Board panels over the last 5 years. The demographic analysis
    of the over 500 career Foreign Service members who served on the Board
    panels during this period showed that they were highly diverse, with
    the percentage of panelists from underrepresented groups generally
    exceeding the percentage of reviewed employees from such groups. There
    is no indication that the composition of the Selection Board panels is
    a barrier to promotion for members of underrepresented groups.

        Question. In your capacity as CDIO, please describe how, if at all,
    you are engaging with stakeholders throughout the State Department to
    ensure that the process through which FSSBs consider candidates for
    promotion is fair and consistent.

        Answer. As of April 2022, all foreign service personnel will need
    to demonstrate concrete contributions to advancing DEIA to strengthen
    their case for promotion. As CDIO, I advocated for a foreign service
    precept dedicated to DEIA and am now working with colleagues in Global
    Talent Management to ensure that employees and promotion boards are
    aware of the change and have a common understanding of how to implement
    the new precept. For example, in June we collaborated with GTM and the
    Foreign Service Institute on a webinar focused on the new precepts to
    field questions from the workforce.

        Question. Please describe how, if at all, this change to the core
    precepts may affect any existing barriers to members of
    underrepresented groups advancing in the Foreign Service.

        Answer. The new DEIA precept was drafted by the Bureau of Global
    Talent Management in concert with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion
    and AFSA. It describes the kinds of efforts in which each employee can
    demonstrate, through specific actions, their contributions to fostering
    greater diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility, both
    internally in the Department and in their external foreign policy
    engagements. For example, exhibiting cultural awareness, achieving
    goals through inclusive teamwork, showing support for workplace
    flexibilities, organizing programs and events to discuss actionable
    ways to advance DEIA, and working to ensure the workplace is accessible
    are all ways in which an employee at any level can demonstrate a
    commitment to the principles of DEIA. Employee performance, which is
    the basis for promotion, will be measured in accordance with this and
    other precepts.

        Question. What is the status of assignment restriction (AR) reform?

        Answer. Pursuant to the passage of Section 5311(c) of the National
    Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of Fiscal Year 2022 in December 2021,
    the Department drafted revisions to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) to
    implement the new assignment restriction review and appeal process.
    Following approval of the FAM revisions, the Department will engage
    employee unions to comment on implementation of the revised review and
    appeal process. Once that process is complete, the assignment
    restriction appeal process will fully reflect the mandates of the NDAA.
    Additionally, the Department returned to the original, narrower scope
    of assignment restrictions by decoupling them from a separate matter,
    assignment preclusions. Assignment preclusions, which are governed by 3
    FAM 2424.5 (Dual Nationality), fall under the purview of the Bureau of
    Global Talent Management and reflect the Department's rule that members
    of the Foreign Service may not be assigned to post in states of which
    they are nationals, as host governments will generally not accord
    privileges and immunities to their own nationals.

        Question. When will the Department announce changes to the AR
    appeals process and how will this be communicated to all employees,
    including those who are waiting to join A-100 and those still going
    through the appeals process?

        Answer. The Department has drafted an All Diplomatic and Consular
    Posts (ALDAC) cable to announce upcoming changes to the assignment
    restriction review and appeals process, which the Department will
    release once employee union engagement regarding the FAM changes is
    complete. Additionally, the Department will continue to collaborate
    with the Office of the Registrar to reach those awaiting A-100 and
    employee unions and employee organization groups in communicating these
    updates to their members. Those with assignment restrictions and those
    who are seeking an appeal through the revised process have been
    provided a dedicated point-of-contact.
                                     ______

                  Responses of Ms. Neneh Diallo to Questions
                    Submitted by Senator Benjamin L. Cardin

        Question. Collection of DEIA Data. The Inspector General report on
    USAID issued in March opens with, ``For nearly 30 years, USAID has
    worked to improve the efficiency and efficacy of its strategic
    workforce planning, yet despite these attempts, human capital
    management has remained one of the Agency's top challenges.'' USAID's
    internal workforce is comprised of a hodge-podge of hiring mechanisms,
    with over 1100 Personal Service Contractors (PSCs); 400+ non-career
    ``Foreign Service Limited'' appointees; thousands of institutional
    support contractors (ISCs) in addition to the approximate 1,800 career
    Foreign Service Officers and 1,600 Civil Service employees. Yet, USAID
    has no current published DEIA data for any mechanism. This lack of
    strategic workforce planning, data, and mishmash of hiring mechanisms
    adversely effects overall HR efforts, including understanding and
    addressing DEIA concerns.
        What is USAID doing to build the systems, staff, and accountability
    to collect DEIA data, check data accuracy, publish data and incorporate
    and use DEIA data appropriately to advance DEIA goals? What are the
    timeframes?

        Answer. In addition to the publicly available MD-715 reports, USAID
    has been steadily improving its human resources (HR) data quality and
    analysis, along with our workforce planning capacity. Through the
    development of the Talent Analytics tool, access to HR data has
    expanded across the Agency, focusing first on HR and workforce planning
    professionals in the Agency, and with continuing efforts to expand even
    further to share dashboards and reports with internal and external
    audiences. For example, USAID recently completed its most comprehensive
    analysis of foreign service promotions, including demographic data, and
    will be releasing the results of that report in the near future upon
    the completion of the review to ensure privacy protections. USAID has
    been creating and testing demographic data reporting and dashboards for
    the past 2 years in our effort to increase transparency, while ensuring
    individual privacy is protected.
        Later this year, USAID will launch the Agency's first-ever annual
    DEIA Survey, which will help to establish a baseline for measuring
    longitudinal progress on the Agency's DEIA goals, while also
    contributing to government-wide data collection to inform DEIA efforts
    across the federal workforce. The survey will provide the agency a more
    robust picture of the workforce through the collection of expanded
    demographic data, in particular sexual orientation and gender identity
    data, which is currently not collected. This survey will complement
    data USAID collects on workforce composition both domestically and
    abroad with the goal of spanning all hiring mechanisms, and will
    provide data to take an evidence-based approach to reducing any
    potential barriers in hiring, promotion, professional development, and
    retention practices. Responses from staff will be voluntary and data
    collected will be used to publish an Agency-wide DEIA dashboard and
    scorecards for Missions, Bureaus and Independent Offices. Over time,
    the survey will help monitor and report on DEIA program effectiveness,
    enable continuous program improvement, and inform DEIA policy
    decisions.

        Question. Pay equity. USAID reportedly is in a legal battle with a
    group of women alleging they were hired at salaries lower than those of
    their male peers. According to reports, ``The specific goal of their
    suit is to have their salaries adjusted retroactively with back pay
    from 3 years before they made the complaint, which is the legal
    limit.'' If they win, the women could receive the back pay as well as a
    related adjustment to their retirement packages.
        Has USAID studied pay equity related both to gender and to race and
    ethnicity? If so, what conclusions has the agency drawn and how are
    those shaping agency hiring practices?

        Answer. Yes, USAID has studied pay equity. From 2015-2021, data
    found a decrease in pay disparities across different races and gender.
    (The results shared below do not include the Office of the Inspector
    General.)
        In the Civil Service, the Black/African American, Hispanic, and
    Other race workforce combinations had relatively lower average salaries
    from FY 2015 to FY 2021, but had higher base pay average growth rates
    at 3.6 percent, 3.7 percent, and 3.6 percent, respectively, compared to
    overall civil service at 2.9 percent. In the Foreign Service, the
    average base pay growth rates are 2.1 percent, 3.2 percent, and 2.1
    percent, respectively, which is slightly below the FS average of 2.7
    percent. Pay equity gaps related to gender also decreased over this
    period on average.

        Question. Why is USAID battling these women in court, rather than
    providing the back pay they apparently deserve?

        Answer. USAID unfortunately cannot comment on ongoing litigation.
    USAID may speak more generally regarding any pay disparities among its
    Senior Foreign Service Officers. Among this group, USAID reviewed pay
    data and identified some pay disparities, which exist for both women
    and men. The Agency reviewed in detail the cause of these disparities
    and found the cause is not gender-based. Rather, the disparities are
    the product of an incongruence between the FS and SFS pay systems that
    the Agency worked to rectify upon discovery. USAID is sensitive to
    concern over gender-based pay disparity and has taken actions to
    prevent any such disparities before they arise by, for example,
    eliminating salary history from its Contractor Biographical Data Sheet
    in 2019 and launching a pilot program in 2020 in which it stopped
    relying upon salary history when setting pay for new Foreign Service
    Officers.
                                     ______

         Responses of Hon. Gina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley to Questions
                        Submitted by Senator Cory Booker

        Question. How do you plan to recruit a diverse labor force for
    years to come when the political consensus for civil service
    protections, particularly for policy-focused civil servants, is under
    threat?

        Answer. The Department is committed to making recruitment decisions
    based on merit and ensuring that all personnel practices are carried
    out consistent with all laws and regulations. The Department welcomed
    the protections afforded to Civil Service hires through the 2021
    Executive Order on Protecting the Federal Workforce (E.O. 14003), and
    through this Executive Order, the Department is mandated with the task
    of protecting, empowering, and rebuilding the career Federal workforce.
    The Department takes full advantage of all available hiring authorities
    and has taken several steps to expand outreach to ensure that it can
    attract a diverse labor force.
        For example, the Department began hosting nationwide virtual career
    fairs promoting all Department careers and student programs, including
    career gateway programs into the Civil Service. During these fairs, we
    hosted presentations on Civil Service and student program application
    processes, highlighted different Civil Service career tracks, and
    featured Department employees who shared their experiences with
    Employee Organizations providing community, support, and advocacy for
    our diverse workforce. Similarly, we consistently raise awareness of
    and promote Civil Service careers in our nationwide outreach through
    events organized by our Diplomats-in-Residence and Washington, DC-based
    national recruiters.
        The Department includes diversity distribution lists when posting
    Civil Service vacancy announcements, which ensures that the
    organizations listed in the distribution lists automatically receive
    notifications when Civil Service announcements are posted to USAJOBS.
        The Department is also committed to attracting diverse and
    exceptionally qualified candidates for Senior Executive Service
    positions. When advertising Senior Executive Service positions
    externally, the Department considers applications from all U.S.
    citizens to ensure the widest applicant pool.
                                     ______

                  Responses of Ms. Neneh Diallo to Questions
                     Submitted by Senator Chris Van Hollen

        Question. USAID's workforce comprises more than 10,000 people,
    approximately 60 percent of whom are not direct-hires (e.g., Foreign
    Service Nationals, Personal Services Contractors, and Institutional
    Support Contractors). Diversity data are not consistently collected
    among this group of nondirect hire personnel, leaving USAID with an
    incomplete understanding of its workforce.
        What suggestions, if any, would you make to USAID in its data
    collection and analysis on non-direct hires?
        How might their inclusion in these exercises change USAID's
    decision-making with respect to diversity, equity, inclusion, and
    accessibility efforts?

        Answer. Later this year, USAID will launch the Agency's first-ever
    annual DEIA Survey, which will help to establish a baseline for
    measuring longitudinal progress on the Agency's DEIA goals. It will
    also contribute to government-wide data collection to both inform DEIA
    efforts across the federal workforce. The survey will provide the
    agency a more robust picture of the workforce through the collection of
    expanded demographic data, in particular sexual orientation and gender
    identity data, which is currently not collected. This survey will
    complement data USAID collects on workforce composition both
    domestically and abroad with the goal of including all hiring
    mechanisms, and will provide data to take an evidence-based approach to
    reducing any potential barriers in hiring, promotion, professional
    development, and retention practices. Responses from staff will be
    voluntary and data collected will be used to publish an Agency-wide
    DEIA dashboard and scorecards for Missions, Bureaus and Independent
    Offices. Over time, the annual survey will help monitor and report on
    DEIA program effectiveness, enable continuous program improvement, and
    inform DEIA policy decisions.
        While USAID voluntarily collects demographic data (race, ethnicity,
    sex, disability status) from U.S. Personal Services Contractors as from
    U.S. Direct Hires (USDHs), that data is analyzed on an ad-hoc basis.
    Although the Agency is mandated by the Equal Employment Opportunity
    Commission to annually produce a report analyzing the Agency's
    demographic makeup across the employment life-cycle, the data analysis
    requirements are for USDH only. As the Office of Civil Rights Special
    Emphasis Programs becomes operational, the Agency will be able to
    expand workforce demographic data analysis.
                                     ______

          Statement for the Record, Government Accountability Office,
                              Dated July 26, 2022
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