Culture Change at the State Department

Lora Berg ’84, Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret.)
Betty Bernstein, Senior Advisor and Director of Operations of the Office of Global Women’s Issues, US Department of State
Jesse Bernstein, Senior Advisor, Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, US Department of State
Zakiya Carr Johnson, Director of Race, Ethnicity, and Social Inclusion Unit, Policy Planning and Coordination Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, US Department of State
Mischa Thompson, Policy Advisor for the U.S. Helsinki Commission
Presider, Kent Davis-Packard, Adjunct Professor of Middle East Studies and American Foreign Policy

March 6, 2017

Co-sponsored by SAIS Women Lead and the Global Theory and History Program, the second Inclusive Diplomacy Luncheon Seminars gathered current US Department of State representatives to discuss the work of advancing inclusive policies and agendas.

Betty Bernstein discussed her role in integrating gender issues throughout the work of the Department of State. Bernstein stressed that the issue of gender is the key for national prosperity and stability, and is thus being considered as a national security priority. She stated that researches have indicated a closed gender gap will bring a $28 trillion GDP growth by 2025.

Jesse Bernstein discussed the department's efforts to advance human rights for LGBTI persons. He emphasized a strategy to increase the visibility of the LGBTI community among governments and with allies in the faith and private sectors. Bernstein suggested that despite increasing awareness, enacting LGBTI inclusive policies remains an ongoing process.

Zakiya Carr Johnson shared about her work on the department's Race, Ethnicity, and Social Inclusion Unit. Carr Johnson is working on bilateral agreements like the U.S.-Brazil Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination and Promote Equity. She stated that discussion of inclusive issues has begun to transition from a conceptual framework to technical operations and programming. Carr Johnson emphasized the need to consider the existence of multiple layers of discrimination on a given individual when structuring policy and strategy.