Diplomatically Trying to Close Overseas Pay Gap

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Her income was greater than his, but the family had to give that up.

"Once I left my job, my career basically stopped," she said.

She worked in embassies where her husband was posted, but it was "generally nominal stuff," she said.

That's not the kind of information that would attract potential foreign service officers, even if they were driven by public service more than big bucks. It also makes folks like Keller wonder if they should stay in the foreign service, when their retirement funds are being shortchanged by the current pay system.

"Will it affect how long I stay in? Quite possibly," he said. "I could leave sooner rather than later."

Nobody becomes a diplomat to get rich, but no one wants to be on the short end of a system with built-in pay inequality.

Contact Joe Davidson at federaldiary@washpost.com.

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