22 U.S.C. § 2736a — Recruitment and retention

(a) In general. The Secretary must continue seeking a diverse, talented applicant pool. The Secretary must also direct the Director General of the Foreign Service and the Department’s Human Resources Director to create an action plan for recruiting people from traditionally underrepresented groups. The plan should include outreach to suitable colleges, universities, affinity groups, and professional associations. (b) Scope. The initiatives must include: (1) recruiting at women’s colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, minority-serving institutions, and other schools with many minority students; (2) placing job advertisements in media and job sites aimed at diverse groups; (3) sponsoring and recruiting at job fairs in urban and rural communities and land-grant colleges and universities; (4) opportunities through respected international leadership programs focused on diversity recruitment and retention; (5) more paid internships; and (6) partnerships with organizations advancing international-affairs and national-security professions to pursue shared diversity goals. (c) Expand training on anti-harassment and anti-discrimination. (1) In general. Through the Foreign Service Institute and other education and training, the Secretary must: (A) ensure everyone in the workforce receives information and policy training on preventing harassment and discrimination, including existing Institute courses or modules prioritized in the Department’s 2016–2020 Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan to promote diversity in Bureau awards or reduce unconscious bias; (B) expand workplace-rights-and-responsibilities training to cover those policies, including sexual-assault prevention and response; and (C) make the expanded training mandatory for (i) senior and supervisory personnel, (ii) people responsible for employee recruitment, retention, or promotion, and (iii) anyone else the Department determines needs it based on Department or OPM analysis. (2) Best practices. The Department must pay special attention to continuously using research-based best practices in this training.