Four Lessons on Creating An Inclusive and Safe Workplace

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paloma Adams-Allen serves as USAID’s Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Administrator for Management and Resources. In her role, she oversees the overall management, budgeting, and day-to-day operations of the Agency.

USAID recognizes the month of April as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month to honor the strength, courage, and resilience of people who have been impacted by sexual violence and assault.?

This month, I am reflecting on lessons learned leading USAID’s Action Alliance for Preventing Sexual Misconduct, which has taken important steps to create a more inclusive and safe workplace here at USAID. As culture change within a complex, large organization can be challenging, progress requires dedicated leadership, patience, and determination. Here are four lessons from this journey.?

1. Meet people where they are. When I arrived at USAID, I learned about efforts to use workforce feedback and data to better understand the lived experience of our workforce, including those impacted by sexual misconduct, harassment, and discrimination. Based on that information, last fall, I launched a pilot program with USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance to enhance support for people impacted by such issues—providing tailored information on reporting and response processes, customizing resources on topics such as safety planning and resilience, and offering referrals for internal and external support services. The Agency has increased access to counseling and other mental health resources for USAID’s workforce over the last year, and explored ways to make our inquiry and investigation processes more trauma-informed to reduce the risk of secondary harm for survivors. The effects of traumatic incidents, including sexual misconduct, do not follow a strict timeline and often persist long after an incident of sexual violence occurs. It is essential that we meet survivors where they are, helping them in a way that honors their lived experiences and empowers them to pursue the avenue for support they deem fit.

2. Take the time to do things right. Achieving organizational change in a large federal agency is a long-term investment. It took six years of consistent, iterative efforts by the Action Alliance to get us here – and there’s more to be done. I’m proud to announce that USAID released a three-year plan for preventing and responding to sexual misconduct earlier this month. Under the plan, we are taking more action to prevent sexual misconduct, prepare our workforce to engage respectfully and intervene in harmful situations, if needed, and support the needs, wellbeing, and resilience of people impacted by sexual misconduct. We, as an Agency, owe it to our staff to achieve lasting organizational change to create a more safe, respectful, and inclusive workplace for all USAID employees.

3. Centralize data in evidence-based decision making. Without reliable data to identify which communities are most affected by sexual violence, it is difficult to produce effective prevention measures. In 2022, we launched our first ever Agency-wide Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Climate Survey to better understand the perceptions of our Agency workforce on key issues, including workplace sexual misconduct. Collaborating with my DEIA colleagues to launch this survey highlighted the pervasiveness of sexual misconduct in all its forms, including sexual violence, and that anyone—regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ability, or racial or ethnic background—can be impacted. It also reinforced the importance of Agency-wide efforts to promote bystander awareness among staff, ensuring they know how to report incidents and seek help. We will use these findings to continue improving our prevention and response efforts as part of USAID’s greater commitment to do no harm.

4. Cultivate a culture of prevention and allyship. Changing workplace culture means pledging our commitment to address and prevent sexual violence in all its forms. I joined USAID staff around the world to participate in our second-annual Agency-wide commemoration of Denim Day. By wearing denim, we stand in solidarity with survivors across the entire federal government. In February, I co-led an Interagency Executive Roundtable with the Department of Justice to examine sexual misconduct in the federal workplace, discussing trends, best practices, and shared lessons to advance work in this space. Participants in the roundtable included representatives from the White House and eight other federal agencies. Creating the change we want to see must be a collective effort. This month and throughout the year, we as an interagency must leverage our shared goals and hold ourselves accountable to creating a more respectful, inclusive, and safe federal workplace.

Taking the time to create organizational change that meets people where they are, identifies and addresses the root causes of the problems, and promotes solidarity among survivors and allies is no easy feat. But by making incremental progress, we can achieve consistent gains toward ending sexual misconduct and workplace violence.