Department of State Inclusivity Act of 2021

Department of State Inclusivity Act of 2021

This bill establishes measures at the State Department to promote diversity and to prevent and respond to harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and retaliation.

The bill requires the State Department to

• develop a comprehensive policy for responding to harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and retaliation;
• expand anti-harassment, antidiscrimination, implicit bias, and whistleblower training;
• establish the Office of Employee Advocacy;
• survey employees regarding harassment, discrimination, sexual, assault, retaliation, and issues affecting employee retention and diversity;
• report on the diversity of its workforce;
• develop a pilot program to use gender-neutral terms in evaluation forms;
• investigate and report wrongful terminations based on sexual orientation;
• establish a board to address issues faced by LGBTI+ Foreign Service employees and their families;
• report on countries that refuse to issue spousal visas for Foreign Service employee spouses due to sexual orientation and recommend how to address this issue;
• establish a permanent exhibit on the so-called Lavender Scare, which involved the wrongful dismissal of at least 1,000 people from the State Department for alleged homosexuality in the 1950s and 1960s; and
• make other changes related to anti-harassment, antidiscrimination, diversity, and recruitment.

The bill also establishes the Office of the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the State Department; offers a formal apology from Congress for encouraging the Lavender Scare; and prohibits the use by federal employers of nondisclosure and non-disparagement provisions that cover prohibited discrimination, harassment, or related retaliation.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov