Tackling Gender Disparity at the Diplomatic Table

October 17, 2023

Learning Outcomes:

What is gender disparity and how it is existing today by the under-representation of women globally?
Recognise the significance of women in international politics and diplomacy.
How can an equitable representation be achieved?

Earlier this week, I was waiting for my Uber driver outside my apartment in West Delhi when I saw a house help carry the waste from one of the nearby apartments to the garbage truck. I couldn’t help but notice she was pregnant, and from what it seemed, she was due soon. What struck me was how women in the informal sector are often at a loss for choices that govern their health benefits. India is in its 75th year of Independence, and even today, most women who contribute to the country’s workforce are not covered under the ambits of maternity policies.

As of 1 January 2023, there are only 31 countries where only 34 women serve as Heads of State and/or Government (Women, U. N, 2023). A Pew Research Centre analysis found that less than a third of UN member states have ever had a female leader (Clancy & Austin, 2023). Although the numbers have increased since the 1990s, apart from the head of state, the number of women leaders, in general, is also quite low. In total, only 59 UN member states have ever had a women leader in government (Clancy & Austin, 2023).

Hence, not Surprisingly and unfortunately, if things continue as they are, it will take another 130 years until women are equally represented in positions of authority as per the Women’s UN (2023).

To put it simply, women have been left out of the Diplomatic table, and, even if they do manage to gain a seat, they are isolated and greatly outnumbered.

Hubbard (2021) further argues that political empowerment, a metric of gender parity in politics that considers political representation from the parliamentary level to heads of state, has the highest discrepancies and will require an additional ten years to close.

Therefore, this author finds it safe to point out that there is a great gender disparity in global diplomacy and international relations today. Gender disparity as explained by the European Institute for Gender Equality (2023), refers to differences between men and women in their access to resources, status, and well-being, which often favour men and are frequently institutionalised through law, justice, and societal norms. In a nutshell, this author agrees with Free Network (2021) in their policy brief that states “Women are under-represented in political offices globally, and their under-representation increases in more senior roles”. Although there may be numerous reasons and explanations for this imbalance, the author argues that it is now time to make the case for why giving women their rightful place at the global diplomatic table is more than just relevant. This essay also explores how to visualise an equitable representation in the future.

But why women in international politics and diplomacy? Genuinely, Why?

The first, most relevant, and obvious reason is the democracy argument. It states that gender equality and true democracy are fundamentally dependent on women’s political engagement. In addition to being a goal in and of itself, the full and equal involvement of women in legislatures is essential to establishing and preserving democracies. To ensure greater responsiveness to the needs of the populace, equal representation of women in parliaments, along with their leadership and perspective, is crucial (Didi, 2020).

Secondly, as argued by Rosentha (2000), women are more inclined than men to collaborate across party lines, especially in highly political settings. One such example can be found in the United Kingdom where the Women’s Equality Party was founded by a group of women who were concerned about the lack of progress on gender equality. The party has members from all political parties, and it is committed to working across party lines to achieve its goals. This is an illustration of the critical mass argument, which discusses how women can band together to advance their interests.

The third reason, which may be the most important one in international relations and diplomacy, is explained by Christine (2003), who states that when women are included, peace agreements, post-conflict reconstruction, and governance have a greater likelihood of being successful over time. According to the author of this article, it is at best backstabbing for men to presume that they can maintain peace while disregarding half of the world’s population. As per Helga Maria Schmid, the current secretary general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), women made up, on average, only 13% of negotiators, 6% of mediators, and 6% of signings in significant peace processes between 1992 and 2019. The justice argument explains that it is frequently forgotten that half of the world’s population also represents half of the world’s abilities, and maintaining peace is one of them.

Women represent half the potential talents and skills of humanity, and their under-representation in decision-making is a loss for society as a whole.

(First European Summit on Women in

Decision-making in Athens, 1992 (Delys, 2014))

Furthermore, women in leadership are instrumental in continuous growth and development. As argued by Beaman (2007), in India, it was found that West Bengal villages with higher levels of elected women received twice as much funding for drinking water infrastructure as communities with lower levels of elected women. Additionally, having a female council head minimized the gender gap in school attendance by 13% (Beaman, 2007). This can be viewed as a symbolic argument in favour of increased female representation since women in positions of leadership serve as role models for other women.

Future steps: visualising equitable representation

It cannot be maintained that just because women ‘can’ run for head of state, the argument for fair representation becomes moot if more men sit at the table. The author of this article argues that the lack of women’s representation stems from the root societal and domestic levels where empowering women is still something needed to be done. Although the author of this piece adamantly maintains that “being deserving” is the only essential component of sitting at the diplomatic table, women are not empowered enough to believe they are. Nor, does this article suggests that men at the table do not support equality and uplifting women.

However, A short time ago, women in society and the home were even fighting for equal education, and unfortunately In some areas and places, still are. According to a press release by The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (2023) Around the world, 30 million girls are still not granted their right to an education.

Hence, it is appropriate to bring up Virna (2021), who argues that it is difficult to dispel the notion that politics is a “man’s world” when men dominate the state, city, or town and monopolise the media. Hence, Virna suggests inter-factional organisations and groups that promote gender equality to assist women in promoting crucial political topics, being more visible in public, supporting other female councillors and Members of Parliament (MPs), and responding to sexism and other forms of prejudice (Virna, 2021). She further states that women are discouraged from entering politics due to preconceptions, self-doubt, and dread of “big politics,” among other reasons.

These steps make the author think of a statement made by Silvana Koch-Menrin, the President of the Women Political Leaders Global Forum, which underlines Virna (2021)’s recommendation for increased gender representation.

To accelerate their political careers, women need communication, connection, and community.

(Mehrin, 2018)

A better portrayal of global politics has been attempted, both visually and practically. The most thorough effort is the “feminist foreign policy,” which was initially put forth by Sweden, in 2014 by then-foreign minister Margot Wallström and has since been embraced by Canada in 2017, France in 2019, and Mexico in 2020 (Bigio, Jamille, et al., 2020). It pledges a stronger commitment to gender equality overseas in support of domestic national security (Bigio, Jamille, et al., 2020). This strategy sought to remove obstacles to gender equality and incorporate a gender viewpoint into all policy creation and decision-making with the incorporation of the 3Rs: Rights, Resources, and Representation (Walfridsson, 2022).

Margot Wallström defined the feminist foreign policy as “a foreign policy that puts women and girls at the centre of decision-making and that recognises that gender equality is essential for peace, security, and development”.

But, this policy is set to be reversed by Sweden’s new Foreign minister, Tobias Billström. Thus, this author argues that by women’s representation, projects for women’s equality and inclusion do come into execution. The policies created by women are not just anti-patriarchal in nature also but focus on women’s development.

Apart from the government, the views of the public are being enhanced, which is crucial. Lazarou & Eleni (2019) point out that “the general public is becoming more in favour of having more women in positions of leadership”. 61% of EU nationals say that “politics is dominated by men who do not have sufficient confidence in women,” as per the 2017 special Eurobarometer study on gender equality. Most respondents to a 2018 Pew Research Centre survey in the United States said they would want to see more women in leadership positions (Lazarou & Eleni, 2019).

Finally, it would be fitting to quote Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

“We must all do everything possible to ensure women are at the table, our voices heard, and our contributions valued.”

References

Beaman, Lori. “Women politicians, gender bias, and policy-making in rural India” No. id: 835. (2007).

Bigio, Jamille, and Rachel Vogelstein. “Understanding Gender Equality in Foreign Policy.” Council on Foreign Relations, June (2020).

Chinkin, Christine. “Peace agreements as a means for promoting gender equality and ensuring participation of women” (2003).

Clancy, Laura, and Sarah Austin. “Fewer than a third of UN member states have ever had a woman leader” (2023).

Delys, Sarah. “Women and political representation, handbook on increasing women’s political participation in Georgia.” Human Rights Education and Monitoring Centre (EMC). Georgia: Fountain (2014).

Didi, Zeena. “Why we need more women in politics.” Kings College London, blog post. (2020).

European Institute for Gender Equality. “gender disparities” (2023).

Free Network. “Policy brief: Women in Politics: Why Are They Under-represented”. (2021).

Hubbard, Kaia. “Around the World, the Greatest Gender Disparities Are in Politics”. (2021).

Karam, Azza, and Joni Lovenduski. “Women in parliament: Making a difference.” Women in Parliament: beyond numbers (2005): 187.

Lazarou, Eleni. “Briefing: Women in foreign affairs and international security: Contours of a timely debate.” European Parliament. (2019).

Mehrin, Sivana-Koch. “Why a woman’s place is in politics”. Woman Deliver (2018).

Rosenthal, Cindy Simon. “Gender styles in state legislative committees: Raising their voices in resolving conflict.” Women & Politics 21, no. 2 (2000): 21-45.

Schmid, Helga Maria. “It’s more than a seat at the table: why we need women in security”. (2021).

Virna, N.B. “Five Effective Ways to Involve Women in Politics”. UNDP. (2021).

Walfridsson, Hanna. “Sweden’s new government abandons feminist foreign policy.” Human Rights Watch, (2022).

Women, U. N. “Facts and figures: Women’s leadership and political participation” (2023).

Ananya Atri is an International Relations student and currently interns at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research at her university. She has been part of Global Youth India and right now serves as the Director of Communications at NGO Cultural Diversity for Peaceful Future in Georgia. Her interest in writing for Mandonna stems from her belief in equality and inclusion.