This section deals with issues of interest to Foreign Service professionals, both Foreign Service Officers and Foreign Service Specialists, as well as to Civil Service employees sent on temporary duty (TDY) assignments abroad. An effort is made to show how specific issues are addressed by the responsible offices of the State Department, by the Foreign Service “union” (i.e., the American Foreign Service Association, or AFSA) and by active duty employees who communicate with one another via the Internet.
Many of these issues are addressed by Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Department of State website (http://careers.state.gov/specialist/faqs/index.html ), by AFSA through articles and its own reports to members carried in Internet messages and the Foreign Service Journal (http://www.afsa.org/fsj/archives.cfm ) and by the blogs of Foreign Service Officers and their families. The latter can be found through the website of the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) (http://www.aafsw.org/overseas/blogs.htm ).
Three other websites of general interest are:
- http://www.nicholaskralev.com/WT-FS.html This site contains an interesting and well-documented series of newspaper articles on the Foreign Service by correspondent Nicholas Kralev that ran in The Washington Times in 2004.
- www.talesmag.com On the website of Tales of a Small Planet, this group describes its mission as “to enrich and share the experience of living abroad through literature, humor and the arts, as well as by providing information and education on what it is really like to live in a foreign country and how to cope with the challenges that may come along.”
- http://www.whirledview.typepad.com This website contains a blog written by retired Foreign Service Officers on a wide variety of subjects, including diplomacy, feminism, public diplomacy, law and human rights, and international affairs.
Overview
Foreign Service professionals, like professionals in other fields, have concerns that are unique to their work. These include promotions, pay, assignments, family member employment and education, and health.
In a June 2006 letter to Ambassador George Staples, Director General of the Foreign Service, the American Foreign Service Association listed the most important issues raised by its members. Among the concerns:
- Open assignment rules that are not always followed
- The dangers of serving in posts such as Iraq
- Difficulties related to securing jobs for family members overseas
- Reductions in Foreign Service promotions
- Concerns of family members left behind when FSOs work “unaccompanied” at the 70 posts that do not permit dependents to join them
- Dissatisfaction with State’s unwillingness to treat unmarried partners as family members
- Other issues related to security clearances, maternity benefits and overseas housing
top
Career Advancement
Many of the career advancement issues of importance to State employees revolve around questions of equitable treatment. The State Department’s Office of Civil Rights http://www.state.gov/s/ocr (formerly called the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity) has primary responsibility for dealing with allegations of unfair treatment based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and physical disabilities. In addition to issues related to women and minorities that have been high on the Foreign Service agenda for decades, the treatment of gays and lesbians, as well persons with disabilities, has received increased attention in more recent years. Gays and lesbians in committed relationships who serve abroad seek “family member” treatment for their partners, a status the State Department maintains it is legally unable to permit. Disabled in Foreign Affairs Agencies (DIFAA) is an organization that promotes awareness of and support for the disabled in the State Department work environment. These and other State Department “affinity groups” are identified on the State Department careers website http://www.careers.state.gov/general/diversity/affinity.html. For more detail on the hiring and advancement of women and minorities in the Foreign Service, see the section of this website on “A More Representative Foreign Service.”
top
Pay
Concerns about pay include those related to cost of living allowances and benefits for employees living in hardship posts, including such danger zones as Iraq. A major issue in mid-2006 was the question of “locality pay” for Foreign Service personnel serving abroad (which would give them the same salary adjustment they would receive in Washington). The State Department leadership said it was willing to ask Congress to move toward providing locality pay, but only in exchange for implementation of a new system of “pay-per-performance.” The issue was hotly debated within the Department and inside AFSA. For the AFSA President’s perspective, see Anthony J. Holmes “Overseas Comparability Pay: Defining Issues and Litmus Test,” Foreign Service Journal, November 2005 (http://www.afsa.org/fsj/nov05/holmes.pdf). Congressional initiatives in 2006 to legislate comparability pay for Foreign Service employees were not successful. Another important topic is appropriate compensation to Foreign Service personnel assigned to Iraq (http://careers.state.gov/opportunities/iraq/benefits.html)
top
Assignments
Foreign Service Officers commit themselves to serve wherever needed, to be “worldwide available,” but in practice forced or “directed” assignments have rarely been made in recent decades. However, in 2006 the need to staff hard-to-fill positions in Iraq and some other countries brought this issue to center stage, and the State Department changed the bidding rules for FSOs seeking ongoing assignments, effective with the 2007 assignments cycle (http://hrweb.hr.state.gov/prd/hrweb/cda/Bidding_Instructions.html). The changes, consistent with the Secretary of State’s concept of Transformational Diplomacy, offer increased incentives and “strong encouragement” for employees to volunteer for the nearly 800 “extreme hardship,” “danger-pay” and unaccompanied overseas positions that must be filled each year.
AFSA, which formally represents FSOs in negotiating State personnel policies, says its members understand the need for changes in Foreign Service personnel practices to meet current critical needs, but has expressed concerns regarding fairness of assignments, treatment of family member issues and equitable promotion opportunities for meritorious performance by FSOs outside danger zones.
Department of State
American Foreign Service Association
Blogs
Also see “Going It Alone: AAFSW's Guide for Unaccompanied Family Members” (http://www.aafsw.org/una/una_main.htm). The Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) is a nonprofit organization representing Foreign Service spouses, employees and retirees.
top
Family Member Employment and Education
Family member morale, a major concern at all U.S. embassies abroad, is the primary focus of the Community Liaison Office (CLO), established within each embassy’s Management Section. Employment opportunities for family members, whether within or outside the embassy, and access to education are top issues on every CLO’s agenda. In addition, with conditions in some countries becoming more dangerous, increased attention is being given to helping children cope with such stresses. See the State Department’s website on “Talking with Youth about War, Crisis and Natural Disasters” http://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c8894.htm.
A 2006 survey conducted by the State Department’s Family Liaison Office (FLO) http://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo, which manages the worldwide CLO program, found that, when bidding on a post, State Department employees’ family members said their top concerns are children, security and family member employment. Nearly 90% of respondents said they planned to seek employment on a future assignment, with nearly 65% expressing a preference for jobs within the mission. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/69839.pdf
The State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools (http://www.state.gov/m/a/os) has responsibility for ensuring that appropriate educational opportunities are made available to all Foreign Service families serving abroad.
American Foreign Service Association
Blogs
top
