Women in the diplomatic corps: Normative frameworks, structural barriers and policy recommendations

This policy paper identifies promising practices for gender mainstreaming in foreign policy and provides recommendations to various actors in the ecosystem of diplomacy, including policymakers across government, especially within the foreign service of ministries of foreign affairs. It contributes to increased research on gender-responsive foreign policies with a focus on representation and participation of women in the diplomatic corps, the normative frameworks that influence their roles, and the structural barriers they confront on the path to parity.

The paper was produced under UN Women’s global initiative on Gender-Responsive Foreign Policies, which is implemented in four regions (Arab States, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa) with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates through a Strategic Partnership Framework (2024–2027). The initiative supports the integration of gender equality in foreign policies and is operationalized across three pillars:

1. A strengthened evidence base for gender-responsive foreign policies;
2. An enabling environment for equal representation of women in diplomacy; and
3. Gender mainstreaming in all domains of foreign policy.