The State Department’s New Strategy Prioritizes Evidence-Based DEIA

By: Rachel George and Beverli DeWalt | September 28, 2022

Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley at the podium, 2022. U.S. Department of State.

The State Department just announced its five-year strategic plan for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA). The strategy, led by the new Office of Diversity and Inclusion, commits to an evidence-based approach to diversity. The strategy seeks to use data to evaluate the different spaces where exclusion can occur, and offers a slate of important areas for action. The emphasis on evidence in the new strategy lays a necessary foundation for ensuring that diversity efforts have their intended effects, and, critically, that they do no harm. 

The Department should next establish and publicize clear metrics, timeframes, and responsibility structures to refine, implement, and monitor its strategy. This will need to be carefully delivered based on the available research and evidence on what works to promote DEIA. The Department must stay flexible to adjust the plan in response to lessons learned along the way.

Transforming the State Department to look more like the country it represents can help deliver critical improvements to its operations and outcomes. Despite the clear benefits of diversity, obstacles to enabling transformation at the Department are steep. There is a paucity of Senior Executives in the Department who are people of color (13 percent), and ongoing inequitable outcomes for the inclusion and promotion of women, racial and ethnic minorities, and other groups.

The new strategy lays out a holistic approach that considers a range of levers for affecting change. fp21’s research on what works to improve diversity, detailed in our report, The Road to Diversity: An Evidence-based Approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Department of State’, offers further insights into learning from other sectors. A commitment to evidence-based solutions sets the stage for even greater success. 

Here are some observations on the strategy’s positive directions, along with some ideas on how to set it up for further success. 

Important Signs of Progress 

A good emphasis on data collection and analysis

First and foremost, the strategy’s strong focus on enhanced data gathering and analysis is an excellent signal of the administration’s commitment to an evidence-based approach. The Department’s new Demographic Baseline Report, which will be conducted annually, and the new “DEIA Climate Survey,” are good steps toward an evidence-informed strategy. These efforts indicate the Department will be prioritizing data collection to better capture the sometimes invisible drivers of exclusion within its hallways. And the baseline data will allow the building to hold itself accountable on objective metrics of progress.

Our research indicates the collection of comprehensive workforce demographic and experience data can provide a powerful tool to enhance the effectiveness of diversity campaigns. Improved data collection, disaggregation, and visibility have led, for example, to cultural changes, better assignments for diverse staff members, and increased hiring diversity. The design of these efforts can make or break them, and data efforts should endeavor to capture accurate data through inclusive survey designs and methodologies. Work to ensure trust between leadership, working-level staff, and data collectors through clear communication and accountability is required. This might be achieved, for example, through gathering annual feedback from staff at all levels on the effects of the DEIA strategy.

Positive signs of expanding recruitment, focusing on retention

The Department will be stronger and more effective when it reflects the diverse population of the country it represents. Evidence indicates that recruitment programs for under-served populations can be effective, increasing diversity in the workforce in some cases by above 10 to 18 percent. The recent expansion of diversity-based hiring fellowships and programs including the Rangel and Pickering fellowships and the Diplomats in Residence Program is commendable. 

But the State Department must address its failures to promote and retain diverse staff after they are hired, particularly in the mid-and senior-level ranks. That’s why the strategy’s establishment of a Retention Unit within the Department’s Global Talent Management office is laudable. Lessons from this office’s successes and failures should inform future program design and goal setting.

Opportunities for Refinement and Learning

The need for clear and explicit metrics

The Department’s success will hinge on a clear implementation plan with transparent accountability structures and metrics. If comprehensive detail on its timeframes, responsibility structures and metrics for success were created, they were not made public. Experts stress that the establishment of clearer and more transparent metrics and accountability structures will be critical to the success of DEIA efforts.

A careful approach needed for staff advancement procedures at State

The strategy plans to make DEIA “an element for all employees as part of their job performance criteria, career advancement opportunities, and senior performance pay.” This builds on the revised evaluation criteria for career advancement for U.S. foreign service officers in February 2022.

fp21 research has found that these forms of interventions can have mixed effects due to poor measurement tools and risks of unintended outcomes. For example, studies have found that diversity-related promotion incentives lead to increases in the promotion of white women by 6 percent but decreases the promotion of Black men by 8 percent. Merit-based promotion processes are tricky to implement effectively. As one scholar notes, “there may even be unrecognized risks behind certain efforts to discourage bias” in promotion processes. The Department should continue to define and carefully execute a plan to identify and award merit and reduce bias in its systems. 

The strategy’s commitment to remove bias from awards and to reward good staff who take positive actions on DEIA is also commendable. Although the intent of such awards is good, research suggests taking a nuanced approach is required to ensure rewards are perceived as fair. In some cases, awards have unintended negative effects, such as causing envy and decreasing motivation in those who are passed over. Careful data collection to monitor employee motivations, award effects, and perceptions of DEIA and other awards, particularly within minorities and under-represented groups, will help management determine if they are having the intended effects. 

‘Do no harm’

The Department is also working to strengthen its accountability and Equal Employment Opportunity systems to address harmful actions. The strategy announces plans to “examine policies and resources for victims…and modify the policies and resources as needed to ensure they do not suffer career setbacks.” Our research indicates that overly legalistic EEO systems can disincentivize victims of harassment and abuse from speaking out. One study found legalistic procedures led to declines in women and minorities in managerial ranks by 3-11%. Best practices indicate that flexible grievance systems and consistent efforts to identify and mediate instances of abuse may help to ensure that these accountability efforts are trusted and successful. 

The Road Ahead

This is a productive time for advocates of diversity and inclusion at the State Department. High-level attention to the issues has been matched by the development of new structures for concrete progress. New data collection efforts and commitments to support retention and recruitment are positive steps forward. 

While there is a wealth of evidence that can help refine the strategy and turn the aspirations into action, there are also unknowns. Strategies that were successful in other sectors may not translate well into the unique context of the State Department. Effective implementation must help create a culture of learning around what works in this space. At least two aspects of the strategy, including strengthening EEO practices and incentivizing DEIA through promotion processes, have been challenging to implement effectively in other organizations. The key to the success of this strategy will lie in the monitoring of the strategy going forward.

fp21’s research underlines the importance of ensuring the new policies and procedures are designed carefully and implemented in a manner that allows rapid learning and adaptation. Drawing on academic learning and experiences from other sectors and countries will help the State Department to identify what works to improve diversity and to set their programs, and ultimately set it up for success.  Continually improving practices through strong metrics and learning will be necessary to ensure an inclusive and equitable 21st Century U.S. diplomatic workforce.