In celebration of International Women’s Day, the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA), the region’s leading centre of excellence for the development and training of future diplomats and leaders, launched its Women in Diplomacy Index for 2023. Following the launch,the Academy will host an interactive virtual panel discussion with leading diplomats and speakers from the UAE and around the world on the topic of gender equality in foreign affairs and diplomacy.
The new and expanded 2023 index now tracks the percentage share of women ambassadors across all 193 United Nations (UN) member states.
The 2023 Index shows that women remain underrepresented in ambassadorship positions across the world, as only 20.54% of all ambassadors are women. The data also shows that Canada takes the lead in having appointed the highest share of women ambassadors and permanent representatives, with 51% of its ambassadorial posts being held by women. Andorra, the Maldives, and Monaco’s share of women ambassadors stands at a close 50%, while Finland, Ghana, Nicaragua, Sweden, the Bahamas, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the United States (US) all have percentage shares of women ambassadors ranging between 41% (for the US) and 49.5% (for Finland). Taken together, these countries constitute the top 12 countries where gender equality in their diplomatic corps has been achieved or is within close reach.
Progress towards gender equality in diplomacy overall has been slow and uneven. For the countries of the G20, their average share of women ambassadors increased to 21% in 2023, compared to 17% in 2018 – which is commendable. When looking at a larger dataset of 40 countries, the average share of women ambassadors increased by just 1% since 2022 and stands at 23% in 2023, indicating a slow rise in the number of women in top diplomatic posts.
The Women in Diplomacy Index 2023 also underscores how active the UAE has been in advancing women’s leadership in diplomacy becoming one of the top four performers for the MENA region. Since 2018, the UAE has had a 5.5% increase in its appointments of women ambassadors, placing them in key cities around the world such as Paris, Washington DC, and at the UN in New York.
Commenting on the launch of the AGDA 2023 WID Index, His Excellency Nickolay Mladenov, Director General of AGDA, said: “It takes the support, effort, and interest of several parties to help overcome the biases and stereotypes associated with being a woman in the foreign affairs space. This year’s Women in Diplomacy Index report shows us that while we have made notable progress towards women’s empowerment, much work still needs to be done. I hope we can come together to be the inspiration for the next generation of women leaders in the UAE.”
“At AGDA, we firmly believe in the importance of collaborative efforts to promote women’s participation and leadership in the diplomatic field. We are proud to launch our 2023 edition of the Women in Diplomacy Index, which is the most comprehensive to date as it includes all 193 UN member states. With this report at its helm, AGDA showcases its unwavering support for women’s empowerment and hopes to drive positive change in this space both within the UAE and worldwide,” he added.
Later today, AGDA will host a virtual panel discussion to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023 and the launch of the index. This discussion will explore the topic of gender equality in foreign affairs and diplomacy. The panel, set to be moderated by His Excellency Nickolay Mladenov, will welcome Her Excellency Ambassador Dr.Muneera Khalifa Hamad Al Khalifa, Executive Director of Mohammed Bin Mubarak AlKhalifa Academy for Diplomatic Studies (Bahrain), His Excellency Radha Krishna Panday, Ambassador of Canada to the UAE, Ms. Shaima Gargash, Deputy Chief of Mission at the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC., and Ms. Alexa Chopivsky, and Executive Director of Women’s Foreign Policy Group.
Dr. Sara Chehab, a Senior Research Fellow at AGDA who will be presenting the Index,shared: “First published in 2018, the Women in Diplomacy Index originally sought to track the percentage share of women ambassadors in the countries of the G20 and the European Union. We have expanded this project every year since then. The 2023 dataset is quite unique as it is now able to track more than 12,000 ambassadorial appointments worldwide on a yearly basis. It focuses on ambassadorships as well as permanent representatives to gauge the degree to which women assume some of the most prominent leadership positions in the world of diplomacy.AGDA is the only diplomatic centre in the region to track and present such important information.
“As more states commit to making their foreign security and development policies gender inclusive, we believe that this index can help frame vital conversations such as the need to promote and appoint more women to top diplomatic posts,” she added.
ADGA continues to be a strong advocate and ally for gender equality, women’s empowerment, and women’s rights. In 2022, a notable 55% of AGDA’s workforce was comprised of Emirati women and a significant 60% of its graduating classes since 2016 has been female.
To read the Women in Diplomacy Index report for 2023, please click here.
