Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume II, Organization and Management of U.S. Foreign Policy, 1969–1972

325. Memorandum for the Files¹

Washington, August 26, 1970.

SUBJECT

• Status of Women in the Foreign Affairs Agencies

At a meeting with Mr. Macomber today the “Ad Hoc Committee to Improve the Status of Women in the Foreign Affairs Agencies” stressed the need for the Department to consider some problems on the status of women. Referring to their letter of August 24, 1970, to Mr. Macomber,² representatives of the group stressed the following principal matters:

1) Need to recruit more and better female officers;

2) Need to train a larger number of female officers;

3) Need to strengthen promotion, assignment, and utilization policies as they affect women to minimize discrimination; and

4) Need to amend the individual Task Force reports to reflect more directly the Department’s efforts to strengthen personnel and management policies toward women in the foreign affairs agencies.

Mr. Macomber, supporting the ladies’ basic thesis, made the following points:

1) The ladies should make specific, broad-gauged suggestions for changes in Task Force reports to Task Force Chairmen;³

2) Many improvements in personnel policies can readily be made to improve the utilization and development of the talents of female employees;

3) The possibilities of assigning lady officers, including senior FSSOs, to the Inspection Corps, would be explored;

4) Increasing the use of women on Selection Boards and Panels would be investigated; and

5) Miss Harper would work directly with the Ad Hoc Committee on these matters.

HPM
Deputy Director General

1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Management, Management Reform Task Force Papers: Lot 74 D 394, Women’s Affairs. No classification marking. Drafted by Howard P. Mace, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Service.
2. Document 324.
3. The Ad Hoc Women’s Committee held a Department-wide open forum on September 2 to consider recommendations on the status of women for the Task Force Reports, and then forwarded a 16-page proposal for additions and changes to the reports under cover of a September 8 memorandum to Christopher Petrow of Macomber’s office. (National Archives, RG 59, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Management, Management Reform Task Force Papers: Lot 74 D 394, Women’s Affairs)