State Department: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Workplace Diversity and Inclusion
Fast Facts
Facing longstanding diversity issues, the State Department has expressed a commitment to building an inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of the U.S.
State has taken steps to address many leading practices for managing diversity and inclusion, such as appointing a Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. The agency also created a strategic plan outlining its workplace diversity and inclusion goals and actions. However, State doesn't have performance measures to gauge progress for these goals.
We recommended that State measure progress, enhance accountability, and better analyze barriers to equal opportunity in its workforce.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Department of State's actions address five of seven leading practices GAO identified for managing diversity and inclusion in the workplace; however, gaps remain in measurement and accountability (see table). State is addressing employee involvement and diversity training and has plans to help address gaps in leadership commitment, recruitment, and succession planning. GAO's survey of State employee organizations reinforced these findings, with the majority of respondents having favorable views of senior leadership commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). However, State does not have performance measures and has not taken sufficient actions to enhance accountability for its workplace DEIA goals. Moreover, around 70 percent of the organizations GAO surveyed indicated that State does not hold managers and supervisors accountable for their progress toward achieving diversity and inclusion goals. Without ways to measure progress and enhance accountability, State may not achieve its goal of fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.
GAO's Assessment of Department of State's Actions Compared to Leading Practices for Diversity and Inclusion Management
|
Leading Practice |
GAO Rating |
|
Employee Involvement |
● |
|
Diversity Training |
● |
|
Leadership Commitment |
◑ |
|
Recruitment |
◑ |
|
Succession Planning |
◑ |
|
Measurement |
◔ |
|
Accountability |
◔ |
Legend: ●—Address. ◑—Generally address. ◔—Partially address. ○—Do not address.
Source: GAO analysis of Department of State actions and GAO leading practices for diversity and inclusion management. | GAO-22-105182
State has taken steps to identify, investigate, and eliminate barriers to workforce diversity, though its analyses vary in depth and have methodological weaknesses. Since January 2020, State has identified four indicators of potential barriers to diversity, including lower promotion rates above the GS-13 level for historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups compared to Whites. State has taken some steps to investigate and eliminate barriers, but GAO found that State's analyses vary in depth. For example, State did not assess why fewer women take the Foreign Service Officer test before implementing measures designed to improve recruitment of women. Having not investigated the cause of the disparity, State cannot be sure its response addresses the underlying barrier. In addition, GAO found weaknesses in State's statistical methodology. For example, State's analysis only allowed it to identify extreme disparities as indicators of potential barriers in Foreign Service promotions. If State does not create a plan to improve its barrier analysis process and improve its methodology for identifying potential barriers, it risks using resources on solutions that do not address the root causes of disparities and risks leaving barriers unaddressed.
Why GAO Did This Study
State leaders have highlighted the importance of fostering an inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of the U.S. State has made efforts to increase DEIA. However, in January 2020, GAO found that State continued to face longstanding diversity issues. These included underrepresentation of historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups and women in the senior ranks. Federal guidance requires State to systematically identify, assess, and remove barriers to equal participation in its workforce and to report on such barriers annually.
GAO was asked to review issues related to State's DEIA efforts. This report examines (1) the extent to which State's actions address leading practices for managing diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and (2) the extent to which State has taken steps to identify, investigate, and eliminate barriers to workforce diversity since January 2020. GAO reviewed State documents, surveyed 20 employee organizations, and interviewed State officials. GAO compared State's actions to leading practices, and analyzed State's methodologies for identifying potential barriers.
Recommendations
GAO is recommending that State establish performance measures, enhance accountability for workplace DEIA goals, create a plan to improve its barrier analysis process, and improve its statistical methodology. State concurred with these recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of State | The Secretary of State should ensure the Office of Diversity and Inclusion establish performance measures for State's DEIA-related goals and objectives in the workplace and develop a process to evaluate progress. (Recommendation 1) |
Open
State concurred with this recommendation. As of November 2023, State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion was leading an effort to draft quantitative and qualitative performance measures for a range of goals and objectives in the department's DEIA Strategic Plan, according to State. State plans to prioritize measures according to those it deems will have the most enterprise-wide impact. Once the department's DEIA Strategic Implementation Team approves the measures, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion will add them into a dedicated column in State's DEIA Strategic Plan's Implementation Dashboard and notify GAO on progress. We will continue to monitor State's progress on implementing this recommendation.
|
| Department of State | The Secretary of State should develop and implement additional actions to enhance accountability for workplace DEIA goals, including for managers and supervisors, such as analyzing the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms. (Recommendation 2) |
Open
State concurred with this recommendation. In November 2023, State officials noted, among other things, that the department deployed new DEIA-specific competency requirements for Civil Service employees and supervisors in the 2023 performance management cycle. These competencies include employee responsibility for advancing and integrating the department's DEIA goals, cultural sensitivities, respect for individual differences, and building diverse collaborative networks, according to State. Supervisor performance goals also include modeling behavior that supports a culture of inclusion and impartial treatment of all colleagues while adhering to equal employment opportunity standards and practices. State also noted that the department issued new decision criteria for Foreign Service tenure and promotion that includes performance objectives for diversity and inclusion in the 2022-2023 evaluation cycle. Every Foreign Service employee is required to use concrete examples to demonstrate how they have advanced DEIA to be competitive for promotion, according to State. State also told GAO that it tries to provide transparency to the workforce by sharing how the discipline program holds employees accountable who engage in harassment, discrimination, or other negative behaviors. We will continue to monitor State's progress on implementing this recommendation
|
| Department of State | The Secretary of State should create a plan to improve State's barrier analysis process that ensures all steps of the process are followed. (Recommendation 3) |
Open
State concurred with this recommendation. As of November 2023, State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion was leading a DEIA Data Working Group that was developing guidance to facilitate various State bureaus' ability to conduct their own barrier analyses, according to State. State told GAO that the package includes a Standardized Operating Procedure to guide the department's barrier analyses, a template for Memorandum of Understandings that will be signed between the group and State elements that conduct barrier analyses, and a DEIA data request and user rules of behavior form to ensure ethical data use across the department. State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the working group are also working to ensure any guidance distributed on State's new barrier analysis process incorporates Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advice and guidance. We will continue to monitor State's progress on implementing this recommendation.
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| Department of State | The Secretary of State should improve the department's statistical methodology to ensure it is appropriate for identifying potential barriers to diversity. (Recommendation 4) |
Open
State concurred with this recommendation. As of November 2023, State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion was leading a DEIA Data Working Group comprised of data experts from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Bureau of Global Talent Management's Office of Talent Analytics, the Secretary's Office of Civil Rights, and the Office of Management Strategy and Solutions Center for Analytics. According to State, the group now uses sound methodologies to approach data studies and analyses on workforce demographic data. The working group is focused on baseline data studies on Foreign Service bidding and on Civil Service Applicant Data Flow which will help to identify potential barriers in these processes, according to State. After these studies are completed, the working group will undertake further analyses which hone in on the potential barriers identified. We will continue to monitor State's progress on implementing this recommendation.
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