Office of the Historian

220. Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Equal Employment Opportunity (Burroughs) to the Under Secretary of State for Management (Read)1

Washington, March 26, 1979

SUBJECT

  • Minority Postings Overseas

We have not tracked minority assignments as a separate category, and therefore we cannot provide a pattern of overseas posting.

As you may recall, we were queried and responded to a complaint from Congressman Rangel about a year ago2 on the lack of minority representation in policy-making positions in the posts he visited in the East Asian area. That study is attached.3 Our census for the period [Page 918] ending December 31, 1978 shows 366 minority employees serving overseas as FSOs, FSRs, FSRUs, FSSOs and FSSs. The breakdown by geographic region is as follows:

AFRICA LATIN AMERICA
Blacks 50 Blacks 67
Hispanics 7 Hispanics 49
Asian Americans 3 Asian Americans 5
60 121
EAST ASIA EUROPE
Blacks 28 Blacks 46
Hispanics 8 Hispanics 37
— Native Americans 1
Asian Americans 26 Asian Americans 9
62 93
NEAR EAST
Blacks 14
Hispanics 6
Native Americans 2
Asian Americans 8
30

Again, as was the case in the 1977 study, many Asian Americans were assigned to East Asia, Blacks to Africa and Hispanics to Latin America. On the face, this raises questions. However, when we consider such factors as open assignment, personal choice, needs of the service, etc., the postings may not be too far out of line from an EEO point of view. The number of black personnel assigned to Europe, for instance, is in the same ball park with the number of blacks assigned to Africa.

  1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Records of the Under Secretary for Management (M), 1978–1979, Box 11, Chron March 20–26, 1979. No classification marking.↩
  2. See Documents 205 and 209.↩
  3. Not attached. Printed as an attachment to Document 209.↩