Women in Diplomacy an Assessment of British Female Ambassadors in Overcoming Gender Hierarchy, 1990-2010 (Report‪)‬

Introduction The 21st century brings a host of fresh challenges into the diplomatic world. The economic crisis is testing the strength of the most powerful nations. Climate change is extinguishing lands and inhabitants, proving to be more devastating than war. The rate of refugees is flooding cities that are already over-populated. New challenges require solutions provided by fresh insight from relatively new candidates. A male-dominated representation of diplomacy is no longer viable within an interconnected world where women matter. Diplomats must be able to represent the whole of society without remaining blinded to gender. As such, bringing women into diplomacy is a symbol of hope and modernisation for the 21st century. Unfortunately, the number of women in senior diplomatic positions is seriously underrepresented, and women are still struggling to break into the diplomatic hierarchy without settling for a compromise. It took the United Kingdom 191 years to finally appoint the first female Head of Mission, and in 2010, women fill only 21.8% of senior management positions from 260 diplomatic missions. (1) As a traditionally male domain, existing power structures within the diplomatic infrastructure remain to reinforce gender inequalities and overt discriminatory practices, making it difficult for women to enter diplomacy at the highest position. Using the United Kingdom (UK) as a case study, this paper critically examines gender hierarchy as a key problem to the advancement of women, and explores a variety of practical solutions to breaking centuries of patriarchal tradition.