Appendix: Methodology and Participant Range of Experiences

About the Research

New America commissioned Haller Strategies to conduct research among U.S. policymakers and influencers to understand national security policymakers’ perceptions around gender. This study is the follow-up to one conducted in summer 2016. .

Haller Strategies leverages a design-thinking approach to qualitative research. Our methods are rooted in ethnography, anthropology and psychology, allowing organizations to gain better insight into what makes people tick. We conducted one-on-one, hour-long, in-depth interviews with 14 highly-targeted national security and foreign policymakers and influencers — parallel but not the same as those interviewed in summer 2016. In 2018, we asked the exact same questions as we did in 2016.

About the Participants

Interviewees had a vast and diverse range of experiences across the national security and foreign policy apparatus. They had held high-ranking posts within the Departments of State, Treasury and Defense; the White House and National Security Council (NSC); the military; the United Nations (UN); the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Congress, as well as private sector and nonprofit organizations. By design, each participant had experience in at least two policymaking organizations within the United States government. We sought diversity in professional experience, political orientation, age and gender.

White House & National Security Council:

Deputy National Security Advisor

Deputy Assistant to the President

Senior Advisor to National Security Advisor

Senior Director, Executive Secretariat

Director, Strategic Planning

Director, Middle East Affairs

Director, Afghanistan and Pakistan

Director, Press & Communication

Director, Syria & Lebanon

Director, Middle East and North Africa

Executive Assistant to the National Security Advisor

Department of Defense:

Deputy Secretary of Defense

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia/W. Balkans

Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense to the NATO Summit

Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

Senior Advisor to Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and Commander, U.S. European Command

Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Secretary of Defense

Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Secretary of Defense

Senior Policy Advisor, Middle East Issues

State Department:

Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs

Special Assistant to the Special Envoy for Middle East Regional Security

Senior Advisor, Strategic Planning & Crisis Communications

Executive Committee member, Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan

USAID:

Deputy Assistant, Policy Planning and Learning Bureau

Senior Policy Analyst, Policy Planning and Learning Bureau

Deputy Coordinator for Middle East Transition Response

Senior Program Analyst, Offices of Policy & Strategic Planning and Project Design

Senior Field and Democracy Advisor, Democracy Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Bureau

Program Officer, Office of Transition Initiatives

Department of Treasury:

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes

Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary

Special Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary, Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes

Senior Advisor, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence

Senior Advisor, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes

Treasury Liaison to U.S. European Command

Spokesperson, Terrorism and Financial Intelligence

Senior Policy Advisor, Treasury

Policy Advisor, Middle East, Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes

Policy Advisor, Strategic Policy

Senior Advisor, OFAC Director

Assistant Director, Strategic Policy, Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes

Congress:

Professional Staff Member, Armed Services Committee, House

Rosenthal Fellow, U.S. House of Representatives, Foreign Affairs Committee, Senate

Senior Foreign Policy Advisor, Senate

Military:

Officer, Army

Naval Intelligence Officer

Professor, U.S. Marine Corps. Command and Staff College