The stereotype that the State Department is overwhelmingly “pale, male, and Yale” has persisted through both Democratic and Republican administrations. Even as the United States—and the federal government—has grown more diverse, the State Department has remained behind the times. Between 2002 and 2018, the proportion of State Department staff identifying as racial or ethnic minorities increased by only 4 percent, well below the federal workforce average. The proportion of Black employees actually fell.
When President-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take office in January—and when Antony Blinken is confirmed as secretary of state—they will inherit a State Department and a foreign service that has been both demoralized and diminished over the course of the Trump administration. To rebuild it—and to reassert America’s leadership and values abroad—they must make diversity a priority across the board, and especially within the State Department and foreign service.
