Each year, we at USAID reaffirm our commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity, to make clear that we each have a responsibility to address inequality, tackle discrimination, and help create a workplace that is free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. At USAID, our ability to help create a safer, healthier, more democratic, and more prosperous world relies on our capability to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce and culture, where everyone can thrive—so we must work tirelessly to help all members of USAID’s workforce receive equal treatment under the law.
At USAID, our goal is that all employees can achieve their fullest potential and that applicants for employment can compete on an equitable basis regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, or transgender status), national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital or parental status, veteran status, membership in an employee organization, political affiliation, or involvement in protected equal employment opportunity (EEO) activity.
Federal law and USAID policy prohibit discrimination, harassment, and EEO-related retaliation in the workplace in all employment-related decisions, including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, training, development and advancement, benefits, employee engagement and retention, and separations. Members of USAID’s workforce and applicants for employment who believe they have been subjected to discrimination or retaliation—or who are seeking additional information about their EEO rights and responsibilities—should contact the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) or an EEO Counselor at EEOcomplaints@usaid.gov within 45 days from the date the discrimination was believed to have occurred, or when they became aware of it, or, if the discrimination involved a personnel action, from the date the action took effect.
Further, USAID does not tolerate workplace harassment, including sexual harassment, of any kind and will address such misconduct before it becomes severe or pervasive enough to be unlawful. I encourage all members of USAID’s workforce to promptly report suspected or alleged harassment to OCR at ocrharassment@usaid.gov or via the USAID Misconduct Reporting Portal. USAID management officials must report allegations of harassment based on an EEO-protected class within one business day to OCR. All members of USAID’s workforce may be subject to corrective or disciplinary action if found to have engaged in misconduct. Management officials may be subject to corrective or disciplinary action if they fail to promptly report allegations of EEO-based harassment.
Maintaining an Agency atmosphere that is free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation is essential to our credibility when promoting democratic values, human rights, and rule of law with our partner countries. When we exemplify these fundamental values as an Agency, we not only celebrate our diversity, but become more inclusive, equitable, and accessible. This ultimately makes us more effective in all we do.
—Administrator Samantha Power