Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

A more representative foreign policy community means a more informed understanding of the world and America’s role in it.

What DEI Means at CFR

Diversity—CFR recognizes diversity as a wide range of characteristics reflecting the varying identities, backgrounds, and perspectives that make people unique. These characteristics include but are not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. As the CFR workforce and the broader CFR community become increasingly diverse, CFR’s work becomes more thoughtful, authoritative, relevant, and accessible.

Equity—CFR values and upholds fairness in employment, professional development, and advancement among its staff and strives to promote access of CFR programming and resources to the CFR community and beyond.

Inclusion—CFR strives to foster an environment in which staff and the broader CFR community find a sense of belonging, where their contributions are valued and appreciated, and where they are treated with civility and respect.

CFR carries out its DEI commitment through

Membership

• thoughtfully maintaining and expanding a robust membership of citizens whose backgrounds, identities, and perspectives reflect the diversity of American society;

Programs and Outreach

• ensuring CFR events include a range of voices and perspectives that offer broad insight on major international issues;

• strengthening the Studies Program with experts from diverse backgrounds, featuring independent research that analyzes the full scope of foreign policy issues, including those that affect underrepresented communities, as well as offering practical policy recommendations;

• promoting an informed citizenry by making CFR’s independent, nonpartisan resources accessible to broad audiences of students and educators, state and local government officials, congregational and religious leaders, the policy and diplomatic community, the media, the business community, and global think tank leaders while expanding pathways for their participation in CFR events and programming;

Members at the 2022 Conference on Diversity in International Affairs — Practice Head of Eurasia Group Amaka Anku, U.S. Foreign Policy Deputy Director of Open Society Foundations Alex T. Johnson, Senior Associate and Freeman Chair in China Studies for the Center for Strategic and International Studies Ivan Kanapathy, Latin America Lead for Amazon Web Services Ana Janaina Nelson, and Chief Executive Officer of Avicenna Strategy Nayyera Haq discuss U.S. foreign policy priorities around the world at the 2022 Conference on Diversity in International Affairs.

Content and Publications

• featuring accurate, widely accessible, up-to-date information and analysis about world events and American foreign policy on CFR.org;

• seeking out and publishing thoughtful analysis in Foreign Affairs on a wide range of foreign policy topics and from contributors with diverse perspectives and experiences;

• exposing younger and nontraditional audiences to international affairs and the United States’ role in the world by developing and distributing innovative educational products and resources, including World101, Model Diplomacy, and Convene the Council;

• amplifying the voices of CFR experts and contributors from around the world as they discuss critical global issues on platforms such as Think Global Health;

Staff Recruitment and Retention

• recruiting for and maintaining a diverse workplace that welcomes and values different backgrounds and experiences, and supporting staff development and inclusion through employee resource groups, professional development opportunities, and more;

• attracting and retaining established foreign policy experts from various backgrounds and with various career experiences to serve as fellows who cover the world’s major regions and analyze critical national and global challenges.