Embracing Diversity for Stronger Ties

U.S. Foreign Service Officer Courtney J. Woods speaks at an event showcasing African American history and culture, hosted by the DEIA council at the U.S. Embassy New Delhi. (Photograph by Rakesh Malhotra)

The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and its consulates across India serve as melting pots of cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds. The U.S. Mission values this diversity and recognizes the wealth of perspectives offered by both U.S. Foreign Service Officers and locally employed staff. Embracing this diversity, the U.S. Mission in India fosters understanding through its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Councils, aiming to build stronger relationships anchored in mutual respect.

Diversity and inclusion councils

All workplaces under the purview of the U.S. Mission in India are mandated to form DEIA Councils, which comprise both Foreign Service Officers and locally employed staff. These councils, chaired by an American and an Indian staff member, provide a platform for employees to contribute ideas and initiate conversations on how to make the workplace more diverse and inclusive.

The diversity and inclusion groups across the U.S. Mission have their own priorities and goals, depending on the needs of their staff.

Over the last two years, the U.S. Mission has worked to understand cultural nuances and diversity gaps through in-depth surveys. These surveys are open to all employees, and the insights gathered have informed the priorities of each diversity and inclusion group.

Building cooperation

In Chennai, the Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee has appointed representatives, known as Floor Buddies, to help bridge communication gaps between employees. “We have representatives from the diversity and inclusion group engaging with the larger community on a regular basis to address any concerns we face,” explains Gokula Selvarajan, the Steering Committee co-chair.

“By seeking to understand one another, we can enhance our relationships and foster greater mutual respect. It’s about recognizing what’s important to one another and explaining our differences,” says Tatiana Escobar, a DEIA Council member in Chennai.

In Mumbai, the diversity and inclusion leadership team operates on a voluntary basis. Brenda Soya, a member of the Mumbai diversity and inclusion team, explains that the leadership changes annually, with each addressing particular diversity, inclusivity, accessibility and equity issues by inviting volunteers to assist with the programming and planning. “We are essentially the center—the hub axle of the wheel,” she explains. “We meet frequently and talk about ideas. Our whole system operates on a volunteer and ad hoc basis.”

The idea behind this system, explains Soya, is to honor the group’s goal of inclusivity and allow people to contribute to an event based on their interests, availability and skills. “For example, for a Black History Month event, we identify a volunteer or one of our leads to organize, who then finds people throughout the consulate to work on that event. Someone prints T-shirts, another volunteer is heavily involved in writing a speech, etc. It’s a way that more people can volunteer on elements that fit their time frame, as opposed to this idea of people being committed to a committee,” she says.

These committees across Mission India are also intentional in their approach to conducting conversations regarding diversity and inclusion. For instance, all consulates have initiated training sessions focused on identifying and mitigating unconscious biases that affect interactions and relationships. They have also started discussions on enhancing diversity in their hiring processes and have made structural changes to the workplace and public spaces to better accommodate people with disabilities.

For instance, Malcolm Whitehead from Mumbai says that several structural changes, like introducing accessibility windows for those who have trouble standing or use wheelchairs, have been made to enhance the accessibility of the consular space.

In Kolkata, shares DEIA Council co-chair Sankar Narayanan, the fingerprint scanner has been stationed at a lower height to make it more accessible. Kolkata has also installed signages in multiple languages in its consular area. “We made these changes to make the entire visa interview process more inclusive,” shares Narayanan. “We have signages in English, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati and Marathi.”

By honoring diversity, the U.S. Mission in India is creating an environment that fosters collaboration, teamwork and a sense of belonging. These efforts underscore the. U.S. Mission’s dedication to embracing diversity as a means to strengthen the bilateral relationship and promote interpersonal cooperation.

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