‘‘(d) The Secretary of State shall ensure that a sub-
stantial number of women and members of minority 
groups are appointed to the Board of Examiners.’’. 
SEC. 202. PROMOTION IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE. 
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended— 
(1) in section 602 (22 U.S.C. 4002), by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) Not later than January 31 of each year, the Sec-
retary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report that 
details the demographic composition of selection boards 
under this section and the Board of Examiners for the 
Foreign Service under section 211 convened in the pre-
vious year, including information on the diversity of the 
members of such boards, in addition to any other informa-
tion the Secretary determines relevant.’’; and 
(2) in section 603 (22 U.S.C. 4003)— 
(A) in subsection (a), in the second sen-
tence, by inserting ‘‘testimony from peers and 
subordinates,’’ after ‘‘supervisors,’’; and 
(B) in subsection (b)— 
(i) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘, or’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
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(ii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 
paragraph (4); and 
(iii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 
the following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(2) a record of supporting the recruitment and 
career development goals of members of the Foreign 
Service, such as serving as a mentor in mentorship 
program under section 616, participation in recruit-
ment activities, or serving on the Board of Exam-
iners or on selection boards; 
‘‘(3) a demonstrated commitment to promoting 
diversity and inclusion at the Department of State, 
including in management practices;’’. 
SEC. 203. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TRAINING. 
Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 is 
amended by inserting after section 614 (22 U.S.C. 4028) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(e) DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TRAINING.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, 
with the assistance of other relevant officials, such 
as the Director General of the Foreign Service and 
the Director of Human Resources, the Director of 
the Office of Civil Rights, the Chief Diversity Offi-
cer, and the director of the George P. Shultz Na-
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tional Foreign Affairs Training Center, shall estab-
lish as part of the standard training provided after 
the date of the enactment of this section, for officers 
of the Service, including chiefs of mission, instruc-
tion on promoting diversity. Such training shall be 
informed by the latest available research and meth-
ods, and may include unconscious bias training and 
other such instruction. 
‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out the 
training required under paragraph (1), the Director 
of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs 
Training Center shall, not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this section, conduct 
training on diversity and inclusion for all Foreign 
Service officers, including all entry level officers and 
all officers prior to service on a selection board or 
the Board of Examiners. Such training shall be in-
cluded in— 
‘‘(A) the A–100 course attended by all 
Foreign Service officers; and 
‘‘(B) the courses required of all officers 
prior to service on a selection board or the 
Board of Examiners.’’. 
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SEC. 204. MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Foreign Service Act of 1980 
is amended by inserting after section 708 (22 U.S.C. 
4028) the following new sections: 
‘‘SEC. 709. MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) The Secretary of State shall establish in the De-
partment of State a mentorship program to match— 
‘‘(1) entry-level members of the Foreign Service 
and newly hired members of the civil service at the 
GS–9 level and below; and 
‘‘(2) mid-level members of the Foreign Service 
and mid-level members of the civil service at the 
GS–12 level and above. 
‘‘(b) Individuals participating in the mentorship pro-
gram under this section shall participate for a minimum 
of two tours of duty. 
‘‘(c) The mentorship program established under this 
section shall include Employee Affinity Groups in the se-
lection of mentors, in addition to other individuals selected 
by the Secretary of State. 
‘‘(d) Service as mentor in the mentorship program 
shall be considered as satisfying criteria under section 
603(b)(2).’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 2 of the Foreign Service Act is amended by in-
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serting after the item relating to section 707 the following 
new items: 
‘‘Sec. 708. Training for Foreign Service officers. 
‘‘Sec. 709. Mentorship program.’’. 
SEC. 205. SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE CANDIDATE DEVEL-
OPMENT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall an-
nually offer the Senior Executive Service Candidate Devel-
opment Program to members of the civil service at the 
Department of State at the GS–14 and GS–15 levels. 
(b) REPORT.—The Secretary of State shall submit to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
the Senate, at the same time as each report required 
under section 313 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as 
added by section 2(a)(2), a report detailing the demo-
graphic information of candidates referred by each bureau 
of the Department of State to interview for the Senior Ex-
ecutive 
Service, 
including 
demographic 
information 
disaggregated by bureau relating to the diversity (as such 
term is defined in the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as 
amended by section 206) of such candidates. 
SEC. 206. DIVERSITY DEFINED IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE 
ACT OF 1980. 
Section 102 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 
U.S.C. 3902) is amended by— 
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(1) redesignating paragraphs (5) through (12) 
as paragraphs (6) through (13), respectively; and 
(2) inserting after paragraph (4) the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) ‘diversity’ includes characteristics such as 
national origin, language, race, color, disability, eth-
nicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, gen-
der identity, socioeconomic status, and family struc-
ture.’’. 
TITLE III—PROMOTION 
ACCESSIBILITY 
SEC. 301. IMPLEMENTATION OF GAP MEMORANDUM IN SE-
LECTION BOARD PROCESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603 of the Foreign Serv-
ice Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4003) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(c)(1) A member of the Service or member of the 
Senior Foreign Service whose performance will be evalu-
ated by a selection board may submit to such selection 
board a gap memo in advance of such evaluation. 
‘‘(2) Members of a selection board may not con-
sider as negative the submission of a gap memo by 
a member described in paragraph (1) when evalu-
ating the performance of such member. 
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‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘gap memo’ 
means a written record, submitted to a selection 
board in a standard format established by the Direc-
tor General of the Foreign Service, which indicates 
and explains a gap in the record of a member of the 
Service or member of the Senior Foreign Service 
whose performance will be evaluated by such selec-
tion board, which gap is due to personal cir-
cumstances, including for health, family, or other 
reason as determined by the Director General in 
consultation with the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Foreign Relations of the Senate.’’. 
(b) CONSULTATION AND GUIDANCE.— 
(1) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di-
rector General of the Foreign Service shall consult 
with the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate regarding the development 
of the gap memo under subsection (c) of section 603 
of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added by sub-
section (a). 
(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘‘gap memo’’ has the meaning given such term in 
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subsection (c) of section 603 of the Foreign Service 
Act of 1980. 
Æ 
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