CIA Celebrates National LGBT Pride Month

Ed. Note: This piece is cross-posted from the CIA Featured Story Archive.  

The Central Intelligence Agency’s Center for Mission Diversity and Inclusion and the Agency’s Network of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Employees and Allies (ANGLE) co-hosted a panel discussion of CIA senior leaders as part of the 2012 June Pride Month celebration. The panel highlighted the role allies—straight family members, friends, colleagues, and managers who believe in and actively promote equality—play in creating an inclusive workforce for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) employees at the CIA. The discussion also highlighted the theme of the CIA’s Pride Month celebration: “Inclusion for All, Celebrating with Pride.”

The Deputy Associate Deputy Director of the CIA began the event by underlining the importance of sustaining an inclusive workplace for all employees. “We need to reflect the nation we protect and support equality, fairness, and justice for everyone in our organization,” he said. “We are one Agency, one organization, one workforce.”

The CIA’s employee affinity group ANGLE assists the CIA’s LGBT workforce and educates officers about workplace issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity. Established more than 15 years ago, ANGLE also advises senior CIA policymakers on human resources and other matters related to LGBT officers and their families. The Center for Mission Diversity and Inclusion works closely with ANGLE and other employee affinity groups to foster a diverse work environment.

In further celebration of Pride Month, the CIA participated in Capital Pride’s Festival, the annual LGBT celebration in Washington, D.C. The annual event is the third largest Pride festival in the country, attracting more than 250,000 people. Officers from ANGLE, the Center for Mission Diversity and Inclusion, and the CIA’s Recruitment Center discussed career opportunities at the Agency as well as efforts to create an inclusive and supportive environment for LGBT employees.

The CIA is an equal opportunity employer and has a strict zero tolerance policy for harassment and discrimination. To learn more about the CIA’s commitment to diversity and zero tolerance for discrimination, visit the “Equal Employment Opportunity” web page on www.cia.gov.