DOCUMENT BESONE ED 179 481 SO 012 210 AUTHOR Calkin, Homer L. TITLE Women in the Department of State: TheirRcle in American Foreign Affairs. INSTITUTION Department of State, Washington, D.C. PUB DATE Sep 78 NOTE 334p. AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Stock Nc. 044-000-01707-5, $7.25, hardbound) EDEs PRICE MF01/PC14 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Diplomatic History: *Employment Practices; *Federal Government; *Females: Foreign Countries; Foreign Diplomats; *United States History; Nomens Studies; World Affairs ABSTRACT A history of the employment of womenin the Department of State and the Foreign Serviceis presented. Thirteen chapters consider the status cf American womenfrom 1776 to the present: women in the Departmentand at international conferences, 1800-1940; applicants and employees for overseaseuplcyment, 1851-1943: the Foreign Service examinations; theimpact of war on employing women; the postwar,pericd,1949-1970: and the present and future role of women in the Department of State. In summary,it was not until the Civi) War that the governmentbegan to hire women in full-time positions. Although men and women inthe Department of State received equal pay for equal work, men werepromoted more quickly than women. For the first 35 yearsall women in the Department filled clerical jots: in 1 909the first uoman Was appointed to a semiprofessional position. Today,the Department has a higher percentage of women at the senior, middle,junior, and support levels than the government as a whole. It hasbeen more difficult, however, fcr women in the ForeignService. The Department reluctantly allowed women to take Foreign Serviceexaminations in the 1920s. Although from 1930 until the end of World War II, no womenmade the grade by the examination process, sincethat time more women have been admitted to the Foreign Service. By1978 one woman had reaciled the level of Undersecretary, cne asDirector General of the Foreign Service, a few as Assistant Secretaries, and several asDeputy issistant Secretaries. FiAally, 26 women havereached the epitome of success as MinistersPlenipotentiary and AmbassadcrE Extraordinary. (KC) *********************************************************************** Beproduc ions supplied by EDBS are the bestthat caL be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Women in Their Role in the Department American Foreign of State: Affairs by Homer L. Calkin U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION & WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF 0:3% EDUCATION IHIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN RE PRo- DUCED EXAC TL Y AS RECEIVED FROM v--I THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN A TING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OriNiONS C:3 STATED DO NOT NECESSARIL Y REPRE- W SENT Of- F iCIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY Office of the Deputy Department of State, Under Secretary for Management Washington, D.C. e _ala 411.- , Pr a_ OW Ik DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 8951 Department and Foreign Service Series 166 Released Septeinber 19 78 Office of Equal Employment Opportunity For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Stock No. 044-000-01707-5 Foreword Ben H. Read Deputy Under Secretary for Management Written histories of the United Stateshave paid too little attention to the role of women. With thisfirst written record of women in the conduct offoreign affairs, the Department of State hopes to make partial amends for its longperiod of neglect. The institutional failings in the treatmentof women that appear in this work aremade evident. That is as it shouldbe. Each generation must learn from past errorsif the quality of present and future life is to beimproved. What is remarkable, given the obstacles that existed, isthe record of achievement of State Department women described inthis history. The leadership of the Department is nowtotally and aggres- sively dedicated to making women fulland equal participants in the mainstream of foreign affairs. Ihope that future historians will find that the record of this periodreflects well on this effort. Ben H. Read Deputy Under Secretary for Management April 1978 Cyrus Vance Secretary of State "This Department, whose mission it is to conduct theforeign policy of this government, must impress the rest of theworld with aur concern for human rightsby clearly demonstrating that those same rights are guaranteed to ouremployees at home and abroad." Cyrus Vance Secretary of State November 1977 Preface In 1976, Deputy Under Secretary of State for Management Lawrence S. Eagleburger endorsed a history of women in the Department of State and the Foreign Service. The Equal Employ- ment Opportunity Office requested assistance fromthe Historical Office, Bureau of Public Affairs, which agreed to cooperate in carrying out the undertaking. The project has developed in four phases. The first was an article entitled "Women in American Foreign Affairs" which was published in the Department of State Newsletter for August/September 1976 and, as a reprint, has been used widely for recruitment. When the editors of L'Echo de la Bourse, Belgium's leading financial daily, decided to honor the bicentennial of American independence with a special issue on December 23, 1976, they selected this' article for inclusion.The second phase of the study was the use of the materialfor the Department's annual Women's Week Exhibit in August 1976, including Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger's proclamationof that annual week. The third phase of the project was anexpanded history of women in the Department of State and theirplace in American foreign affairs, publishvd as an in-house study in August 1977 under the title, Women in American ForeignAffairs. The fourth phase is this present revised andillustrated study of women in the Department ofState. This study is intended to provide a broad historical accountof the nearly 200 years during which women havebeen striving to achieve a greater place in the Department of Stateand its Foreign Service. No attempt has been made todiscuss in depth the policy matters which women dealt with or to providebiograph- ical sketches of the various women. There is a need forthese to be done while recollections are still fresh. There is also aneed for more detailed analyses of responseswithin the Department during the recent period when the government has mandatedthat every agency should have positive programsto create equal opportuni- ties for women. No attempt has been made to include adiscussion of women in all foreign affairs agencies. It is recognizedthat women in the U.S. Information Agency (nowthe International Communication Agency), the Agency for InternationalDevelopment, the Depart- ment of Agriculture, theTreasury Department, and numerous other agencies have had a role inAmerican foreign affairs. Likewise, employees' spouses have played a partin the relations of the United States with other countries. Their history should also be written. A number of organizations and individuals have cooperated considerably in aiding the research and completion of this study. The Houghton Library, Harvard University, made available the Joseph P. Grew papers; the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, the transcripts of interviews by Jean Joyce of participants in the Ad Hoc Committee to Improve the Status of Women and the Women's Action Organization; the Ohio Historical Society, the Warren G. Harding papers; and the Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress, the Wilbur J. Carr and Leland Harrisonpapers. Milton Gustafson and his staff in the Diplomatic Records Branch of the National Archives and Records Service assisted greatly in the use of the older records of the Department of State. Lucile Atcherson (Mrs. George M. Curtis), as the firstwoman Foreign Service officer, contributed her recollections inan interview in March 1978. Within the Department of State, Wilmer Sparrow and the research staff of the Foreign Affairs Document and Reference Center and Evelyn R. Manning of the Personnel Library of the Bureau of Personnel were very helpful in locating files and documents of use in researching and writing this account. The Audio-Visual Services Division, Harry E. Keiper, Chief, haspro- vided great assistance in producing many of the illustrations for this volume. Paul M. Washington and the editorial staff of the Publishing and Reproduction Division advised meon various aspects of publishing this study and have provided excellent editorial assistarwe. Georgiana M. Prince and Margaret D. Ander- son of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity continually gave advice and encouragement, as well as relevant data on women in the Department and the government, throughout the time the project has been underway. Mary M. Brandt of the Office of The Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, has been an able research assistant from the initiation of the study until its completion. Homer L. Calkin Washington, D.C. April 19'78 vi Contents Page Foreword iii Preface Chapter I The Status of American Women During Two Centuries 1 Changes in the Status and Role of Women 1 Women in the U.S. Government 6 Women in Diplomacy 10 Chapter II Women in the Department and at Interna- tional Conferences, 1800.4940 13 Providers of Goods and Services 13 Applicants and Appointees (1833-74) 15 Slowly Expanding Numbers of Women Employees 19 Women in Supervisory and ProfessionalPositions 24 Public Concern for Women in the Department 28 The Impact of the Depression 31 Women on U.S. International