Diverse Diversity

Kim Breier

02.02.21

Kim believes that diversity is THE essential element for crafting policy in a changing world. We aren't just talking about race or gender, either - it's critical to expand diversity of thought, experience, and skills!

Diverse Diversity

Summary:

Kim believes that diversity is THE essential element for crafting policy in a changing world. We aren’t just talking about race or gender, either – it’s critical to expand diversity of thought, experience, and skills!

Thuy

I wanted to ask you about diversity in all senses, gender diversity, diversity of experience, racial diversity. How essential is diversity in crafting effective foreign policy?

Kim Breier

That's a great question for me. It's the central element, particularly in a world changing as rapidly as it is now. You need diversity of thought and diversity of ideas. And the very first speech that I gave to the bureau was not about policy. It was about diversity of thought. And it was about staring down your biases, knowing what they are, being analytically rigorous, being open to new ideas, thinking about what if you're wrong, thinking about different possibilities. We really tried to instill that in the bureau because I think as the world changes, you need a lot of creativity to figure out how as a country and as a society, we're going to adapt to that.
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