Page Under Construction
Collaborative to Increase Racial Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Foreign and Security Policy Institutions
Developing and Promoting Action and Strategies
Our Vision
Our vision is a foreign and security policy process that is equitable, diverse and inclusive, particularly regarding people of color.
Our Mission
Our mission is to engage, liaise, and collaborate with think tanks, government, nongovernmental organizations, funders, and academic and research institutions to increase diversity and inclusion, particularly regarding people of color, in their professional staff and in positions of decision making, by analyzing the current state, identifying challenges, addressing issues, and developing short-term and long-term actionable strategies.
College and Graduate Level
Findings
There is no clear career path entering the fields of peace, security, conflicts and foreign policy. This factor increases the importance of sponsorship.
There should be new paths for the Department of State and Universities to talk to each other, beyond the top name universities. Ideas for how to increase diversity may be found in conversations with more varied universities.
The Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA) is cited by many people as being a great way to enrich the pool of diverse applicants coming into the international affairs schools. Alongside Rangel and Pickering, PPIA is the most cited vehicle for increasing diversity in the field.
Students don’t always know what they can do a with a degree in foreign policy or security. There is a need for conversations at some institutions with students, staff, and faculty on what are the career options with such a degree.
Resources
Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Fellowship The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program is a program funded by the U.S. Department of State, administered by Howard University, that attracts and prepares outstanding young people for Foreign Service careers in the U.S. Department of State. It welcomes the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the State Department, women, and those with financial need.
Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program The Rangel Program is a U.S. State Department program administered by Howard University that seeks to attract and prepare outstanding young people for careers as diplomats in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State. The program seeks individuals interested in helping to shape a freer, more secure and prosperous world through formulating, representing, and implementing U.S. foreign policy.
Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship, established in 1987, is a highly-competitive national fellowship program that provides recent college and graduate school alumni with the opportunity to gain a Washington perspective on key issues of peace and security. Twice yearly, the fellowship’s Board of Directors selects a group of outstanding individuals to spend six to nine months in Washington. Supported by a salary, the fellows serve as full-time junior staff members at the participating organization of their choice.
Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA) The Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA) is a not-for-profit that has been supporting efforts to increase diversity in public service for over 30 years. PPIA believes that our society is best served by public managers, policy makers, and community leaders who represent diverse backgrounds and perspectives. To achieve this goal, PPIA has an outreach focus on students from groups who are underrepresented in leadership positions in government, nonprofits, international organizations and other institutional settings.
Presidential Management Fellowship Program. For more than three decades, the Presidential Management Fellows Program (PMF) has been the Federal government’s premier leadership development program for advanced degree candidates. The Program focuses on developing a cadre of potential government leaders. Under the regulations proposed by OPM, the eligibility window for applicants is expanded, making the program more “student friendly” by aligning it with academic calendars.
Senior Professional Level
Halifax Peace With Women Fellowship Halifax International Security Forum is proud to present the Halifax Peace With Women Fellowship, a new 3-week executive tour for senior active-duty female military officers. The Fellowship takes place in late October and November and participants will visit the political and technological capitals of Canada and the United States.
Congress
Resources
Racial Diversity Among Top House Staff, https://jointcenter.org/research/racial-diversity-among-top-house-staff
Think Tanks/Non-Governmental Organizations
Findings
Develop a diversity and inclusion committee consisting of representatives from different departments and that is in itself diverse.
Incorporate sexual harassment training.
Work with the existing board, staff, and organizational relationships to get them to understand the problem and the challenges within the organization and within society.
Include a significant numbers of women and women of color Board candidates because it takes time to change Boards.
Resources
A Note From Brookings President John R. Allen, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/09/06/a-note-from-brookings-president-john-r-allen-on-the-release-of-our-workforce-demographic-data/
Women in International Security Gender Scorecard, https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#label/Think+Tanks/FMfcgxvzKklPZmpnLsTqFgChcpXQFcJD?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1.1
Outreach
Findings
The U.S. Department of State Diplomat-in-Residence program is tasked to also help diversify the State Department, but there should be enough to manage all 50 states.
Resources
Diplomats in Residence (DIRs). DIRs are career Foreign Service Officers and Specialists located throughout the U.S. who provide guidance and advice on careers, internships and fellowships to students and professionals in the communities they serve. DIRs are available to answer questions and share insight with those interested in Foreign and Civil Service careers, internships and fellowships.
Members
Bonnie Jenkins, Founder and Executive Director, Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation; Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Brian Finlay, President and CEO, Stimson Center
Richard Weitz, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Political-Military Affairs, Hudson Institute
Salih Booker, Executive Director, Center for International Policy
Goulda Downer, Assistant Professor, Howard University
Michelle Dover, Director of Programs, Ploughshares Fund
Nakia Bell, Associate Director of Finance, Stimson Center
Karen Ohen, Director of Admissions, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
Kevin Scott, Director of Administration, Brookings Institution
John Carl Baker, Ploughshares Fund
Mareena Robinson Snowden, Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carla Koppell, Distinguished Fellow, Georgetown University for Women, Peace and Security
Benny Garcia, Diplomat/Naval Officer/Attorney (ret)
Alex Toma, Executive Director, Peace and Security Funders Group
Kathleen Nganga, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Sabrina Curtis, WCAPS Fellow & Ph.D. Student and Graduate Research Assistant at The George Washington University