PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Dec 16, 2021
Department of State Inclusivity Act of 2021
This bill establishes measures at the State Department to promote diversity and to prevent and respond to harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and retaliation.
The bill requires the State Department to
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develop a comprehensive policy for responding to harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and retaliation;
expand anti-harassment, antidiscrimination, implicit bias, and whistleblower training;
establish the Office of Employee Advocacy;
survey employees regarding harassment, discrimination, sexual, assault, retaliation, and issues affecting employee retention and diversity;
report on the diversity of its workforce;
develop a pilot program to use gender-neutral terms in evaluation forms;
investigate and report wrongful terminations based on sexual orientation;
establish a board to address issues faced by LGBTI+ Foreign Service employees and their families;
report on countries that refuse to issue spousal visas for Foreign Service employee spouses due to sexual orientation and recommend how to address this issue;
establish a permanent exhibit on the so-called Lavender Scare, which involved the wrongful dismissal of at least 1,000 people from the State Department for alleged homosexuality in the 1950s and 1960s; and
make other changes related to anti-harassment, antidiscrimination, diversity, and recruitment.
The bill also establishes the Office of the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the State Department; offers a formal apology from Congress for encouraging the Lavender Scare; and prohibits the use by federal employers of nondisclosure and non-disparagement provisions that cover prohibited discrimination, harassment, or related retaliation.
People & committees
Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] · D–NJ
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 26, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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