DOGE and State Department eliminate DEI evaluation requirement imposed by Biden Administration

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the State Department worked closely together to eliminate the requirement that foreign service officers' performance be evaluated based on the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This change ends a measure put in place during the Biden Administration, which dictated that 20% of diplomats' performance evaluations must be based on DEI-related efforts.

Through a social media post, DOGE reported that, in conjunction with the State Department, it has worked to eliminate this requirement, which did not reflect the true merit of officials. DOGE maintains that evaluations should focus exclusively on professional performance and efficiency, without relying on personal characteristics such as gender or race.

Secretary of State's reaction

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacted favorably to the reforms, calling them an "important" and "historic" change. In a message posted on X, Rubio stressed that diplomats will now be evaluated on their actual professional performance and not on arbitrary factors.

Criticism of past evaluation practices

In its publication, DOGE presented examples of evaluation practices that have been eliminated. The slides shared showed how, under previous policies, diplomats were evaluated considering aspects such as the use of "gendered adjectives" and the avoidance of "faint praise." For example, expressions such as "He worked hard on his projects" or "S/he worked hard on projects that s/he was assigned" were discouraged, as they were considered too generic.

In addition to the above examples, the DOGE highlighted that previous policies promoted gender-based distinctions, such as recommending against the use of first names for women or minorities. According to DOGE, these practices could subtly influence evaluations, introducing unintended bias.

The Biden Administration's approach to diversity

During its tenure, the Biden administration encouraged local organizations to implement Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) programs, trainings, and conferences. It also promoted annual award ceremonies to recognize efforts in these areas and encouraged Foreign Service officers to establish race and gender quotas in speech panels and other diplomatic events.