Female diplomats still constitute a small minority in the world’s foreign services. However, on the International Day of Women in Diplomacy it is worth noting that all five Nordic Countries are represented by women at the United Nations in New York.
Christina Markus Lassen is Denmark´s Permanent Representative to the UN, Elina Kalkku represents Finland, Anna Jóhannsdóttir Iceland, Merete Fjeld Brattested Norway, and Nicola Clase Sweden.
Globally the picture is quite different. In fact, women have represented only between 6% and 13% of diplomats in global peace processes in the period 1992–2023. Despite growing awareness, international commitments and political goals for equal representation, progress has been slow.
Women in multilateral work
Merete Fjeld Brattested, Norway’s current UN ambassador, in New York, is the second woman to hold the position, after Mona Juul stepped down in 2023. She has extensive experience from the foreign service and believes that it is crucial that multiple perspectives are heard in international work. “Diversity contributes not only to better foreign policy, but to better development in all areas,” she says.
She added: “Diversity means that you get different perspectives on the issues you discuss, the way you discuss, the work culture – yes, on everything. If you want to find solutions to the major global challenges, it is important to understand that the world does not look the same everywhere. Gender, age, background, history and culture characterize us all.”
As a UN ambassador, she encounters this diversity daily. “At the UN, you meet the whole world and all the major global issues about peace and security, development and human rights. It is enormously rewarding to be a part of.” She emphasizes that the gender perspective is not a side consideration, but an integral part of most negotiations: “women and men often have different “entry points” to the discussion, and that is why it is so important that everyone is involved.”
The Foreign Service needs more women!
Brattested is clear in her message to the next generation: “Diplomacy needs women!”
She hopes more young women will consider a future in the foreign service – and help shape Norwegian and international policy. “The foreign service offers a variety of tasks and challenges. You are honed in the face of Norwegian interests and in the face of the world and everything we have to solve together. It is simply rewarding.”
International Day of Women in Diplomacy
On the International Day of Women in Diplomacy, which is marked on 24 June, the UN reminds us that barriers remain numerous – and often structural. Discrimination, stereotypes and political oppression limit women’s opportunities to participate on an equal footing with men in foreign policy and diplomacy.
The day was established by the UN General Assembly in 2022 to recognize women’s contributions to international diplomacy and raise awareness of the challenges women face in the field. At the same time, the need for concrete measures to ensure actual gender equality is raised, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality) – in particular, this includes women’s full participation in decision-making processes, including in international negotiations.
