The international development and international affairs policy community has long struggled with the issue of recruiting and retaining diverse staff, not to mention a diverse leadership core. It lies at the heart of the development discussion — one of sustainability, inclusion and capacity building, all of which organizations support in the projects they fund, but don’t always implement as effectively into the capacity development of their own internal staff members.
But diversity — which goes far beyond gender and race to include considerations such as socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, disability and ensuring tribal or ethnic inclusions — has larger business, policy and program effectiveness implications.
“As an African American woman, my presence sends a strong message about American values and our principles as a country,” Natalie E. Brown, deputy permanent representative of the United States to the U.N. Agencies in Rome, told Devex of the business case for diversity.