WORKFORCE DIVERSITY


Director Leon E. Panetta Speaks on the Importance of Workforce Diversity


C


entral Intelligence Agency Director Leon E. Panetta recently addressed sev- eral hundred students from Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlan- ta University, emphasizing the importance of workforce diversity at the Agency. “With a mission that comes down to answering questions, trying to deal with the huge challenges that we face, we can’t afford to have a workforce of people who all look and think alike,” Director Panetta said. “We need the different perspectives tat oe fro offier wit different ba- grounds.”


The speech in Atlanta was part of More- house College’s Leadership Lecture Series and the latest in an effort by Director Panetta to reach out to ethnic and minority communities across the United States. In 2009, the Agency launched a comprehensive initia- tive to strengthen its workforce diversity. The three goals of the initiative are: to hire talented people from all racial, ethnic, cultural, and educational backgrounds; to give all offier opportunitie to eel o tat  leaderip ranks become more diverse; and to make the Agency an employer of choice among men and women of all back- grounds. Director Panetta told the Morehouse audience that the


 need to reet te world it engage e eplained that workforce diversity is crucial to CIA for two basic reasons.


“It’s a matter of fundamental fairness and the Ameri-


can way,” he said. “If a citizen wants to serve his or her ountry in te field of intelligene it i fundaentally wrong if things like race, sexual orientation, cultural heri- tage, or disability stand in the way.” Just as importantly, “It is crucial to our intelligence mission to have people who understand the world that we live in,” Director Panetta said. The CIA has increased its outreach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in recent years. Last fall, the Agency hosted administrators, faculty, and staff from 19 of the colleges and universities. They met with senior Agency leaders to learn more about the CIA’s mission and the career opportunities available to their students and graduates.


“I was so pleased to learn about the study-abroad and language programs here at Morehouse, at Spelman, and


38 HISPANIC NETWORK MAGAZINE


“It’s a matter of fundamental fairness and the American way. If a citizen wants to serve his or her country in the field of intelligence, it is fundamentally wrong if things like race, sexual orientation, cultural heritage, or disability stand in the way.”


at CAU,” Director Panetta said. “I would strongly urge any of you who haven’t already done so to take the time to learn a second language and spend some time in an- other country.”


During his speech, Director Panetta shared examples of


Morehouse, Spelman, and CAU alumni who have made ignifiant ontribution to national eurity by woring at CIA. a of tee offier bring oeting uniue and valuable to the work of the CIA,” Director Panetta said. “What they have in common—and what they share with thousands of their colleagues – is a deeply held desire to try to solve the problems that confront this country, and try to keep this country safe.” iretor anetta alo reeted on i two year at te Agency’s helm. “I can tell you that this post is probably among the toughest of all the challenging jobs that I’ve had,” he said. “But because our mission is so important – and because the dedication of the people who work for the CIA is so inspiring – it also happens to be probably one of the most rewarding jobs that I’ve had as well.” “Never before has the United States faced so many


diffiult foreign poliy allenge at te ae tie and never before has intelligence been as vital to dealing with those issues as it is today,” Director Panetta said. “The truth is, intelligence agencies are crucial to our democ- racy…We cannot be free if we are not secure. A strong defense and enlightened diplomacy are essential to that. And both must be informed by credible, accurate, and timely intelligence.”


Source: cia.gov Celebrating 19 Years of Diversity www.hnmagazine.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100