American Notes

The Department of State is accustomed to difficult negotiations, but the adversaries it faced in a Washington courtroom last week were from its own ranks. In a class action, 2,700 present and former women Foreign Service officers have charged Foggy Bottom with sex discrimination. Said Ellen Kabcenell Wayne, an attorney for the plaintiffs: "There is discrimination in promotion, performance evaluation and awards."

The trial is expected to last about a month. The plaintiffs say that discrimination begins with the job assignments offered to women and continues with promotions, resulting in markedly fewer eligible women than men being elevated to top positions. The suit further charges that women tend to be funneled into less prestigious consular duties (issuing passports and visas and handling problems faced by Americans abroad) while men are given more powerful political, economic or administrative posts. The department counters that the situation has been improving. Among its witnesses will be Joan Clark, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs. Not expected: former Ambassador to the U.N. Jeane Kirkpatrick, who charged in a speech last December that stiff resistance to women still exists in the diplomatic corps.