State Department: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Workplace Diversity and Inclusion
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.
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) |
State concurred with this recommendation. As of February 2023, the State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion was leading an effort to draft quantitative and qualitative performance outcome measures for the department's DEIA Strategic Plan, according to State. State's DEIA Strategic Plan Implementation Team planned to reconvene in early 2023 to reach consensus on the adoption and inclusion of the draft outcome measures, among other things. According to State, when the draft outcome measures are approved by the Implementation Team, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion will update the DEIA Strategic Plan and accompanying Implementation Plan accordingly. 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) |
State concurred with this recommendation. In February 2023, State officials noted, among other things, that the department is deploying new DEIA-specific competency requirements for Civil Service employees in the 2023 performance management cycle. 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 current 2022-2023 evaluation cycle. 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) |
State concurred with this recommendation. As of February 2023, State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion and DEIA Data Working Group were developing a Standardized Operating Procedure to guide the department's barrier analyses, according to State. The group was also developing a template for Memorandum of Understandings that will be signed between the group and any other State elements that conduct barrier analyses. State anticipated these documents would be finalized by the end of April 2023. 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) |
State concurred with this recommendation. As of February 2023, State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion and DEIA Data Working Group were continuing to collaborate on methodological approaches and statistical applications to mature and improve its statistical methodology for the quantitative aspect of barrier analyses, according to State. State noted that the DEIA Data Working Group now examines magnitudes of disparity between expected and actual applicant flow outcomes when analyzing quantitative workforce and applicant flow data. We will continue to monitor State's progress on implementing this recommendation.
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